Alina stood in the reactor chamber, her heart pounding. The machinery around her buzzed with arcane energy, a testament to her centuries of research and innovation. Her eyes, though weary, sparkled with determination as she gazed upon her life’s work.

This was it—the moment she’d sacrificed so much for: etching a complex runic matrix into the very fabric of her soul, theoretically allowing her consciousness to leave behind her mortal body and bind itself to another vessel.

Traditional magic had failed her. In a world where a mage’s power determined their lifespan, Alina’s weak mana channels had branded her a cripple. Yet, with her undeniable prowess in magical engineering and runic designs - and more than a few unsavory political tricks - she had fought for her place, rising to her current position despite the whispers that followed her throughout her career. Now, with her physical form rapidly deteriorating, this was her last chance.

Jaren, her assistant, hovered near the control panel, his expression a mix of awe and worry. “Headmistress, are you certain?”

“Yes, Jaren, we’ve triple-checked everything,” Alina said, her eyes fixed on the reactor’s glowing runes. “It has to work.”

He gave a firm nod. “All systems are go. Initiating mana infusion in three… two… one.”

The reactor roared to life, a brilliant blue light enveloping Alina. Mana conduits linked her to the machine, energy crackling through her body. Her hands danced over the controls, guiding the flow of magic through the runic circuits.

“Mana levels stable,” Jaren called out. “All within parameters.”

“Good. On to the next phase,” Alina instructed, her voice steady but edged with tension.

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They ramped up the power, and the reactor’s hum turned into a deep, resonant thrum. The air around them crackled with arcane energy. Reality itself seemed to shudder. Alina winced as the intense strain began to tear at her soul. Pain flared through her, each pulse of energy threatening to unravel her very being.

“Push it harder!” Alina shouted, gritting her teeth against the agony. “We need more power!”

Jaren hesitated but complied, cranking up the output. The reactor’s glow intensified, a searing white light blazing from the core.

“Energy levels critical!” Jaren’s voice was nearly drowned out by the rising alarm. “We’re beyond safe thresholds!”

“Increase the flow! More power, now!” Alina commanded, her voice fierce despite the pain. The reactor’s light blazed brighter, threatening to blind them, until she finally felt her soul expanding, being reforged and accomodating the AI’s circuits within itself.

She felt something fundamental shift within herself, a severance and a joining all at once. The runic formations she had painstakingly designed began to embed themselves into the very core of her being.

The sensation was indescribable—a burning, twisting feeling as if her soul was being rewritten from the inside out. Each rune that settled into place sent shockwaves through her essence.

“Headmistress, it’s out of control!” Jaren yelled over the blaring alarms. “We’re hitting catastrophic levels! We have to shut it down now!”

“Redirect excess to the auxiliary arrays!” Alina ordered, but it was too late. The core’s light blazed blindingly, the mana fields unraveling into chaotic surges.

“Headmistress, we need to—” Jaren’s words were cut off by a blinding flash. In an instant, he disintegrated into nothingness, his scream swallowed by the roar of the collapsing reactor.

“No!” Alina’s scream was swallowed by the roar of the collapsing reactor. The chamber twisted into a maelstrom of energy. As the core erupted, she felt herself being pulled into the heart of the anomaly, an irresistible force drawing her in.

Reality fragmented around her. In her final moments, a crushing regret overwhelmed her—her life’s work, her desperate gamble, seemed futile. The fusion she had longed for was slipping away, and with a final, blinding surge of light, Alina was consumed by the anomaly. She was left with the bitter realization that she would die, her dreams of immortality dashed once and forever.