"No," Sebastian whispered, his voice dropping all of its casual humor. The deadpan, cynical Sovereign was instantly replaced by a man staring into the absolute abyss. "The Saints were just the middle management."
He looked up at the dark, bruised-purple sky of the Juncture.
"The CEO just walked in."
—
The Juncture was supposed to be the cosmic trash bin. It was a place of chaos, a sprawling, unorganized mess of deleted files, corrupted code, and the rotting husks of assimilated servers. It was entirely defined by its lack of structure.
Which is why the sudden, overwhelming presence of absolute, flawless order was so utterly terrifying.
Sebastian gently but firmly pushed Valerie's astral projection behind him, his towering, glitching body acting as a physical shield. He didn't draw his Earth Sword. A weapon made of concrete and rusted rebar felt entirely pathetic against what was happening above them.
