The void shimmered with scattered light.
At the outer threshold of the Constellation Network, where newly integrated systems still adjusted to the rhythm of the lattice, a young sovereign floated in silent anticipation. The storm that had birthed it was long gone, its violent turbulence replaced by an eerie calm.
Yet traces of that chaos still lived within the being itself.
Golden energy flowed through the sovereign's form like liquid sunlight trapped within glass. Its silhouette had stabilized into something vaguely humanoid—arms, torso, a head-shaped crown of radiant energy—but its body still fluctuated in subtle fractal patterns. At times it seemed solid, almost tangible. At others it dissolved into a cloud of shimmering light before reforming again.
Lightning trapped in crystal.
That was the closest description Ethan could find.
And today, the young sovereign would face its first true test.
Inside the Convergence Axis Chamber, Ethan stood quietly at the center platform.
