The approach to the Amber Shard was visually stunning and viscerally terrifying. From a distance, the Shard no longer glowed with the warm, earthy amber of a living stone. Instead, it shone with a blinding, sterile radiance. The towers of granite and timber that Jian and the Amber-Wrights had built years ago were being encased in a skin of liquid, 24-karat gold.
"It’s happening again," Han whispered, squinting against the glare. "But this isn't the Glitch. This is... an upgrade."
As The Echo of Wood entered the atmosphere, Han felt the 84th Variable: Autonomy groan within him. The very air felt heavy, saturated with a mathematical perfection that tried to smooth out the vibrations of his ship’s wooden hull. The ship's timber, usually flexible and resilient, began to grow stiff and brittl
