The second pulse shook the entire mountain.
Unlike the unstable rhythm of the dying Worldheart, this one felt cold.
Wrong.
The moment it echoed through the underground ruins, every formation in the chamber flickered violently as black corruption surged upward from the lower corridors like floodwater breaking through a dam.
Several Bureau operatives nearly lost balance instantly.
Even breathing became difficult.
Krishak's eyes opened sharply.
His hand remained pressed against the guardian's corrupted scales while silver spiritual energy continued stabilizing the creature temporarily.
But now-
Something else had awakened below.
And the guardian felt it too.
Its massive body trembled violently beneath the corruption while ancient fear radiated through their spiritual connection.
Not fear for itself.
Fear of what was rising.
The old man stared toward the crimson glow spreading from beneath the black doorway.
His expression had become colder than ever before.
"It should still be sealed."
Raghav immediately looked toward him.
"What exactly is sealed down there?"
The old man remained silent for several seconds.
Then he answered quietly.
"A fragment."
Silence.
Dev blinked slowly.
"I'm beginning to deeply hate vague ancient people."
Even now, nobody laughed.
The corruption pulse came again.
BOOM.
This time the chamber floor cracked further beneath their feet while distant roars echoed from deep underground.
The Worldheart's unstable rhythm weakened sharply afterward.
Like something beneath it was feeding on its spiritual energy.
Professor Devika's scanning formations collapsed entirely.
"All lower energy signatures are distorting."
Her voice shook slightly despite her composure.
"I can't differentiate the Worldheart from the corruption anymore.
That sentence alone terrified everyone.
The Keeper's projection flickered violently nearby.
"Ancient seal integrity failure detected."
Its voice distorted repeatedly through static.
"Dimensional contamination levels increasing."
The chamber became still.
Director Rao's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Dimensional contamination?"
The old man finally turned toward them fully.
And for the first time since meeting him-
His calmness disappeared completely.
"During the ancient wars," he said quietly, "not all enemies came from ordinary civilizations."
Cold silence spread through the chamber.
Krishak immediately understood.
The projection inside the prison beneath the academy had warned them already.
Ancient invaders.
Cosmic wars.
World-severing formations.
But hearing it again now
Here beneath the mountains-
Made the truth feel far more real.
The old man continued.
" Some beings crossed dimensions through corrupted spiritual pathways."
His gaze shifted toward the crimson light below.
"They could not fully exist within our reality naturally."
The pulse echoed again.
"Yet fragments remained after the sealing operations."
Ananya's expression sharpened.
"You mean something from outside Earth is beneath the Worldheart?"
"No."
The old man's answer came instantly.
"Beneath the seal connected to the Worldheart."
That distinction mattered.
And somehow made things worse.
The corrupted guardian suddenly growled deeply again.
Its massive body shifted protectively in front of the lower corridor despite the corruption consuming it.
The creature remembered its purpose.
Even after thousands of years.
Protect the seal.
Krishak's silver-blue eyes narrowed slightly.
"The intruder disturbed the seal."
"Yes."
The old man's voice carried clear frustration now.
"He was searching for restoration methods."
"Restoration?" Professor Devika repeated.
"He believed the Worldheart could be repaired by forcefully reactivating the ancient convergence systems."
The old man looked toward the rising crimson corruption.
"But the lower seal depended on the Worldheart remaining stable."
Realization spread across the chamber immediately.
Dev rubbed his face slowly.
"So in trying to save the heart...-"
He weakened the prison beneath it," Ishita finished quietly.
The chamber shook again.
Then suddenly—
A scream echoed faintly from the lower depths.
Human.
Followed by another.
Then silence.
Several Bureau operatives instinctively tightened their weapons.
Nobody wanted to imagine what was happening below.
The corruption flooding upward thickened further.
Within the crimson mist, faint black shapes began moving unnaturally along the lower corridor walls.
Not fully physical.
Distorted.
Like shadows struggling to form bodies.
Professor Devika stepped backward immediately.
"What are those?"
The old man's expression darkened further.
"Residual manifestations."
Dev stared.
"That somehow sounds worse than monsters."
"They are worse.
The shadows twitched unnaturally inside the crimson corruption.
Some resembled humanoid outlines.
Others appeared completely wrong.
Limbs bending incorrectly.
Bodies phasing in and out of existence.
Fragments trying to cross fully into reality.
The Keeper's projection destabilized again.
"Emergency protocol recommendation."
Its voice echoed sharply.
"Immediate chamber evacuation advised."
No one moved.
Because they all understood instinctively
If they left now, whatever was awakening below might fully emerge unchecked.
The guardian suddenly roared again.
This time directly toward Krishak.
The spiritual resonance between them surged violently for a brief moment.
And within that resonance-
Krishak saw another fragmented memory.
Ancient cultivators standing around the Worldheart Chamber during the final days of the Sealing Era.
The guardian chained willingly beside them.
Massive formation pillars activating beneath the mountains.
And beneath the Worldheart-
A crack in reality itself.
Darkness pressing against the other side.
The vision vanished instantly.
Krishak's expression hardened.
"It's not a creature.
"
Everyone looked toward him sharply.
The pulse below echoed again.
Then Krishak spoke quietly.
".It's a breach."