His foot faltered.For a split second, something brushed across his mind—a pulse, faint but alive.
He didn't know what it was, only that it came from the other side.His thoughts reached toward it before he even realized what he was doing—a reflex, an instinct.
The world blurred for an instant.It felt like touching a familiar presence through water—someone he knew, though he couldn't name who.
The unease in his chest eased, fading as quickly as it came.He blinked once, shook his head, and kept running.
The chamber beyond stretched wide as a stadium.Glass walls reflected endless light.
And in the center—a sea of crystal cores.
Mountains of them, rising like frozen waves.Tides of color rolled across the surface—crimson, blue, violet, gold—a living aurora trapped beneath the earth.
Each core pulsed softly, breathing in rhythm with the walls.The air trembled with their silent song.
Adrian stepped in, breath caught in his throat.The ground shimmered under his boots.He could feel power pressing against his skin, pouring into his lungs with every inhale.
He had grown up in a world where men killed for a single shard.Now he stood before an ocean of them.A world's worth of energy—sealed, waiting.
His hands shook.He didn't know whether to kneel or reach out.
He took another step forward, dizzy with awe.The light washed over him, turning his silver hair to white flame.He tilted his head back, mouth half open, stunned.He had never seen anything so beautiful, so wrong, so alive.
Behind him, the holographic circle flickered back into existence—lines stuttering, code streaming erratic and red.WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS / CHANNEL ACTIVE.
Adrian didn't hear it.He was too lost in the glow.
Outside the chamber, the right-hand corridor stirred.The outer gate vibrated once—its surface rippling like disturbed water—then split open with a slow, grinding sigh.
From the darkness beyond, movement answered.First one shadow. Then another.Dozens. Hundreds.
The creatures that had once filled the hallway began to move.They rose from their glass pods and walked—quiet, precise, obedient.
One by one, they turned toward the light.And as the red alarm continued to flash across the corridor walls,they stepped through the open gate—and entered the passage leading to him.