As Nirar's fingers raced against time across the control panel, and the shouts of the approaching Royal Guard neared the bend, a suffocating tension filled the air. Suddenly, Ortinus froze completely, and his sword slipped from his hand, hitting the ground with a resonant clang.
The "Blue Feather" that Ortinus kept inside his necklace was glowing with a violent, pulsing light, as if it were a human heart beating at a frantic pace. Ortinus felt a searing heat burning his chest and shouted at the top of his lungs, warning his comrades.
Ortinus (Screaming hysterically): "Fall back! Get away from the door immediately! Something is coming from inside... something uncontrollable!"
Nikos (Dragging Darius back): "What has gotten into you, Ortinus? Nirar is about to open the door!"
Nirar (Leaping away from the control panel): "The device is recording energy readings off the charts! It's not electrical energy... it's pure energy!"
At that moment, the door did not open in the traditional sense. Instead, an explosion of brilliant blue light erupted from behind the steel, followed by a thunderous cry that shook the entire palace to its foundations—a cry that was not human, but a mixture of a thundering chirp and the roar of a storm.
"BOOOOOM!"
The massive steel door flew off as if it were a piece of paper, smashing into the opposite wall and tearing the approaching Royal Guard to shreds. From the midst of the smoke and dust, the Blue Bird soared out, its wings spanning wide enough to touch the corridor walls, its body shrouded in a halo of blinding light.
Meron fell to his knees, his eyes wide with awe, while Romulius and Nikos retreated as they watched the legendary creature hovering above their heads within the narrow passage.
Meron (In a trembling voice): "Is it... is it alive? Kayan said it was dead! How did it return?"
The comrades rushed inside the shattered laboratory to understand what had happened. The scene was both cinematic and terrifying. The laboratory ceiling had completely collapsed due to the "stars" launched by the mysterious figure from outside. One of those astral orbs had fallen directly onto the shelf containing the Heart Stone solution.
Nirar (Examining the debris): "Look! The stars that stranger launched didn't just destroy the palace; they were the 'miracle' we needed. The explosion shattered all the solution vials, and because the floor tilted from the shelling, the concentrated liquid leaked directly toward the experimental platform where the bird's body lay."
Romulius (Holding a broken vial): "Amazing... the liquid flowed directly into the bird's open beak. It swallowed a concentrated dose of pure Heart Stone solution the exact moment the energy of the 'stars' pierced its body. It was a simultaneous electrical and biological shock!"
Ortinus (Watching the bird as it began to circle them peacefully): "It no longer needs us to save it... it is the one who will save us now. Look at its eyes; it is no longer that tortured creature Kayan described. It has regained consciousness."
The Blue Bird paused in mid-air and emitted a soft chirp that made everyone feel a sudden sense of serenity, despite the sound of continuous explosions outside.