The movement beneath the circular plate continued for three more cycles, each stronger than the last. The metal rose only a few centimeters, but the pressure required to move it made the locks vibrate against the floor and shook dust loose from the beams. Cassandra moved the soldiers away from the opening and ordered two of them to reinforce the main entrance, while Mercedes extended ice through the cracks in the ceiling to prevent the looser blocks from collapsing. Monica spread the observatory blueprint across a table and began comparing the recorded structure with the exact position of the vibrations, marking everything that did not match the imperial design.
"We are not opening this from above," she said, keeping her eyes on the map. "If there is a pressurized chamber below, lifting the cover may turn this room into the exit that thing is looking for."
