The black shape caught the collapse-born entity.
The observing mass's annihilation beam arrived less than a heartbeat later.
The collision shook the Nexus.
Not Earth.
Not the local node.
The entire Nexus.
Across distant sectors, resonance routes collapsed temporarily as shockwaves spread through connected layers. Ancient stabilization systems activated automatically. Entire civilizations lost access to harmonic travel corridors as emergency containment measures flooded the network.
Something impossible had just happened.
The Hollow had reached beyond its prison.
And the observing mass had fired directly into the breach.
Inside the chamber, every remaining display shattered simultaneously.
The floor buckled.
The walls screamed under the strain.
Kael hit the ground hard as a violent resonance pulse tore through the structure.
"Sarya!"
Her body crashed back onto the platform.
For the first time in what felt like forever, gravity reclaimed her.
