The air in the bunker seems to drop ten degrees. Kade steps forward instantly, his protective instinct flaring so hot it burns through the bond.
"No," he says, his physical voice sharp and absolute. "Absolutely not."
Elara doesn't flinch. She just looks at him with a calm, ancient patience that is terrifying to see in a child. "It’s the only way, Papa. The knot is eating the world. If I don't untie it, there won't be a world left to play in."
"Elara, it’s a cosmic entity," Kade says, his voice softening as he kneels beside her, trying to reason with a seven-year-old about astrophysics and magical theory. "It’s dangerous. If you touch it, it could erase you."
"It won't erase me," she says simply. "I’m the Blueprint. I’m not made of the same stuff as the world. I’m the stuff that holds t
