Nobody breathed.Nobody moved.The stranger's face remained suspended inside the awakened network.Smiling.Calm.Patient.As if revealing responsibility for the death of an entire universe was a casual observation.Luke stared.The room felt colder somehow.Not physically.Conceptually.Because, for the first time—They weren't facing a force.Or a principle.Or a wound.They were facing a person.And somehow, that was far worse.Mira's hands trembled.The grieving being looked utterly horrified.The stranger watched both of them with mild curiosity.Like someone revisiting old acquaintances.Finally, Luke found his voice."...who are you?"The smile widened slightly.Not cruelly.Which somehow made it more disturbing."Names change."A pause."But once..."The projection flickered.White stars appeared behind the stranger.The stars of the first universe."They called me Elias."The name spread through the awakened network.Billions hearing it.Billions feeling something stirred.No
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