The Spire had become a labyrinth of alarms and killing fields. Matthew moved with adesperate, singular focus. He carried Lyra on his back, her arms wrapped tightly around hisneck, while he used a flickering field of Void-gravity to drag Seraphina's unconscious bodybehind them like a floating casket.Every corridor was a pristine, white throat designed to swallow them. Automated turretsdropped from the ceiling, spitting high-frequency rounds. Matthew didn't even look at them.He simply walked. Any projectile that entered the three-foot radius around him was erasedfrom reality."Matthew, your eyes..." Lyra whispered, her voice trembling. "They're turning... they're notblue anymore."He didn't answer. He couldn't. His mind was focused entirely on the map he was building inhis head, trying to find a way out of a fortress built by Gods."The elevators are locked," Lyra groaned, her head resting on his shoulder. "They'll vent theatmosphere if we try the stairwells. We're trapped, Matthew."Suddenly, the overhead speakers crackled. The sound wasn't the smooth, synthesized voiceof the Spire's AI. It was a stuttering, distorted human voice."M-Matthew? Can you hear me?"Matthew froze in the middle of a hallway. He knew that voice. "Andre?""Don't talk, just listen," Andre's voice was frantic, the sound of rapid typing audible in thebackground. "I'm in the Sub-Level 4 control hub. I... I can't stop the High Architect fromfinding you for long. He's already descending from the Apex. If he reaches you, it's over.""Andre, where are you?" Matthew demanded, his eyes darting to the nearest securitycamera. "We're coming to get you. We're leaving this place together."There was a long, painful silence. "I can't, Matt. I've... I've already done things I can't comeback from. Just... save Lyra. There's a waste disposal chute in Sector 7, Sub-Level 2. It's theonly shaft they haven't shielded yet. It leads directly to the Drowned Levels. If you jump, I'lltrigger the anti-grav cushions at the bottom.""Andre—""Go!" Andre screamed. "The Sentinels are three minutes out! Save her, Matthew! If you loveher, run!"Matthew's jaw tightened. He looked at the cameras, wanting to believe his friend, but thewords of the Older Matthew echoed in his mind: The Void does not share. Was Andre thefirst piece of the puzzle to fall?He didn't have time to decide. The sound of heavy, rhythmic footsteps—hundreds ofthem—began to echo from the far end of the hall."Sector 7," Matthew barked. "Hold on tight, Lyra!"He ignited the Void in his feet, using the recoil of controlled miniature explosions to propelthem forward like a dark comet. They tore through the Sector 7 security doors, melting thelocks with a touch. In the center of the room was a massive, circular hatch."Jump!" Andre's voice echoed through the room.Matthew grabbed Lyra's hand, pulled Seraphina's floating form close, and leaped into theblack maw of the chute.
