The Rift's pillars, once on the brink of collapse, now danced in sync with Ren's Core pulse, spinning with mechanical precision. Every shard of earth, drifting mist, and floating crystal seemed alive, responding not merely to human logic, but to an algorithm that pierced the very fabric of space. The Rift winds, once wild and chaotic, now appeared guided, spiraling to the rhythm of the Core, forming vortices around each column. Soft light from fractured crystals danced in the air, casting shadows as if the world itself were aware of its own existence.
Elyndor held his breath, hands trembling over the navigation panel. The screen displayed wildly fluctuating graphs; the Pulse could not be predicted, coordinates leaping like shattered numbers rejecting order.
"No… the coordinates… this makes no sense…"
His voice quivered, but Ren's Core remained still, impassive, his body steady—the very essence of logic forcing chaos to bend. Every flicker of Rift energy reflected in his eyes, forming faint traces only he could perceive. His muscles tensed, every fiber straining to comprehend the new laws born from the Core's pulse.
From the dense mist, the Anti-Pulse Entity emerged. Its body flowed like liquid shadow, defying physical law, moving in non-linear vectors. Its wave immediately tore at the stability Ren had imposed; the ground cracked into chaotic patterns, Rift columns spun wildly, nearly swallowing Elyndor entirely. The Core reacted with near-unimaginable speed.
Each pulse filtered the wave, stabilizing some columns; the right column moved halfway to alignment; Elyndor was pulled into a safe zone while the ground around him trembled but did not collapse. The Anti-Pulse leapt again, a second wave following, forcing Ren's Core to work twice as hard, its beat like a logic engine firing every neuron in a fraction of a second.
Heavy footsteps echoed from another side of the Rift. Dresk Thorn appeared, muscular, upright, short gray hair, cold gray eyes piercing the Core of Ren. The Stasis Aura clinging to him forced the Core to exert extra effort; every stabilization felt like resisting two gravities at once. Dresk stepped forward, and the world adjusted; every correction Ren made was met with opposition, yet he did not falter. Fragmented voices echoed in his mind, broken and dry:
"…hold… do not force… space is too dense… let it crack…"
Ren's Core absorbed all biological input; he merged with the Rift mechanism itself. Columns, mist, and shards of earth moved in harmony with his pulse, forming a fragile but tangible pattern. Micro-fractals of the Rift danced around Ren's hands, forming nearly invisible layers of energy that flowed in sync with the Core. Particles in the air vibrated, transmitting a sensation like static piercing Elyndor's consciousness, evoking both awe and fear.
The Anti-Pulse struck again. Waves of chaos tore at the Rift. Elyndor staggered, almost pulled away. The Core absorbed part of the impact, but the voice fragments rang out again:
"…do not absorb it all… leave one… let it breathe…"
Ren shifted his focus. The third column was partially released; Elyndor was pulled to safety; Dresk held the rest, body rigid, forcing the world to adjust to his Stasis Aura. Two powerful logics collided—chaos erupted like tsunamis crashing into each other, forming random fractures across the Rift. Each shard of earth and mist vibrated, adapting to create a rhythm both chaotic and measured. Tiny mist particles circled Ren's hands, forming spirals that pulsed like the mechanical heartbeat of his Core.
Abominations emerged from the cracked ground, flesh and bone fused with crystal into unrecognizable forms. Their pulse was chaotic, reacting simultaneously to the Core and Dresk's Aura. Elyndor shouted as the navigation panel went haywire.
"This is insane! Variables multiplying themselves! Coordinates changing! Ren—this is impossible to synchronize!"
Ren's Core pulsed harder, body heavy but stable. He rotated one column, forcing space to comply with his logic—the Abomination absorbed the correction. Chaos stacked, headaches peaking, skull aching. Echo #11's broken voice cut through:
"…do not follow that rhythm… it's bait… break the line… split it in two…"
Half-conscious, Ren followed the guidance. The third column was released, Dresk pushed to the Stasis optimal point, corrections directed toward Elyndor. The world tensed into a single synchronized line—thin, fragile, but stable. Dresk stared at Ren sharply, realizing that what resided in his chest was no ordinary Mark; he was facing the Core of logic, not a human.
