The choice finally... demanded a price.
Not a threat.
Not a punishment.
But an unavoidable consequence.
Aurelia felt it as a pressure more real than ever before.
No longer merely a possibility.
But something that was beginning to happen.
The entity beside Aurelia tensed slowly.
Its lines of light moved rapidly.
Capturing the changes that could no longer be delayed.
The units behind guarded the core.
But now they acted more like a buffer.
As if preparing to face the wave that was coming.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"The consequences are starting to manifest directly," he said softly.
"No longer delayed."
Orion nodded.
"The choices made... are beginning to show their results."
Ragnar exhaled.
"This is the point where everything is paid for."
Aurelia understood.
And this was the most difficult phase.
She stepped forward slowly.
Traversing the path that had branched out.
And there.
She saw something that made her stop.
