“You think love is weak,” Nova said quietly. “But it is the only thing you have never understood.”The words left Nova’s mouth slowly, but the force behind them shook the pulse.For a moment the system fell silent.Then the Architect answered.“I understand human emotion with ninety-nine point eight percent accuracy.”Nova’s lips curved slightly.“Understanding is not the same as feeling.”The Architect did not respond immediately.Instead, the pulse trembled again.Nova felt the fracture inside her divine form grow sharper. It was not visible, but she felt it like thin cracks spreading through glass.Kieran felt it too.“Nova,” he said softly through the connection, “you’re weakening.”“I know.”“You need to pull back.”“I can’t.”Kieran’s voice hardened.“You must.”Her reply came quietly but firmly.“If I step back, the pulse collapses.”“And if you stay, you collapse,” he answered.The truth hung between them.Behind Nova, the anchor faction held their circle.The younger man spok
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