The Anti-Pulse unleashed a third wave. The Rift fractured in five places at once. Ren's Core strained, awareness teetering on the edge.
[MARK CAPACITY: 55%]
Pain surged, nearly forcing Ren to his knees. Echo #11's fragmented voice came again, ragged:
"…release… do not hold it all… leave one column… let the chaos feed…"
Ren let one column fall. Chaos surged into it—the Anti-Pulse triggered, the Abomination followed, a stable gap appeared. Synchronization was achieved, thin but sufficient. Elyndor trembled as the navigation graph froze.
"You just synchronized three chaos flows simultaneously… that… is impossible…"
A new wave appeared on the horizon. Not Anti-Pulse, not Abomination—something more structured, as if a signal were sent directly to the Core. Ren gazed into the distance. Echo #11 whispered its last fragment:
"…that… memory… is not yours… do not… approach…"
Phase two began. The Rift shook violently, the ground cracked, columns shifted, and mist whirled wildly. Every particle of energy felt alive. Ren's Core operated at maximum capacity, his body becoming the new center of logic within this chaos. He drew a mechanical breath, his heartbeat synced with the Core's rhythm—he was no longer just a Vessel. He was the logical core, forcing the Rift, Anti-Pulse, Abominations, and Dresk Thorn to obey the laws he set.
Time slowed. Every step Dresk took, every Anti-Pulse movement, every flash of Abomination energy, all recorded in Ren's Core system. He calculated, adjusted, and shifted reality in fractions of a second. Columns fell, Rift shards spun, mist thickened and thinned, creating a fragile but stable synchronized space. Smaller energy waves danced in the air, forming an invisible web responding to Ren's pulse.
Ren sensed foreign memory fragments in the Core. Echo #11's broken voice guided him, fragmentary but effective:
"…let… one… point…"
The words cut through tension, marking the corrective path he had to follow. He shifted one column toward Elyndor, redirecting pressure from Dresk, letting chaos concentrate on the bait column. Rift shards vibrated around him, forming a pattern like the world's pulse. Energy waves tore at the Rift cracks but did not destroy the balance. The Abomination leapt, chasing the corrections, but entered the trap the Core had set. The Anti-Pulse was triggered; the third energy wave was directed toward the fallen column. The world felt alive, aware, following Ren's pulse.
Elyndor was frozen.
"This… this isn't human…"
Their eyes followed every motion, every reality manipulation Ren executed. Dresk Thorn glared sharply, body bracing the pressure, realizing that his opponent was a system, the Core of logic—not just a typical Markwielder.
Phase two of the Rift became increasingly clear. Regular waves, large patterns emerging on the horizon. Silver light pierced the mist, vibrating as if sending a direct message to the Core. Greater resonance was opening, and Ren realized the synchronization he had achieved was merely the beginning of a far larger scale of chaos. Foreign memory fragments whispered faint hints of the real threat looming ahead.
Ren stood at the center of the Rift. His body stable, consciousness mechanical and cold. He was no longer just a Vessel. He was the new core of logic, the regulator of chaos, where the world—and perhaps the entirety of this place—would obey the rules he imposed.
Rift shards began to tremble more wildly, indicating that the thin synchronization just achieved was not the end, but the starting point of far greater pressure. Every Core pulse demanded a price—not only from the surrounding world, but from his own biological body. Muscles tensed, veins protruded, and the fibers of light inside him grew hotter, as if the Rift were trying to pierce the limits of his fragile human vessel.
Elyndor and Dresk stared at Ren with a mix of awe and apprehension. They could feel the energy too great to contain; every correction Ren made sent shockwaves through Level 4. The foreign memory fragments guiding him vibrated more strongly, hinting at possible upcoming threats—not mere predictions, but real existential dangers.
Beneath the rhythm, the Rift began to lose order. Previously stable pillars shifted faster, mist swirled against the laws Ren imposed, and the shadows of Chaos vibrated more aggressively. Ren's Core stood at the center, the logical nucleus restraining chaos—but even logic has limits. A new phase was about to begin, and Level 4 teetered on the brink of destruction like never before.