6:13 AM.
The door to Tian's quarters slid open.
Amara stepped inside, her eyes faintly aglow with cosmic flecks, like galaxies simmering behind her irises. Her voice was steady, but a tremor of awe lingered beneath it.
"I can leave my body… up to 250 meters. Eight minutes, no more. Then my strength collapses."
Tian froze. For a heartbeat, disbelief held him still. Then his expression shifted—hesitation, then hope sparking to life.
"Eight minutes…" he murmured. "Amara, this could change everything."
6:20 AM.
The corridor of Level 2 stretched ahead, cold steel lined with faint blue lights. The team marched side by side, helmets tucked beneath their arms, boots echoing against the floor.
"It's not just power," Amara said, her glow catching in the polished walls. "It's vision. Our eyes in the darkness. I can lead us through what others can't see."
Tian's reply came low, resolute.
"Then for the first time, we walk with a guide. We finally have a chance."
6:32 AM.
Level 1's vast lobby brimmed with life.
One hundred eighty-nine residents gathered beneath dim emergency lighting. Holo-screens flickered, replaying sacred orb data, overlaying Amara's faintly glowing eyes like a prophecy fulfilled.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Tears welled. Hands clasped tightly. The despair of yesterday shifted—just slightly—into fragile, trembling hope.
Farewells followed.
Arms wrapped around shoulders. Quiet blessings whispered like prayers. Children clung to their guardians, eyes wide, unblinking, as if memorizing the faces of their protectors.
"Be safe…"
"Bring back the light…"
The words hung heavy in the air, a chorus of fragile faith.
Down in Level 3's armory, steel sang with motion.
Exosuits hissed shut. Survival packs clicked into place. Energy weapons hummed as they powered on. Leaders spoke in clipped, urgent tones, their eyes burning with determination.
The garage opened its iron maw on Level 1. Forty-four expeditioners assembled in formation.
Tian's core team at the center.
Scouts at the flanks.
Security to the rear.
Vehicles rumbled awake—sleek exploration pods, armored crawlers, their engines a steady heartbeat beneath the silence of fear.
The blast doors groaned. Metal teeth parted.
A yawning abyss stretched before them.
The convoy stepped forward.
Amara's glow flared softly, a lone ember cutting through the void. Her light painted a narrow path where headlights failed, where shadows swallowed all else.
Spectral flora shimmered at the edges of sight. Strange, unearthly structures loomed like mirages. Radios crackled in nervous bursts:
"Stay close… follow her lead…"
Tian glanced back once.
Faces stared at him—worn, anxious, but burning with determination.
He clenched his jaw.
The road ahead is uncertain. But as long as her light shines… hope marches with us.
The convoy advanced, swallowed slowly by endless black.
Forty-four souls.
One radiant guide.
Tiny sparks of light moving through the abyss.
Lines of hope threading fragile paths between despair… and salvation.