The silence that remained after the troops retreated brought no sense of relief.
Quite the opposite.
The air felt heavier.
As if something unseen was still watching from behind the walls.
Daniel stood before the panel, his eyes fixed on the constantly moving graphs.
"The numbers aren't dropping," he said softly but clearly. "Energy keeps rising even with no activity."
Leonard Graves rubbed the back of his neck.
"So we don't need to fight to make things worse. Interesting."
Richard Blackwood stood in a constant state of alertness.
His gaze shifted from the core to Ethan.
"You said it absorbs energy from outside."
Ethan nodded slowly.
His eyes were still fixed on the protective layer surrounding the core.
The blue light inside looked stable.
But he knew—
it was only surface deep.
"It's not just collisions," he replied. "It responds to our presence."
Daniel turned quickly.
"You mean… human presence?"
Ethan took a deep breath.
