Rourke did not reach for the anomaly.
That alone felt like defiance.
Every instinct screamed to pull, test, measure—but he forced himself to stand still, breathing slowly as the fractured realm vibrated around them. The anomaly hovered at the edge of his Gravity Sight like a blind spot in reality.
Seren noticed his restraint.
"You're not… doing anything."
He nodded.
"That's the point."
The Memory Core dimmed approvingly.
"Deliberate non-action is the correct response."
Seren smirked.
"Didn't think I'd hear that from you."
Learning to Hold Back
Rourke closed his eyes and focused inward—not on the Heart's power, but on its rhythm.
He slowed it.
The silver-black pulses steadied, each beat quieter than the last. The crown above his head dimmed, its fractures knitting together just enough to stop spreading.
Pain eased.
Not gone.
Managed.
The Memory Core observed:
"Your synchronization rate has decreased."
Seren let out a breath she'd been holding.
"How much?"
"Marginally.
But sustainably."
Rourke opened his eyes.
"Then we're doing something right."
The Anomaly Watches
The anomaly pulsed faintly again.
Seren shivered.
"I don't like that it reacts when you calm down."
Rourke studied it carefully.
"It's not reacting to power.
It's reacting to choice."
The Memory Core rotated.
"Explain."
Rourke gestured subtly.
"When I push, everything responds—gravity, the realm, the Engine.
But when I choose not to… this thing notices."
Seren frowned.
"Like it's been waiting for you to stop shouting."
The relic pulsed thoughtfully.
"A plausible interpretation."
The Test of Restraint
The Memory Core floated higher.
"To confirm stabilization,
you must perform a controlled action—
without escalation."
Seren eyed Rourke.
"You good?"
He nodded.
"Watch closely."
Rourke lifted a single stone from the ground—
not by pulling it upward,
but by gently reducing the gravity beneath it.
The stone rose slowly, lazily.
No surge.
No flare.
The crown remained steady.
The Heart did not spike.
Seren smiled.
"That's…
new."
The Memory Core pulsed.
"Efficiency achieved.
Energy expenditure reduced by seventy percent."
Rourke exhaled.
"So less is more."
"Correct."
Prime Takes Notice
Far away—
Hunter Prime paused.
Within the Obsidian Engine's observation lattice, gravitational data shifted unexpectedly.
Prime studied the change.
"…He is no longer escalating."
A lesser Hunter flickered into existence nearby.
"Deviation decreasing?"
Prime shook his head.
"No.
It is… refining."
The Collapse Array pulsed once, uncertain.
Prime turned his attention back to the projection.
"This increases uncertainty."
Seren's Realization
Seren watched Rourke closely.
"You're different," she said quietly.
He glanced at her.
"Different how?"
"You're not fighting the power anymore.
You're… living with it."
Rourke considered that.
"I don't need to win every moment.
I just need to not lose myself."
She smiled softly.
"That's the Rourke I know."
The Anomaly Responds
Without warning, the anomaly shifted.
Not closer.
Not farther.
Clearer.
Rourke's Gravity Sight sharpened—
And for the first time, he saw shape.
A silhouette—
humanoid, but wrong—
as if reality had forgotten to finish drawing it.
Seren gasped.
"It really is alive."
The Memory Core's glow turned tense.
"This entity exists partially outside gravitational influence."
Rourke swallowed.
"So it's compatible."
"Yes."
Seren stiffened.
"And the downside?"
The relic answered after a pause:
"If bonded improperly,
it may overwrite you."
Rourke exhaled slowly.
"Nothing ever comes cheap."
The Choice Made
Rourke stepped back instead of forward.
Seren blinked.
"You're not going to talk to it?"
"Not yet," he said.
"I won't force it.
I won't rush it."
The anomaly pulsed—
once—
almost approving.
The Memory Core observed:
"Restraint acknowledged."
Rourke looked at Seren.
"If this thing is going to be my second anchor…
it has to choose me too."
Seren nodded.
"Good.
Because I don't like the idea of you being overwritten."
He smiled faintly.
"Neither do I."
Time Moves
The fractured sky flickered.
The Memory Core spoke quietly.
"Synchronization continues—
but at a reduced rate."
Seren braced herself.
"How long now?"
The relic answered:
"Five days."
Rourke clenched his jaw.
Still not enough.
But better.
He turned back toward the anomaly.
"Tomorrow," he said softly.
"We talk."
The anomaly pulsed again—
stronger this time.
Far away, within the Obsidian Engine, Hunter Prime adjusted projections once more.
For the first time—
Rourke Talon's survival curve rose.