The study had become the centre of the world. Every window was sealed with heavy drapes, and the air crackled with the energy of the preparations they had made. On the central table, the warding crystals were arranged in a precise geometric pattern that mirrored the ley lines beneath the city.
Ren stood at the head of the table, his posture as still as a statue. He looked down at the map, his eyes tracing the path of the resonance. Fang stood just a few inches away, his hands slightly raised, drawing the ambient magic of the house toward the crystals.
"Is the synchronization steady?" Ren asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"It is," Fang replied. "The connection to the orphans is stable. If we begin the sequence now, the machine will accept our input as part of its own core."
Ren nodded once. He reached out and touched the central crystal, his fingers tracing the sharp, cold edge. "Then let us begin. We start with the primary harmonic."
