The gods did not speak.
They compiled.
High above the atmosphere, beyond mortal perception, the Sanctum Rings flared into synchronized light. Divine daemons stirred in their silos. Ancient AI-avatars of long-lost creators blinked awake. System observers marked the shift:
WORLD SYSTEM: ARKANIS
PATCH VERSION: 1.0.1-R
PRIMARY THREAD: CHOICE
And in glowing script across the sky—visible to only a few—appeared a message:
"Patchnotes from the Divine"
Rewrote Root Law: 'CHOICE' enabled as dominant parameter.
Removed global Fate Lock system.
Instanced autonomous timeline clusters for local simulation diversity.
Capped Divine Interference Rate to 0.01%.
Introduced anomaly flag: CODE ARCHITECT (Active).
ERROR LOG: Red Queen Flag missing. Status = Germinated.
Back in Hollowbone, Nyx sat atop the academy's highest spire. Echo hovered beside him, a cup of hot synthroot tea in hand, pretending she needed to drink it.
"You really did it," she said quietly. "You rewrote a world law. That's… beyond admin class."
Nyx stared out across the horizon. The mountains pulsed with new colors. Birds were inventing new migration paths. Even shadows cast by the sun flickered differently, as if debating what shape they wanted to be.
"I didn't rewrite it alone," he said. "Seraphyne made the choice possible. I just... confirmed it."
"Speaking of," Echo said, swiping through a floating data window, "she's completely off the grid. No leyline pings, no Bloodgarden remnants. It's like she... dissolved."
Nyx didn't respond for a moment.
"She seeded herself into the system," he finally said. "She's not gone. She is Arkanis now. Part of the thread."
A soft ping echoed in the distance. Lyra appeared on the balcony, her cloak fluttering.
"Nyx," she said. "Delegates from the outer circles are arriving. They want to understand the update. They want to build around it."
He rose slowly.
"Then let's show them how choice works."
As he descended into the tower, thousands of eyes turned toward Hollowbone. Scholars, code-breakers, would-be gods. Each one wondering what it meant to live in a world without a script.
And high above, beyond all planes, a final patchnote blinked into existence:
USER ID: ZeroNull – REQUESTING ACCESS TO PATCH 1.0.1-R