The fading trail of light stretched before them, a faint ribbon glowing against the shadowed stone of the Core. Every step Metatron took seemed heavier than the last, as if the floor itself measured their intent, weighing their resolve.
Jack's breath echoed unnaturally in the hall. "This place… it's like walking inside someone's mind," he muttered. "And I don't like what I'm seeing."
Cyberius moved ahead, revolvers casually lowered but ready. "Just keep your head down, Jack. This isn't a sightseeing tour."
Metatron led, Daylight at his side, visor scanning every pulse of energy. The monoliths they had left behind had fallen silent, but their presence lingered. The walls themselves seemed to hum faintly, crystalline veins forming shifting patterns that suggested thought.
> [Exploration Objective Updated: Follow the Core Light]
The corridor widened, revealing a circular chamber at its center. At the heart floated a sphere of pure energy, larger than any man could touch, half blue, half gold, pulsing steadily. The light radiated outward, illuminating the walls with dancing reflections.
Jack swallowed hard. "The Core Heart…"
Metatron didn't respond, but his visor tracked the energy field, analyzing patterns invisible to the naked eye. Cyberius tilted his head. "It's… alive, isn't it?"
The sphere pulsed again, and the floor vibrated softly beneath them. Symbols appeared, hovering in the air like ink in water, forming lines of text in an unknown script. As Metatron studied them, a calm, resonant voice filled the chamber—not from the system, not from the sphere, but everywhere at once.
> [Wanderers of the Core… Your choices echo beyond time. The paths you take here will shape what is to come.]
Jack exhaled sharply. "Did it just talk to us… or at us?"
Metatron's voice was quiet but firm. "It's neither. It's a presence. A test. It's seeing who we are."
The sphere shifted, and light beams extended outward, creating a network of floating pathways that twisted in impossible geometry. The Core wasn't static; it responded to their awareness, adjusting as if reading their intentions.
> [Exploration Objective Updated: Traverse the Responsive Network]
Cyberius smirked faintly. "Well, if it wants to play, let's play."
He stepped forward, testing the first light path. It trembled under his weight, then stabilized. Jack followed, careful, while Metatron observed every motion, anticipating the next shift in the Core's labyrinth.
The chamber seemed endless. Every turn, every step, was a puzzle—a balance of reflex, instinct, and observation. The light pulsed faster as they advanced, guiding yet challenging them, hinting at secrets deeper within the Core Heart.
Metatron's visor flickered. "This is only the beginning. The Core watches, but it does not yet judge. We have to prove we belong here."
Jack swallowed. "Great… and I thought we'd already earned a medal just by not dying in the Rusted Pass."
Metatron didn't answer. He kept walking, his steps measured, silent—Blade Vayne moving forward into a place where the past, present, and the unknown collided.
The Core Heart awaited, and it was ready to awaken fully.
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