The Gate stood open.
Not fully.
But enough.
The circular frame hummed with unstable energy, fractured runes flickering along its inner ring as power struggled to stabilize. Segments of the structure had been overtaken by growth, thin strands threading through the metal like veins, pulsing in sync with the Bloom.
Alive.
But still functioning.
Sera moved first.
Hands already on the interface.
"I can activate it," she said.
Her voice was steady—
But tight.
Kael stood behind her.
Watching.
The ground beneath them pulsed.
Not aggressively.
Expectantly.
"Give me ten seconds," Sera said.
Kael didn't respond.
Because something was wrong.
Not the Gate.
Not the system.
Him.
The connection was still there.
Stronger now.
Closer.
He could feel the structure beneath them.
The movement of the growth inside the walls.
The shifting patterns in the ground.
It wasn't noise anymore.
It was clarity.
Sera worked fast.
"Stabilizing output—rerouting power—just hold them off if anything comes—"
Nothing came.
No enemies.
No pressure.
Just—
Stillness.
Sera hesitated.
"…That's not right."
Kael stepped forward.
The Gate pulsed.
The energy inside it flickered—
Then stabilized slightly.
He could feel it.
The system—
Reacting.
Not resisting.
Listening.
"…Kael," Sera said.
Something in her voice—
Changed.
He didn't answer.
Because he was focused.
Not on the Gate.
On everything around it.
The ground beneath the Gate—
Shifted.
Subtly.
Repositioning.
The walls—
Adjusted.
Aligning.
"…Kael," she said again.
This time—
Sharper.
"What are you doing?"
He looked at the Gate.
Then at the system.
Then—
He made a choice.
He reached out.
Not to the interface.
To the ground.
Sera grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
Too late.
The moment he touched it—
Everything changed.
The Gate surged.
Power spiked violently—
Runes igniting in full sequence—
The structure screamed.
Not mechanically.
Something deeper.
The system responded.
Not as an enemy.
As an extension.
The growth along the Gate expanded instantly—
Threading deeper into its structure—
Merging.
"No—no, stop!" Sera shouted.
Kael didn't move.
Because now—
He could see it.
Not physically.
Systemically.
The Gate wasn't just a way out.
It was a connection point.
A bridge.
"You're linking it," Sera said.
Her voice dropped.
"…Kael, you're linking it to the Bloom."
Silence.
Kael didn't answer.
Because part of him—
Already knew.
The Gate flared.
Energy surged outward—
Then inward—
Then collapsed.
The activation sequence broke.
The ring destabilized—
Flickering violently.
"KAEL!" Sera shouted.
She pulled him back—
Hard—
The connection snapped.
The Gate dimmed.
Then—
Shut down.
Silence.
Complete.
Sera stepped back.
Breathing harder now.
"…You just—"
She stopped.
Because she didn't know how to say it.
Kael stood still.
Looking at the Gate.
Dead.
Unusable.
"I can try again," Sera said.
But her voice—
Didn't believe it.
Kael didn't respond.
Because something worse had happened.
He could still feel it.
The connection.
Stronger than before.
Not fading.
Expanding.
Behind them—
The ground shifted.
Not violently.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Sera turned.
"…We need to go."
Kael didn't move.
Because now—
He understood something.
Not fully.
But enough.
The Gate wasn't shut down by the system.
It was shut down—
By him.
Sera grabbed his arm.
"Kael, MOVE."
He turned.
Finally.
And for a moment—
She saw it.
Something in his eyes.
Not gone.
Not lost.
But changing.
They ran.
Because now—
There was no escape.
Not through the Gate.
Not through the city.
Not anymore.
Far away—
At the center of the Bloom—
Valen felt it.
The surge.
The failure.
And this time—
He laughed.
"…You did it yourself."
Because now—
Kael wasn't just part of the system.
He was affecting it.