The energy beneath her fingertips shifted direction. At first, she couldn't tell whether it was her own power or the influence of the Moon Spirit. But the result was clear. The lights in the room dimmed for a brief moment. One of the beeping sounds cut off. Then it returned. Elara's heart quickened. "Did you see that?" she asked internally. "Yes," said the Moon Spirit. "Do it again."
Upstairs, just as the meeting had ended, the device in Adrian's pocket vibrated. When he looked at the screen, there was a single-word alert: "Local fluctuation". Adrian stared at it for a few seconds. Then the lines on his face hardened. This wasn't an ordinary error log coming from Elara's room. This showed that something inside the system had responded.
