An emergency transmission from the Alaric-Weaver network came through Elara's system. On the main screen of the command center, a brief intelligence report appeared, marked highest priority:

TARGET: Celia, Year 2 Student, Life Magic Department

STATUS: Detained by the Inquisitorial Order

CHARGES: Heresy, conspiracy with Anomaly 'Nihil'

LOCATION: Underground prison, Inquisitorial Fortress, Solara Magna

EVALUATION: Bait

Elara Moonveil studied the report, then turned to Nihil, who stood motionless beside her. She expected an emotional explosion, an irrational demand. Instead, she saw nothing. Nihil's face was a perfect mask of calm. But Elara, with her sensitivity to anomalies, sensed something beneath the surface—not hot anger, but an immense cold pressure, like a collapsing singularity.

Inside Nihil's mind, Heze's thoughts processed data at supercomputer speed:

*Analysis: Richter Von Braum, humiliated by my escape, has shifted from direct pursuit to psychological warfare. He chose the strategically weakest and most emotionally connected target. A predictable move. A... foolish one.*

"This is an obvious trap," Elara voiced his thoughts. "He wants to lure you out. Walking in would be suicide."

Nihil finally looked at her, his gaze so cold that Elara felt genuine discomfort for the first time.

"This isn't a trap," Nihil stated flatly. "It's a mistake. He violated the unwritten rules of this game. He targeted a non-combatant. An inefficient and dishonorable move. For that, he must be punished."

This wasn't about saving a friend. This was a chess grandmaster seeing an opponent make a move so stupid and insulting that he decided not just to win, but to shatter the board.

"I owe her," Nihil continued, more to himself. "Not an emotional debt. A transactional one. She gave me information about the Open Trial. Debts must be repaid."

Pure Heze logic. Not about friendship. About balancing the ledger.

"You can't storm the Inquisitorial Fortress," Elara said.

"I won't storm it," Nihil replied. "I'll undermine it."

He walked to the holographic map of Solara Magna. "I need all geological and engineering data on the Temple District's foundations. Steam pipes, ancient aqueducts, underground reservoirs. Everything."

Elara stared at him, dawning horror in her eyes. "You don't mean to..."

"Richter thinks I'm a mouse he can bait with cheese," Nihil said. "I'll show him I'm the earthquake that collapses his nest."

His plan took shape. He couldn't go physically. But he didn't need to. He only needed to touch the system remotely.

He returned to The Shard simulation chamber, sensory helmet secured. Before him, a perfect 3D replica of the infrastructure beneath the Inquisitorial Fortress materialized.

"This is an act of war against the Empire," Elara warned from the control room, her voice grave.

"This is debt settlement," Nihil corrected. He closed his eyes.

He didn't use Echo Projection. He used the Dimensional Guild's sensor network scattered throughout the city as his "anchor," channeling his power through them.

`[Activating Atomic Manipulation (Macro-scale Long-Range Application)]`

`[WARNING: THIS ACTION WILL MASSIVELY DRAIN CAPACITY AND CARRY HIGH RISK!]`

Nihil didn't care. He began working.

In his mind, he 'saw' the massive pressure valves underground. He didn't destroy them. He simply 'erased' their locking mechanisms. He 'saw' the main pipe junctions. He 'erased' the structural integrity of their welds.

`[Capacity: 40/40 → 30/40 → 20/40 → 10/40...]`

Blood trickled from his nose. The mental strain was overwhelming. He pushed further, targeting the ancient water reservoir beneath the main plaza, creating structural instability in its foundations.

In the control room, Elara watched the energy monitors in horror. "He's not just sabotaging... he's creating a hydraulic and thermal time bomb."

Nihil expended his remaining energy in one final, devastating pulse.

`[Capacity: 10/40 → 0/40]`

In Solara Magna, a citizen felt a faint tremor beneath their feet. Then another.

Inside the fortress, Richter Von Braum was about to begin Celia's "interrogation" when the stone floor beneath him shuddered violently.

"What was that?" he demanded.

Then hell began.

Beneath the Temple District, pressure within the millennia-old steam pipes—whose safety valves Nihil had erased—reached critical mass.

BOOOOUOM!

The marble streets before the Inquisitorial Fortress exploded upward in a geyser of superheated steam and stone shrapnel. Dozens of secondary explosions followed across the district as the entire steam network collapsed like dominoes. Boiling water and scorching steam erupted from fissures, turning sacred avenues into geothermal battlegrounds.

