The chamber at the labyrinth's center unfolded like a blooming star, walls dissolving into radiant energy that wrapped around Elias like a second skin. His senses sharpened beyond human limits—colors unseen, sounds unhearable by normal ears, time flowing in spirals.
The figure who had guided him stepped aside, revealing a pulsating core of pure light—the Origin Pulse. It throbbed with the birth of galaxies, the collapse of realities, and the endless flow between.
"You must merge," the figure said, voice both a whisper and a thunderclap. "Become one with the Pulse, or remain tethered to a fading existence."
Elias hesitated. Merging meant losing himself entirely, becoming a part of something beyond comprehension—but also the only way to truly protect what remained of the universe.
Images flashed: worlds saved, lives lost, cycles broken, but at a price no mind could fully grasp.
Sienna's face appeared in his mind, steady and resolute. His crew. His humanity.
He closed his eyes, feeling the pulse's rhythm synchronize with his own heartbeat.
A surge of golden energy enveloped him, dissolving the boundaries between self and cosmos.
In that moment, Elias was no longer a man.
He was becoming the infinite.
The chamber sang with creation's song.
And the universe held its breath.