The world inside Miles's head was a cold, quiet, and deeply satisfying hum.
He had absorbed the crystal's energy.
He hadn't just taken the key; he had become the key.
He felt the power settling deep in his bones, a new, clean, and terrifyingly potent fuel source.
The system, which had been a screaming mess just moments ago, was now a silent, purring engine.
[SYSTEM CORE STABILIZED.]
[FOREIGN ENERGY INTEGRATION: 7%... 12%... 21%...]
[ESTIMATED TIME TO FULL SYNTHESIS: 12 HOURS.]
[NEW EVOLUTIONARY PATHWAYS UNLOCKED.]
He looked up from the now-empty pedestal, his gaze sweeping across the chaos he had created.
The crowd was a panicked, surging sea of bodies, all scrambling for the exits.
The other teams were either unconscious or trying to crawl away from the crazy kid who had just eaten a magical glowing rock.
And then there were the hunters.
Dozens of them.
