The word echoed through the void like thunder.
Connection to what?
To everything. To the trans-dimensional energy that flows through the Gates. To the patterns that govern Aspect manifestation. To the underlying structure of reality itself.
"That sounds like a lot."
It is everything. It is what separates those who merely possess Aspects from those who understand them. It is the difference between being a tool and being a craftsman.
I considered this carefully.
My mother had rejected connection. She'd chosen humanity over power. Self over expansion. The familiar over the infinite.
And she'd survived.
She'd survived and raised me and loved me and stood in her kitchen making breakfast while the secrets of the universe crumbled around her.
That was strength.
That was real, genuine, human strength.
But I wasn't my mother.
I had Kaelen's memories. His experiences. His pragmatic understanding that sometimes you had to become a monster to protect the people you loved.
