The containment chamber destabilized.
The fragment expanded suddenly — not full-scale Hunger, but enough to warp air and gravity.
Kaito extended one half of his divided Origin to counterbalance.
The fragment responded by pulling toward it.
Not consuming.
Merging.
Silver Eyes screamed in warning.
"If it reconnects, the division collapses!"
Kaito split his stance, forcing equilibrium through raw will.
The facility walls cracked.
Scientists fled.
The Cult leader remained, eyes wide with revelation.
"See?" he whispered. "Completion."
Kaito roared — not in anger, but in strain.
He forced the fragment into rotational stasis.
And crushed it into inert light.
The desert fell silent.
But something had shifted.