The Eclipse Codex, resting on the crystalline altar in The Nexus, continued to glow, its secrets unfolding at Lyra's subtle touch. They saw the intricate patterns of the Veil's thinning, the precise timing of the Great Eclipse, and most terrifyingly, the direct energy signature of Kiran's "seed" and Liam's "anchor."
"He's in distress," Lyra whispered, her fingers tracing a fluctuating pattern on the Codex. "The seed… it's reacting violently. He pushed too hard, or he's been pushed. They're trying to integrate him too quickly." Elena's blood ran cold. She remembered the echo of his rage, his defiance. Now, it was replaced by a jumbled, desperate wave of overwhelming pain and disorientation.
"We have to warn him," Elena insisted, her voice tight with urgency. "We have to tell him what we've learned, what this 'seed' truly is."
Lyra nodded, her gaze fixed on the Codex. "The patterns allow a momentary resonance, a controlled bridge across the Veil, if the conduit is open. The seed... it makes him an open conduit." She began to manipulate the crystalline altar, focusing its energy through the Codex. A soft, high-pitched hum filled the chamber, growing steadily. "We can send him a signal, a thought, a feeling of clarity. But it will be brief. And it will alert them."
Elena didn't hesitate. "Do it." She placed her hand on the glowing Codex, feeling its strange, ancient power thrumming beneath her palm. She closed her eyes, focusing her will, imagining Kiran, exhausted, in pain, but fighting. Liam is an anchor. The seed is a tether. The Codex is the pattern. You can control it. You can break the chain. She poured her thought, her hope, her newly gained understanding into the growing hum of the Nexus, hoping it would reach him, a beacon in the storm of his struggle.