Inside the fortress, chaos reigned. Walls cracked. Floors buckled. Inquisitorial Knights trained to fight demons and heretics were unprepared to battle their own city's infrastructure.

In her cell, Celia was thrown against the wall as explosions rocked the prison level. Her cell wall fractured, and the thick steel door warped off its hinges. Amid the chaos, a shadowy agent from Duke Alaric's "Vipers" appeared and pulled her to safety—a calculated side effect of the destruction.

In his throne room, Richter Von Braum stared at his burning city. His rage was so immense the divine aura around him seemed to vibrate. "NIHIL!!!"

At the Omega Base...

Nihil collapsed unconscious, blood streaming from his nose and ears. His capacity was utterly drained. He'd expended everything.

But in his mind's darkness, something new occurred. The macro-scale power usage, pushing his soul to the brink of destruction, had cracked something within him.

`[WARNING: MACRO-SCALE POWER USAGE HAS PUSHED SYSTEM BEYOND SAFE THRESHOLD]`

`[VOID SYNC HAS REACHED CRITICAL THRESHOLD!]`

`[Void Sync: 9.8% → 10.0%]`

`[DEPTH HAS REACHED LEVEL 2: THE CRACK]`

`[New Skill Unlocked in The Seer Branch: **Void Memory (Rank F)**]`

`[Maximum Capacity Increased Due to System Evolution: 40 → 50]`

Hours later, Nihil awoke in the medical bay. He felt... different. Clearer. More... empty. He touched the metal wall beside his bed.

And then he saw it.

He didn't just feel the metal's coldness. He saw the iron ore mined from seabeds by giant golems. He felt the heat of the Dimensional Guild's smelting furnaces. He saw technicians' hands shaping it into wall panels. He saw its history, its essence, the truth of its existence.

`[Activating: Void Memory (Passive)]`

`[Description: Ability to sense and understand the conceptual and material history of an object or location through contact.]`

He had unlocked a terrifying new sense.

Several Hours Later, at the Imperial Palace...

Emperor Octavian Solaris stood on his balcony, watching his steam-shrouded, fire-lit district. Princess Selene stood beside him.

"My plan to 'control' him... has failed," Selene said quietly. "He cannot be controlled. He is a force of nature."

"He is a catastrophe," the Emperor corrected, his voice icy. "And catastrophes must be stopped."

He turned. Selene's arguments for capturing Nihil alive now seemed like a joke. "Summon her," he commanded.

Captain Kiera Dawnbringer entered.

"Captain," the Emperor said. "An anomaly has declared war on my city. You have full authority. Take your Dawnblade Legion. Restore order. Eliminate the source of this chaos."

"Is the target to be taken alive, Your Majesty?" Kiera asked.

The Emperor gazed at his burning district. "Captain Dawnbringer," he said. "I want this stain erased from the face of my world."

"As you command," Kiera replied.

At the Omega Base, Moments Later...

Maximum-priority alarms blared throughout the base.

"Miss Elara!" a technician shouted. "A fleet... an Imperial fleet... just appeared above our coordinates! Leading them... a flagship warship... Transponder ID... 'Sun's Judgment'!"

Elara stared at the main screen. There, above the churning sea, hovered a massive gold-and-white warship. Captain Kiera Dawnbringer's personal vessel.

It had taken them hours, but Richter's holy traces—shining like a beacon when Nihil used his power—had led them straight to Elara's lair.

They were no longer hidden. They'd been found. And above them, the Empire's strongest executioner was waiting.The silence in Omega Base's command room was heavy and suffocating. On the main holographic screen, the image of the gold-white fleet was displayed with brutal clarity. Dozens of smaller warships flanked a colossal flagship, the 'Sun's Judgment', which alone was large enough to overshadow the entire base.

"Activate energy shields to maximum power," commanded Elara Moonveil, her usually calm voice now sharp as ice. "All non-combat personnel to evacuation stations. Master Vael, prepare all our defensive prototypes. I want a status report in thirty seconds."

The technicians around her moved with panicked efficiency. Outside the base's transparent dome, an almost invisible blue energy shield began to pulse, distorting the surrounding water.

