Chapter 57: The Projection of the Sovereign
Carson knew he couldn't fight the Saints from within the Library alone; he needed to strike at the source of their "Faith-Link" on the Imperial flagship. However, his physical body was now the lynchpin of the star's stability. To leave was to trigger a supernova.
Using a forbidden technique from the Second Library known as "The Sovereign's Shadow-Walk," Carson attempted a feat that bordered on Level 17 mastery. He began to compress a fraction of his 34th Strand into a singular, sub-atomic particle. He wasn't moving his body; he was "Projecting" his Intent across the vacuum of space.
In the streets of New Seattle, near the base of a silver root, the air began to shimmer. Hobs and Maya watched in awe as the emerald light coalesced into a translucent, flickering figure. It was Carson—or a ghost of him. He looked like the boy from the gutters again, but his eyes were filled with the cold radiance of the Styx-7 core.
"Carson?" Hobs whispered, his hand reaching out, only to pass through the freezing, ionized air where Carson stood.
"I am only a shadow, Hobs," the projection spoke, its voice a hollow echo. "The Empire has sent the Saint-Guard. They are anchoring the star. I need the Aegis-Nodes in the city to reverse their frequency. If you can't break their faith from here, I will be buried in the sun."
Maya stepped forward, her Awakened eyes glowing. "The nodes are ready, Carson. But the Empire has hidden 'Logic-Worm' viruses in the city's old grid. Every time we try to sync with you, the machines try to lock us out."
"Then stop using the machines," Carson's shadow replied, his hand pointing toward the silver roots. "The roots are my meridians. Connect the nodes directly to the soil. Let the planet itself become the transmitter."