The office felt smaller with three people inside.
Kael stood near the door, alert but calm. Elira remained by her desk, trying very hard to look like she was not staring at him.
Sarya stood between them.
This was the first time both her worlds were in the same room.
And it felt… fragile.
"We need clear rules," Sarya said.
Elira nodded quickly. "Yes. Good. Rules are good."
Kael glanced at Sarya. "You decide."
That was new.
She had spent most of her life being overlooked, talked over, ignored.
Now both sides waited for her words.
She took a slow breath.
"Rule one," she said. "No one else crosses without my approval."
Elira agreed at once. "Understood."
Kael gave a short nod.
"Rule two," Sarya continued, "no recording Kael. No samples. No scans. Nothing that turns him into an experiment."
Elira hesitated only for a second. Then she nodded. "Agreed."
Kael's shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Rule three," Sarya finished, "if either world becomes unstable, we shut everything down."
Elira frowned. "Shut down how?"
Sarya looked at her palms. The marks shimmered faintly under the skin.
"I close the door."
Silence filled the room.
Kael spoke first. "And what happens to you?"
She met his eyes.
"I stay where I am needed."
Elira swallowed.
"That sounds permanent."
"It might be."
No one liked that answer.
But no one argued.
---
A low vibration passed through the floor.
All three felt it.
Not strong.
Just enough to notice.
Elira rushed to her monitor and turned it on.
The graphs spiked suddenly.
"That's not from here," she said quickly. "It's coming from across the city."
Sarya felt it too.
Not in her ears.
In her chest.
The threshold pulled tight for a second.
Like something knocking too hard on a door.
Kael stepped closer to her. "Is it them?"
"No," she said quietly.
It felt different.
Messier.
Human.
Elira zoomed in on the map display.
"There," she said. "An industrial zone. Old power station."
Sarya's stomach dropped.
"Someone is trying to copy it."
Elira looked at her sharply. "Copy what?"
"The energy pattern," Sarya replied.
The suited men.
The SUV.
They had not walked away.
They had started testing.
Kael's jaw tightened. "Can they open a door?"
"Not fully," Sarya said. "But they can tear something."
Another vibration shook the lights.
This one stronger.
Elira grabbed her tablet. "If they overload the field without an anchor—"
"It won't connect," Sarya said.
"It will break," Kael finished.
Silence.
Then Sarya made a decision.
"We're going."
Elira blinked. "Going where?"
"To stop them."
---
The drive was short.
Too short.
Smoke already rose faintly above the old power station when they arrived.
Police cars blocked the main road.
Unmarked vehicles surrounded the building.
Elira parked two streets away.
"They moved fast," she muttered.
Sarya stepped out of the car.
The air felt wrong.
Heavy.
Like before a storm.
Kael stood beside her, eyes sharp.
Inside the station, machines hummed loudly.
Bright white lights flashed through broken windows.
"They built a generator," Elira whispered.
Sarya felt it clearly now.
They were trying to force open space.
Not knowing what would answer.
Another shockwave burst outward.
A nearby streetlight exploded.
People screamed in the distance.
Kael turned to Sarya. "You must anchor it."
"I know."
They moved quickly toward the fence.
Guards shouted.
One pointed at Kael. "Who the hell is that?"
No time.
Sarya lifted her hand.
The world thinned.
The convergence field opened around them.
Not fully visible.
But enough.
She stepped through the fence without touching it.
Kael followed.
Elira hesitated for only half a second—then stepped through too.
Inside, chaos.
Large coils sparked wildly.
Engineers shouted over the noise.
In the center of the room, space bent slightly, like heat above fire.
They were close.
Too close.
"If that tears fully," Kael said, "it will not be controlled."
Sarya walked straight toward the distortion.
A suited man blocked her path.
"Stop right there!"
She did not slow.
"You don't understand what you're doing," she said calmly.
He reached for her arm.
The mark on her palm flashed.
He stumbled back as if pushed by wind.
Not hurt.
Just stopped.
She reached the center.
The distortion crackled loudly now.
Through it—
She saw trees.
Dark sky.
Aurelion.
But twisted.
Unstable.
Something large moved on the other side.
Elira's voice shook slightly. "They overpowered the resonance curve."
"In simple words," Kael said.
"They pushed too hard," Sarya replied.
The distortion widened.
Claws pressed against invisible glass from the other side.
Sarya stepped forward.
Closed her eyes.
And pulled.
Inward.
The machines screamed as energy redirected.
The distortion snapped tight.
Collapsed.
All the power in the room died instantly.
Silence fell heavy.
Emergency lights flickered on.
The engineers stared at her.
The suited men stared at her.
One of them whispered, "It responded to her."
Elira stepped forward quickly. "Shut it down," she ordered the engineers. "Now."
No one argued.
They had seen enough.
Sarya turned slowly.
"You cannot force a door," she said clearly. "It must be held."
The suited man who tried to grab her stepped forward again.
"Who are you?"
She met his eyes calmly.
"Someone who knows better."
Kael stood at her side.
Solid.
Real.
Not hidden.
The men saw him clearly now.
Questions formed in their faces.
Fear too.
Good.
Sarya felt the threshold settle once more.
Balanced.
Contained.
She turned to Elira.
"This is why we move carefully."
Elira nodded slowly. "They won't stop."
"No," Sarya agreed.
"They'll try again."
"Yes."
Kael looked at both of them.
"Then next time, we are ready."
Sarya looked back at the quiet, dark machines.
This was no longer just about her apartment.
No longer just about wolves.
Now governments knew something was possible.
And humans, more than monsters, hated being told no.
That night, back in her apartment, Sarya stood before the mirror.
Her reflection looked calm.
Strong.
Whole.
But her eyes held something new.
Responsibility.
The door shimmered faintly behind her.