Nihil stood beside Elara, staring at the fleet on the screen. He had only partially recovered, but his mind was working at full speed.

"They found us because of the sacred trace Richter left," said Nihil. "The trace activated when I used my power on a large scale."

"I had deduced that," Elara replied, her eyes scanning tactical data. "This base was designed for stealth, not open warfare. Our shields can withstand conventional bombardment for several hours, but that ship..." she pointed to the 'Sun's Judgment'. "...that's an Archon-class 'Godslayer'. Its main cannon is powered by a sacred artifact. One direct hit will shatter our shields."

They were trapped. A cage at the bottom of the sea, with the executioner waiting above.

A transmission came through, overriding all channels. Captain Kiera Dawnbringer's face appeared on the main screen. She wasn't wearing a helmet; her blonde hair was neatly braided, and her sky-blue eyes gazed at them without emotion.

"To the occupants of the illegal facility below us," Kiera's voice sounded, clear and authoritative. "In the name of Emperor Octavian Solaris, you are charged with harboring an Alpha-class heretic and committing acts of war against the Imperium. You have ten minutes to surrender the anomaly known as Nihil and submit unconditionally. If you refuse, we will cleanse this anomaly... along with your entire base."

Ten minutes.

"She's not bluffing," said Master Vael, who had just arrived in the command room, his face pale. "That Dawnbringer girl is the Emperor's most loyal warhound."

"What are our options?" asked Elara.

"Surrender the boy," Vael grumbled. "Perhaps they will show mercy."

"They won't," said Nihil. "They didn't come to negotiate. They came for extermination."

He walked to the outermost wall of the command room, a thick panel of white metal. He placed his palm flat against it.

A painful explosion of information flooded his mind. Blood trickled from his nose. He saw echoes of the thousands of technicians who built this base. He saw blueprints of every corridor, every system, every secret. And he saw it. A flaw. A way out.

"There is a way out," Nihil said, his voice hoarse. "A prototype. A Phantom-class stealth submarine. In the secondary dock, Sector Seven. Its design uses an experimental, unstable 'null-field' energy reactor."

Elara stared at him in amazement. "How do you know that?"

"I saw it," Nihil answered. "The reactor is unstable because its core can't handle subspace energy fluctuations. But I can."

The plan formed between them without needing to be spoken.

"That's insane!" protested Vael. "That prototype has never been tested! Its reactor could explode and create a micro black hole!"

"Better than being burned by sacred light," Elara countered. She turned to her chief technician. "Divert all remaining power to Sector Seven. Prepare the 'Spectre' for emergency launch. Notify the core team to meet there."

She looked at Nihil. "Can you stabilize the reactor?"

"I can *be* the reactor," answered Nihil.

On the surface, Kiera Dawnbringer stood on the bridge of the 'Sun's Judgment', watching the hourglass on her desk. "Five minutes remain."

"Captain," said her lieutenant. "Our sensors detect a massive power surge inside the base. They aren't preparing to surrender. They're preparing to fight or flee."

Kiera sighed. "Most unfortunate." She gestured to her weapons officer. "Target the base's main reactor with the Dawn Cannon. Fire when the time expires."

Time was running out. Inside Omega Base, evacuation alarms wailed. Nihil, Elara, Vael, and a handful of elite researchers ran down emergency corridors towards Sector Seven.

Behind them, they could hear the thudding sound as the base's automated defense systems began firing plasma torpedoes towards the surface, trying to buy time. Above, the Imperial fleet responded with barrages that shook the entire base.

They finally reached the secondary dock. There, suspended in the water, floated a small, pitch-black submarine that seemed to absorb all light. 'The Spectre'.

"Get in!" Elara yelled.

As they rushed inside, one of the explosions from above caused the dock's ceiling to collapse. A massive metal beam fell, heading straight for the hatch they were entering.

Master Vael, who was at the rear, saw it. He didn't hesitate. He shoved Elara and Nihil inside.

"Go!" he screamed. "Don't let our research die here!"

He turned and raised his hands, trying to create an emergency energy shield with the artifact on his wrist.

The metal beam hit him. His shield shattered like glass. His body was crushed.

Nihil, from inside the hatch, witnessed the death of the man who had despised him, the man who sacrificed himself for science.

"Seal the hatch!" Elara screamed, tears streaming down her face.

The hatch door closed, muffling the sounds of destruction outside. Inside the dark submarine, there was only silence.

