The rain had stopped.
But Neo-Virelia felt colder.
As if the city itself had heard Nyvrix's warning.
The shard hovered silently above the ruined platform, its emerald glow now threaded with faint streaks of crimson.
No one liked that.
Especially Xyren.
For nearly an hour he had been running scans across every frequency available.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Each result made him look worse.
Not better.
Elaris noticed.
Everyone did.
But nobody said anything.
Until Kael finally broke the silence.
"Enough."
Stormfang rested across his shoulder as he approached.
"Tell us what you're hiding."
Xyren froze.
For a moment the holographic displays around him flickered.
Then vanished.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Kael's expression didn't change.
Neither did Elaris's.
Which made the lie even more obvious.
Xyren sighed.
"...I was hoping I wouldn't have to explain this yet."
The words settled heavily over the platform.
Bloomfall looked away.
That alone made Elaris suspicious.
"Explain what?" she asked.
Xyren stared at the shard.
"The Gate."
Silence.
"The thing Nyvrix mentioned?"
Xyren nodded slowly.
"The problem is..."
His jaw tightened.
"I thought it was a myth."
A cold wind crossed the platform.
Even the shard seemed to dim.
"The oldest records in Virelia mention something called the First Gate."
Holographic screens reappeared around him.
Ancient symbols rotated above the ruined floor.
Fragments of forgotten history.
"The records describe it as a bridge."
"A bridge to where?"
Xyren hesitated.
"I don't know."
For the first time—
His voice sounded uncertain.
And that frightened Elaris more than any enemy.
Because Xyren always knew something.
Always.
"If it was only a myth," Kael asked quietly, "why did Nyvrix care about it?"
The answer came immediately.
"Because myths don't usually wake up."
Nobody spoke.
The implication was obvious.
Something beneath Neo-Virelia was active.
Something old.
Something powerful.
And somehow—
They had triggered it.
Hours later—
The team followed the coordinates revealed by the shard.
A transport platform carried them across the outer sectors of Neo-Virelia.
Towering neon skyscrapers gradually gave way to abandoned industrial districts.
Rust.
Broken transit rails.
Forgotten factories.
Entire sections of the city swallowed by time.
The further they traveled—
The fewer people they saw.
Until eventually—
There were none.
Only silence.
And ruins.
Elaris stood near the edge of the transport deck.
Watching the city disappear behind them.
Kael joined her.
For several moments neither spoke.
Then—
"You're thinking too loudly."
She rolled her eyes.
"You say that every time."
"Because it's always true."
A faint smile almost appeared.
Almost.
But it faded quickly.
The maze still lingered between them.
The reflections.
The visions.
The things neither of them wanted to discuss.
Not yet.
Below them, ruined streets disappeared beneath fog.
Ahead—
Dark mountains rose against the horizon.
At their center stood a structure unlike anything else.
Ancient.
Massive.
Impossible.
A tower.
Not made from metal.
Not made from stone.
Something older.
Black crystal stretched toward the sky like a frozen spear.
The moment Elaris saw it—
The runes on her arm burned.
Pain shot through her circuits.
She gasped.
Kael immediately turned.
"Elaris."
"I'm fine."
She wasn't.
The tower was reacting to her.
Or perhaps—
Recognizing her.
Across the transport deck—
Bloomfall stared at the distant tower.
And for the first time—
Nobody was watching her.
Which meant nobody saw the fear in her eyes.
Nobody heard the whisper that escaped her lips.
"No..."
The word was barely audible.
The tower reflected itself in her crystalline wings.
And hidden inside that reflection—
A symbol appeared.
Ancient.
Forgotten.
The same symbol shown in the shard's coordinates.
Bloomfall closed her wings immediately.
Too late.
Xyren had seen it.
His expression darkened.
Not with fear.
With realization.
A terrible one.
Something clicked into place.
Something he wished hadn't.
His gaze shifted toward Bloomfall.
Then toward the tower.
Then toward the shard.
The pieces were finally connecting.
And he hated the picture they formed.
As night fell—
The transport slowed.
The black crystal tower now dominated the horizon.
Larger than any building in Neo-Virelia.
Older than anything on record.
Waiting.
Watching.
The shard suddenly pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then three times.
Almost like a heartbeat.
A warning.
Or a greeting.
And somewhere deep inside the tower—
Something answered.
A distant sound echoed through the darkness.
Not mechanical.
Not natural.
A voice.
Ancient.
Sleeping.
Beginning to wake.
Xyren went pale.
Kael tightened his grip on Stormfang.
Elaris felt the runes on her arm ignite.
And Bloomfall—
Bloomfall looked like she wanted to run.