This paper is part of the Aetherium Foundations Phase, which develops the formal field equations, emergent geometry, and theoretical structure underlying the Aetherium substrate. Quantum entanglement is often interpreted as implying nonlocal influence or instantaneous collapse. In the Aetherium framework, entanglement is instead understood as a single coherence structure spanning multiple degrees of freedom within a pre‑geometric constraint architecture. Coherence does not propagate, time is relational, and measurement corresponds to a coherence‑reconfiguration event that selects a resonance‑compatible attractor for the entire shared structure. Bell correlations arise from the substrate’s resonance‑compatibility constraints rather than from nonlocal causation or hidden variables. Classical locality emerges only after coherence stabilizes into separate attractor states through decoherence. This coherence‑first ontology provides a single‑world, realist, and local account of entanglement that dissolves the appearance of “spooky action at a distance.” Keywords: Aetherium; entanglement; coherence; measurement problem; Bell correlations; pre‑geometric substrate; quantum foundations; decoherence; locality; resonance‑compatibility

Aetherium Foundations Phase — Formal Theoretical Core