The scream that tore through the chamber wasn't human. It wasn't even organic—it was the sound of reality itself fracturing, a high-pitched wail that bypassed Jax's ears to drill directly into his skull. The fleshy floor beneath them undulated violently as the rift widened, revealing a yawning abyss filled with swirling colors that defied description.
The Observer's tiny hand clamped around Jax's wrist with surprising strength. *"Hold on!"*
They launched upward just as the first appendage burst from the rift—a whip-like tendril covered in blinking eyes that swiveled independently, each pupil contracting as they locked onto Jax and the Observer. More followed, their surfaces shifting between solid and liquid as they quested blindly through the chamber.
Jax's wrist-console sparked violently, its damaged display flashing erratic warnings:
**[ALERT: REALITY BREACH]**
**[ENTITY CLASS: MEMORY REAPER]**
**[COUNTERMEASURES: NONE]**
The Observer didn't hesitate. With a gesture, she tore open a glowing portal in the chamber wall—not a natural opening, but a ragged wound in reality itself. *"Through here! Now!"*
They tumbled through just as the Memory Reaper's tendrils closed around where they'd been standing. The portal snapped shut behind them with a sound like a guillotine blade falling.
Jax found himself sprawled in what appeared to be the ruins of an ancient laboratory—one far older than Veridia Prime. The walls were constructed of some pearlescent material that shimmered in the low light, covered in etchings of spirals within spirals. Strange machinery lined the perimeter, their designs both familiar and utterly alien.
The Observer floated to the center of the room, her spiral eye pulsing rapidly. *"We're safe. For now."*
"Where are we?" Jax rasped, pushing himself up on shaking arms.
*"The first garden,"* the Observer whispered. *"Where she planted the seed."*
As if summoned by the words, the far wall shimmered and became transparent, revealing a massive observation window. Beyond it stretched an impossible vista—a dozen cities floating in a void, each connected by glowing threads to a central, spiraling mass. The first city glowed brightest among them, its spires arranged in perfect concentric circles.
Jax's breath caught. "That's—"
*"The original sin,"* the Observer interrupted. She pressed a tiny hand against the window, and the view zoomed in on the first city's center. A massive structure dominated the plaza—not a building, but a gargantuan cradle identical to the one she'd emerged from, though this one was cracked and empty. *"Where she split herself apart to create the lock."*
The console on Jax's wrist suddenly beeped, projecting a flickering hologram of Eiden's face. But this recording was different—older. His eyes were sunken, his face gaunt with exhaustion.
*"If you're seeing this, you've found the truth,"* the hologram said, its voice crackling with static. *"The Architects aren't the enemy. They're the key. All thirteen fragments must be gathered before the Spiral consumes them all."*
The Observer made a sound like a sob. *"He knew. All this time, he knew."*
The hologram continued, *"The data chip I left you contains more than code. It's a map—to the other fragments, and to the weapon that can force them to recombine."* Eiden's image flickered wildly. *"But be warned—the Spiral has grown smarter with each cycle. It's learned to create its own hunters. And it will do anything to stop—"*
The recording cut off abruptly as the entire room shuddered. The pearlescent walls darkened as something massive moved beyond them—something that cast jagged shadows against the transparent surfaces.
The Observer went rigid. *"It's found us."*
Before Jax could respond, the far wall exploded inward.
Not from physical force.
From *memory*.
The bricks didn't shatter—they *unremembered* themselves, dissolving into fragments of forgotten history as the Memory Reaper forced its way through. Up close, Jax could see its true form—not a creature, but a living hole in reality, a three-dimensional wound shaped like a many-angled crystal, each facet reflecting a different terrible moment from the cities' histories.
The Observer grabbed Jax's hand. *"The chip! Show it the map!"*
Jax fumbled with the blood-crusted data chip as the Reaper advanced, its very presence causing the laboratory to unravel at the edges. The moment the chip connected with his console, a massive holographic projection erupted between them and the creature—the same map of connected cities, but now with thirteen pulsing points scattered throughout.
The Reaper hesitated.
*"Now!"* the Observer cried.
Jax didn't understand, but he acted on instinct—he grabbed the nearest point on the map and *pulled*.
The laboratory dissolved around them.
For the second time that day, Jax fell through layers of reality. But this time, he wasn't alone—the Memory Reaper tumbled with them, its crystalline form flashing through countless reflections as it screamed that terrible, mind-rending scream.
They landed in a ruined cathedral, its vaulted ceilings collapsed inward. Moonlight streamed through the broken stained glass, casting prismatic shadows across the figure kneeling at the altar—another Architect fragment, this one clad in tattered robes, its face hidden beneath a hood.
The fragment looked up as they crashed into its sanctuary.
And the Memory Reaper *pounced*.