The facility did not sleep.
Machines hummed softly beneath layers of earth. Old lights flickered like they were tired of being useful. Somewhere deep inside the structure, Raxton hung in silence, waiting for something it had not yet decided it trusted.
Xin stood in front of it again, this time without anger in his chest.
Just weight.
Rion watched from a few steps back. He had not said anything for a while, which usually meant he was thinking five moves ahead.
Alaric's voice came through the speakers, steady and precise. "We do not rush this again. The next attempt must be controlled."
Xin nodded. "Tell me what it needs."
"It does not need strength," Alaric said. "It needs consistency. Raxton reacts to internal instability because it amplifies the pilot's intent. Rage becomes feedback. Fear becomes paralysis."
"So I need to be empty," Xin said.
"No," Alaric replied. "You need to be deliberate."
Rion crossed his arms. "Explain it like he punches things."
Alaric paused. "Fine. Raxton does not want a weapon. It wants a decision maker. Someone who can choose not to swing when every instinct says to kill."
Xin exhaled. "That's gonna be hard."
"That is why it will work," Alaric said.
They moved to the lower chamber.
This part of the facility was newer. Or at least less broken. Walls layered with dense composite material. Emitters embedded in the ceiling and floor in precise geometric patterns.
"The anti Spinat zone," Rion said.
"Yes," Alaric replied. "Incomplete, but functional."
Xin walked to the center of the room. "This weakens Zane."
"It disrupts Spinat resonance," Alaric said. "Inside this field, Zane will lose access to adaptive reinforcement. His body will still be monstrous, but finite."
"And the injection," Xin asked.
"One shot," Alaric said. "Administered at peak suppression. Too early and it fails. Too late and the injector dies."
Rion's eyes narrowed. "Who is injecting."
Silence.
Xin looked at the floor. "Me."
"No," Rion said instantly.
Xin looked up. "I'm the bait. I'm the target. And if something goes wrong, Raxton is the only thing that keeps me alive."
Rion stepped closer. "You are not disposable."
Xin met his gaze. "Neither is the planet."
Alaric broke in. "We are not deciding this now. Focus. The trap requires timing and misdirection. Zane cannot suspect containment."
Xin smirked. "He won't. He thinks we're panicking."
Almost on cue, the lights dimmed.
Pressure crept in from above.
Zane's voice slipped through the walls like smoke.
"Still hiding underground," he said. "You know, I miss when you screamed."
Xin closed his eyes.
Did not respond.
Zane laughed softly. "That silence. That's new. I like it less."
The pressure vanished.
Rion let out a slow breath. "He is circling."
"Yes," Alaric said. "And we will let him."
Hours passed.
Xin trained inside the chamber. Not physically. Mentally.
Alaric ran controlled stress simulations. Audio feeds of destruction. Images of burning cities. Recorded screams. Every button Zane would press.
Xin felt the rage rise.
He did not act on it.
Again.
And again.
His breathing slowed. His fists unclenched.
Raxton responded faintly above.
A low hum.
Barely there.
Rion noticed it first. "It moved."
Xin looked up.
One plate shifted slightly, aligning itself closer to his shoulder.
Alaric's voice sharpened. "Good. That is synchronization. Minimal, but real."
Xin swallowed. "So it's not rejecting me."
"No," Alaric said. "It is testing your patience."
A distant boom echoed through the rock.
Another city died somewhere.
Xin felt it.
He did not move.
Rion placed a hand on his shoulder. "We end him soon."
Xin nodded.
"I know," he said. "And when we do, it won't be because he pushed me."
He looked up at Raxton.
"It'll be because I chose it."
Far above the facility, Zane hovered in silence, eyes narrowed, sensing something subtle shift.
"Careful," he muttered. "They're getting quieter."
And quiet prey was the dangerous kind.