The world didn't descend into chaos.
It was pushed into it.
The moment the fractured presence expanded beyond its boundary, everything changed. The delicate separation between the free presences and the collective structure didn't just blur—it broke.
Not completely.
Not instantly.
But enough.
Adrian stood at the center of it.
Not as an observer.
Not as a mediator.
But as the only thing—
Holding it together.
The fractured zone surged again.
Not in waves.
Not in bursts.
Constantly.
It didn't pause.
Didn't adjust.
Didn't consider.
It spread.
Everything it touched twisted, definitions unraveling as meaning itself became unstable. The free presences struggled to hold themselves together, their fluid identities collapsing under the pressure. The collective presences reacted faster, reinforcing their structure, tightening their formation—
But even they—
Were affected.
Lyra's voice cut through sharply. "…It's not slowing down."
