The aftermath of the battle weighed heavily on the team as they retreated to the safety of their quarters. The abandoned hall where they had fought the constructs was now a ruin, its walls cracked and blackened from the energy blasts. They'd survived, but it was a hollow victory.
Elaine sat on the edge of the room's single cot, her hands trembling as she clutched the leather-bound book they had taken from the archives. The Nexus's warnings still pulsed faintly in her vision, a constant reminder that the constructs were just the beginning.
"You're quiet," Kael said, his voice low as he leaned against the doorframe, his bow slung over his shoulder.
Elaine glanced at him, her expression grim. "We bought ourselves time. That's all. The Nexus isn't going to stop."
Kael crossed his arms. "And what happens when they send something we can't handle?"
Elaine hesitated, the weight of his words settling heavily in her chest. She didn't have an answer.
A New Warning
The Nexus flickered in her vision, its text sharper and more urgent than before:
Divergence Escalation Imminent. Oversight Constructs Monitoring Substrate Instability.
Directive: Prepare for Reclassification Integration Event.
Elaine's breath caught. She'd grown accustomed to the Nexus's cryptic warnings, but this was different. The words Reclassification Integration Event sent a chill down her spine.
"What is it?" Lira asked, noticing the change in Elaine's expression.
Elaine shook her head, her voice barely above a whisper. "The Nexus is escalating again. It's planning something—something bigger than the constructs."
"Bigger?" Ferran scoffed, leaning back against the wall. "What's bigger than a squad of walking glass nightmares?"
Elaine hesitated. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it's tied to me. If we don't figure out a way to stop it…"
Her voice trailed off, the unspoken threat hanging in the air.
The Guild Splinters
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of raised voices echoing from the corridor outside. Kael moved to the door, cracking it open just enough to peer through.
"It's the overseers," he said, his tone grim. "They're arguing."
Elaine stood and joined him, her heart sinking as she listened to the heated exchange.
"We can't trust her!" one overseer shouted. "She's marked by the Nexus—she's a danger to all of us!"
"And yet she's the only reason we're still standing," another countered.
"She destroyed the artifact! She's the reason the constructs came in the first place!"
"She's also the one who stopped them."
The argument continued, growing louder with every passing second. It was clear that the guild's leadership was divided, and Elaine's presence was at the center of the conflict.
"They're turning on each other," Lira said, her voice heavy with dread.
Elaine stepped away from the door, her mind racing. "This is exactly what the Nexus wants. If the guild collapses, it won't just be me the constructs come for—it'll be everyone."
Kael nodded. "Then we need to act before they tear themselves apart."
The Nexus's Cryptic Insight
The Nexus flared in Elaine's vision again, its guidance fragmented but insistent:
Directive Options:
Unite guild factions by revealing Nexus reclassification's true purpose.Escape the guild compound and sever connection through external divergence zone.Allow guild destabilization to divert Nexus intervention focus.
Warning: All options carry high risk of substrate collapse.
Elaine's chest tightened. The Nexus wasn't offering solutions—it was forcing her to choose between impossible options.
"What does it say?" Kael asked, his eyes narrowing.
Elaine hesitated before answering. "We have three choices: try to unite the guild, leave the compound and go somewhere the Nexus can't reach, or let the guild collapse and hope it distracts the constructs long enough for us to escape."
Ferran let out a bitter laugh. "Great. So, we can either play heroes, run for our lives, or let everything burn. What's it going to be, boss?"
Elaine closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. None of the options were good—but they couldn't afford to wait.
"We can't run," she said finally. "Not yet. If we leave now, the guild will collapse, and the constructs will wipe it out."
"And uniting them?" Kael asked, his tone skeptical. "How do we do that when half the guild wants you gone?"
Elaine looked down at the book in her hands, the words on its pages a stark reminder of Aria's ambitions and the Nexus's growing threat. "We give them a reason to fight. If we can show them the truth about the Nexus—and what's coming—they'll have no choice but to work together."
A Desperate Proposal
The team made their way to the guild's central hall, where the overseers' argument had spilled out into a gathering of guild members. Dozens of alchemists, warriors, and scholars stood in clusters, their voices rising in a cacophony of anger and fear.
Elaine stepped forward, her presence drawing immediate attention. The room fell silent as the crowd turned to face her, their expressions ranging from suspicion to outright hostility.
"Caldara," Overseer Marreth said, her tone wary. "What are you doing here?"
Elaine held up the leather-bound book, her voice steady. "I'm here to stop this."
Marreth frowned. "Stop what?"
"This," Elaine said, gesturing to the crowd. "The fighting. The fear. The division. It's exactly what the Nexus wants."
Murmurs rippled through the room, but Elaine pressed on.
"You all know what happened," she said. "The constructs came because of me—but they didn't come to destroy the guild. They came to destroy an anomaly. A divergence."
"And that anomaly is you," one overseer spat.
"Yes," Elaine admitted. "But the Nexus doesn't care about collateral damage. If we don't stand together, it will destroy everything to 'fix' me."
Marreth stepped forward, her expression unreadable. "And what do you propose we do?"
Elaine took a deep breath. "We fight. Not just the constructs, but the Nexus itself. We disrupt its control over this plane and sever its connection before it escalates again."
The room erupted in chaos, voices overlapping in a cacophony of disbelief and anger.
"You're asking us to defy the Nexus?" one guild member shouted. "That's suicide!"
"It's the only way," Elaine said, her voice rising above the din. "The Nexus won't stop until I'm gone—and it won't care how many of you it has to kill to get to me."
The Turning Point
Marreth raised a hand, silencing the room. She studied Elaine for a long moment before speaking.
"You're asking us to trust you," she said. "To risk everything on the word of someone the Nexus itself has marked as a threat."
Elaine nodded. "Yes. Because if we don't, we're already dead."
The room fell silent again, the weight of her words settling over the crowd like a heavy fog.
Finally, Marreth nodded. "Very well. But if you're wrong, Caldara, the blood will be on your hands."
Elaine met her gaze, her voice steady. "I know."