Chapter 33: The Core's Scream
The Council members rushed out of the administration building, their masks discarded, their expressions a mixture of political fury and genuine fear. The chaos released by the ruptured conduit—the purple mist—was now thickening, beginning to aggressively siphon energy from the nearest magical structures.
Dean Eris, her authority shattered, was left paralyzed as the Council Master—a stern, imposing mage named Advisor Varrus—took command.
Varrus ignored Dean Eris entirely, focusing his furious gaze on Lance, the only person who had provided an explanation amidst the collapse.
"Silverwoods! The schematics you displayed—the Shadowed Realm—is that the destination of this chaos?" Varrus demanded, gesturing wildly at the escalating purple mist.
"It is the overflow reservoir," Lance confirmed, pointing to the ruptured conduit. "Luke Silverwoods designed it to be the safety valve for the contained chaos beneath the school. Your system failed to manage the pressure, and now the valve is wide open. The containment unit is about to fracture."
Advisor Varrus, seeing the undeniable evidence of the rupture, made a terrified, critical decision.
The Critical Assignment
"The safety of the entire continent depends on that containment," Varrus roared. "If that chaos is released, it will tear open every Rift Luke Silverwoods sacrificed his power to seal! Silverwoods, you and your allies possess the only knowledge of Luke's true architecture."
Varrus pointed at the Clock Tower. "You are hereby tasked by the Council with one assignment: Seal the leakage point and re-stabilize the Master Valve. Use any means necessary, but you must not, under any circumstances, allow the containment unit to fracture!"
He then turned to the assembled guards. "Dean Eris is under arrest pending investigation. Assist Silverwoods and his team. Their orders are paramount!"
Lance was officially in command of the Aetherium's stability.
Before Lance could issue orders, the chaotic energy reached a critical threshold. The purple mist intensified and began to coalesce around the Clock Tower, transforming into shimmering, dark violet tendrils that dug into the bedrock.
A terrifying sound erupted from the ground beneath the Aetherium—not an explosion, but a deep, mournful, agonizing scream.
The Core's True Nature
The ground shook violently. Lance, using the Mote Sensor Globe, was overwhelmed by the sensory input. The contained chaos wasn't just raw, undirected energy.
He realized the awful, final truth about the contained power: the energy Luke had imprisoned wasn't just Motes; it was a vast, sentient, living entity—a being of pure, boundless magic trapped beneath the school.
The chaos was alive.
The energy entity, now feeling the rupture of its confinement, was struggling to escape.
"It's sentient!" Lyra shouted, pulling Ren back from the conduit. "The chaos is fighting to get out!"
The purple tendrils ripped the stabilizing copper from the Clock Tower's base, and the tower groaned, tilting visibly.
"The containment is fracturing!" Kian yelled, his face pale as he watched the structural data overload on his salvaged equipment.
"We have to get to the Master Valve now!" Lance commanded, his voice sharp with determination. "It's the heart of the prison. If we can't seal the rupture, we have to seal the prisoner."
He looked at Opal, whose volatile energy was momentarily overwhelmed by the raw, sentient power. "Opal, Kian, Ren—you stabilize the exterior! Elara, Lyra, you're with me! We're going to the Valve!"
They ran toward the Clock Tower, Lance knowing that Luke Silverwoods had not just built a containment system—he had built an elaborate, sophisticated prison for a god of chaos. The battle for the Aetherium was about to become the battle for the fate of a trapped, sentient force.