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### **Chapter 19 - The Cost of a King**
The silence in the Command Wing was a fragile, precious thing. It was the quiet of a held breath, the calm before the storm. But it was a lie. Beyond the thick blast door, the Vault was screaming.
It wasn't the shriek of a single monster. It was a chorus. A chittering, skittering, clawing tide of sound that vibrated through the metal floor, a living carpet of malice. The air grew thick, heavy with the stench of wet fur, old blood, and a sickly sweet undertone Jin now recognized as the scent of the Great Bloom.
`[ALERT: MASSIVE BIOMASS CONVERGENCE DETECTED]`
`[ESTIMATED THREAT LEVEL: OMEGA]`
`[WARNING: BREACHING IMMINENT]`
"They're here," Sera's voice was a blade of cold steel, cutting through the rising fear. She stood before the main blast door, her VX-07 Pulse-Lance humming with a low, deadly thrum. "Clara, get that shield up. Full power. Rosa, on me. Scarlett, you have high ground. Jin…"
