The moment it awakened—
Existence changed.
Not violently.
Not destructively.
Simply—
Less.
The endless branching futures above the rewritten foundation began collapsing inward at accelerating speed.
Possibilities merged.
Choices narrowed.
Uncertainty weakened.
Reality itself seemed to exhale and settle into singular paths.
Lyra looked around in horror.
"…Okay."
Pause.
"…That is REALLY bad."
Kaelith's voice sharpened immediately.
"Possibility compression increasing exponentially."
Aria frowned.
"…It's forcing outcomes…"
Seraphine whispered,
"…Everything feels heavier…"
Elara stepped beside Adrian.
"…Because certainty removes movement."
The Witness remained calm.
Watching.
The Watcher, however—
Looked conflicted.
Adrian noticed instantly.
"…You agree with it."
Silence.
Then the Watcher answered honestly.
"…Part of me does."
The pressure intensified.
Across the growing realities, unstable futures disappeared first.
Then experimental ones.
