The air grew heavy, tasting of ionized copper and scorched earth as Lucien sprinted into the swarm. The spiders were not mere constructs; they were mobile geometry, limbs clicking with a synchronization that defied biology. As he neared the gate, the white ground surged upward, forming serrated blades of hard-light that sought to impale him.
Lucien did not weave or dodge. He moved through the gaps in their logic. His Crimson Eyes flickered, revealing the infinitesimal flaws in the Architects’ construction, the microscopic seams where the hard-light hadn't fully fused. He didn't fight the spiders; he stepped onto their backs, using their own rigid patterns as a staircase to gain elevation.
"Vane!" Lucien shouted, his voice cutting through the cacophony of the siege. "Stop casting! Your fi
