Ferra carried the matched blades down the stair at dawn while the rest of the camp slept above her. The three-heart control chamber waited beneath the registry, because the engine had a question to answer about the grammar carved into every surface.
Hajin followed with the lamp while Ash walked between them with his hand pressed over his quiet sigil.
The control chamber spread wide at the bottom, its three anchored hearts pulsing in slow sequence across the walls, floor, and ceiling. The room had been old when the city above it was young, while the carvings had not changed since.
Ferra set both blades on the stone table at the center and stepped back.
"Bring both blades close to the nearest heart," she said, tapping the anchored blue light with one claw. "I need to see what the opposed frequencies do to the grammar when they touch the roots."
