Deep beneath Labyrinth Theta, something ancient stirred.
The Core wasn't just a machine. It had never been. It was alive — or close enough. Not with a heartbeat, but with hunger. Echoes. Memories. Souls twisted into data and fuel. And now it sensed Kael's awakening.
A thin strand of luminous mist leaked from the walls, following the scent of his power. The corridors whispered with voices of lives long devoured — Kael's own past selves, echoes of people he loved, betrayed, or forgot. They didn't cry out for help.
They called him home.
—
Above, Serida's team crossed into a zone where the architecture bent. The walls bled memory. Steps rewound beneath their feet. Each movement threatened to collapse reality into a loop.
Ashbourne paused. "We're close. Too close."
Vexa reached out and recoiled. "This place… it's thinking."
Serida narrowed her eyes. "Then we'll make it bleed."
They pressed forward, weapons drawn, glyphs prepared.
But the Core knew they were coming.
And it smiled with someone else's face.