The c***k in the sky widened with a sound like tearing parchment. Through that jagged rift, pure, clinical white light poured in, burning away the violet flames Lucien had conjured. The shadows of the Void-dwellers shrieked, retreating as the light acted like acid upon their ink-like forms. But Lucien did not feel relief. He felt a cold, mechanical intrusion, the Architects were no longer observing; they were correcting an error.
"They are rewriting the local physics," Seraphina shouted, her hands weaving frantic, silver patterns in the air to maintain their small island of reality. "Lucien, stop pulling on the ground! You are making it easier for them to sync their frequency with ours!"
"If I stop, we fall into the abyss!" Lucien retorted, his voice strained. He felt his veins pulsing w