"Time expired," Kiera Dawnbringer said calmly on the bridge of the 'Sun's Judgment'. "Fire."

Beneath her ship, a giant cannon carved with sacred runes began to glow with light so painfully bright it hurt the eyes.

Inside 'The Spectre', Elara sat in the pilot's seat, her hands flying over the control panel. Nihil, still recovering slightly from using Void Memory, leaned against the wall, his breathing still labored.

"Nihil, I need power! Now!" Elara shouted. "The reactor's destabilizing!"

Nihil walked to the engine room. In its center, an empty crystal cylinder flickered with wild energy. The 'null-field' reactor. He placed both hands on it.

His energy was being drained rapidly, but the reactor stabilized. In the cockpit, all lights turned green.

"Power stable! Stealth systems active!" Elara exclaimed. "Release anchors!"

Outside, the Dawn Cannon fired.

A pillar of pure sacred light lanced through the seawater, boiling it instantly. The pillar struck Omega Base. There was no massive explosion. Only a silent flash of white light. As the light faded, half the base was gone. Erased from existence.

Just before the impact, 'The Spectre' shot out of its dock, becoming invisible to all Imperial sensors.

On the bridge of the 'Sun's Judgment', a technician yelled. "Captain! The anomaly's energy signature just vanished from the base location!"

Kiera frowned. "Vanished? What do you mean?"

"No trace, Captain. As if it was never there."

Kiera stared at the ruins of the base. She knew her target wasn't that easy to destroy. "Scan the entire sector. Use quantum resonance sensors. Nothing can disappear without leaving an echo."

Inside 'The Spectre', Elara navigated the submarine through undersea canyons. "Our stealth systems won't last forever. We need a diversion."

Nihil, still stabilizing the reactor, closed his eyes. He could still feel the trace of Richter's sacred power within his soul. He couldn't erase it, but perhaps... he could move it. It was his last gamble.

He ignored the warning. He forced his power out.

A stifled scream escaped him as excruciating pain wracked his body. This wasn't fatigue. This was damage. Capillaries in his eyes burst. The pain was so intense that blood began to seep slowly from the corners of his bloodshot eyes, a clear sign of the existential strain his body endured. Blood trickled anew from his nose. The skin on the back of his hands cracked like dry porcelain. He was paying the energy debt with his own physical substance.

Outside, he succeeded. The sacred trace was ripped from his soul and attached itself to a massive, sleeping Leviathan several miles away.

On the 'Sun's Judgment', alarms sounded again. "Captain! I have the signal! Extremely strong! Moving rapidly towards the northern trench!"

"Pursue!" Kiera commanded.

Most of the Imperial fleet turned and began chasing the unfortunate giant Leviathan.

"Diversion successful," said Elara, watching the enemy fleet move away on her sensors.

But as she spoke, red lights began flashing in the cockpit. "Reactor power failing!" she cried. With Nihil's Capacity now empty, his connection to the reactor severed. The stealth systems died.

On the surface, Kiera Dawnbringer, who had remained stationary above the 'Sun's Judgment', stared at her sensors. "Something feels wrong." Suddenly, a small blip appeared on her sensor, only kilometers from her position. "There they are. They deceived us."

She stared at the small blip on her map. "All weapons, lock onto that target. Bombard that area until the seabed melts."

Under the sea, 'The Spectre' was now exposed and helpless. In the engine room, Nihil coughed, spattering blood onto the floor. His body felt like it was falling apart.

"Nihil!" Elara's panicked voice came over the intercom. "They're about to fire! I need power! Even just for a few seconds! Give me something!"

Nihil stared at the now-dead reactor. He knew what he had to do. He placed his trembling, bloodied hands back onto the crystal cylinder.

He ignored the warning. He pushed.

A scream of agony tore from his mouth as he felt the bones in his arms crack under existential pressure. The flesh on his fingertips began to tear, dissolving into black dust as he tried to draw energy from absolute nothingness.

The reactor flickered to life for a moment.

In the cockpit, Elara immediately used that burst of energy to perform an emergency dive maneuver, trying to slip into a narrow underwater canyon.

But it wasn't enough. She needed more.

Nihil pushed again, his body now wracked by violent convulsions.

Above them, the Dawn Cannon on the 'Sun's Judgment' began to glow.

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