Zayn took his first step outside Veilroot not as a shardbearer, but as something new.
The seven threads followed—not behind, but beside him. Their forms shifted subtly now, no longer children, no longer projections. They were aspects made whole, converging with every breath he took.
Althea approached carefully, scanning his vitals.
"You're... different," she said. "But stable."
Fry lowered her Karnyx. "More than stable. You're syncing with the lattice itself."
Zayn nodded. "The shard was never just a key. It was a blueprint. And now it's alive."
He raised a hand. The air shimmered. A lattice of memory—golden, transparent, infinite—unfolded from nothing, etching itself into space like a constellation forming in real time.
Patch let out a low whistle. "So... the world's code just turned into origami?"
"No," Zayn said softly. "It's healing. Reweaving."
News of the recursion collapse spread fast.
Small enclaves once isolated by recursive distortion now connected. Lost towns blinked back into existence. Communication relays chirped to life. Memory archives long thought deleted whispered their way into the new lattice.
Some welcomed it with hope. Others with fear.
In the Real's capital sector, a council convened. Projection feeds shimmered with panic.
"He's rewriting foundational memory layers without authorization!"
"We built the recursion system to control entropy—he's unraveling that control!"
"No... he's restoring what we erased."
A single vote delayed retaliation.
A single voice:
"Let's see where it leads."
At the edge of the Bloomline Ridge, Zayn stared out over the shifting lands below. The lattice spread like roots, not consuming but connecting.
Mira stepped beside him. "What do we do now?"
Zayn took a moment before answering.
"We rebuild. But not just cities. People. The Real forgot too much for too long. It's time we remember who we are—every version of us."
Auron grinned faintly. "Sounds messy."
"Messy's honest," Fry said. "I like honest."
Patch pointed to the horizon. "So... are we gonna find whoever did this to us in the first place?"
Zayn turned toward the forming lattice. Somewhere in the vast network, a deeper node pulsed—silent, patient.
"We will," he said. "Because now we have the map."