By morning, the knock came.
Three steady taps on Sarya's door.
She was already awake.
Kael stood near the window, watching the street below. Elira sat at the small kitchen table, scrolling through her tablet with tight lips.
"They found you faster than I hoped," Elira said quietly.
Sarya walked to the door.
When she opened it, two people stood outside.
One was a woman in her early forties, sharp suit, calm eyes. The other was a younger man holding a thin black case.
The woman smiled politely.
"Good morning, Miss Vale."
Sarya did not step aside.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Director Hollen," the woman replied. "I represent the Department of Energy Research and National Stability."
That was a long name for something that did not sound friendly.
"You were at the power station," Hollen continued. "We saw the footage."
Of course they did.
"You handled something our best engineers could not."
Sarya folded her arms. "You should stop trying to build doors."
Hollen's smile did not move.
"We are not here to build doors. We are here to make sure no one else does."
Behind her, Kael shifted slightly. The movement was small, but Hollen noticed.
Her eyes moved to him.
Interest sharpened.
"So it's true," she said softly.
Sarya stepped just enough to block the view.
"You're not coming inside."
Hollen nodded once. "Fair."
She gestured to the man beside her. He opened the black case.
Inside was a thin device. Smooth. Metallic. No visible buttons.
"We want a partnership," Hollen said.
Elira appeared behind Sarya. "Partnership means control."
Hollen looked at her. "Doctor Elira Nwanze. We're aware of your work."
Elira did not look impressed.
Sarya focused on the device.
"What is that?"
"A stabilizer," Hollen replied. "It detects dimensional stress before rupture. It gives early warnings."
Kael spoke for the first time. "And in return?"
Hollen's eyes returned to Sarya.
"You work with us."
There it was.
Not a request.
An expectation.
"You cannot handle global interference alone," Hollen continued. "Other countries are experimenting. Smaller groups are trying to copy what happened at the station. We can contain this."
"And what do you want from me?" Sarya asked.
"Access."
The word sat heavy.
Kael's voice lowered. "Access to what?"
"To observation," Hollen said smoothly. "To understand how the threshold responds to you. Nothing invasive."
Elira almost laughed. "That is what invasive always sounds like in the beginning."
Hollen's gaze hardened slightly. "If we do nothing, someone will tear a hole big enough that none of us can close it."
Silence settled.
Sarya knew the woman was not lying.
Humans would keep pushing.
That was what humans did.
She looked at Kael.
Then at Elira.
Then back at Hollen.
"I set the rules," Sarya said.
Hollen inclined her head. "We are listening."
"No experiments on him," Sarya said clearly. "No attempts to open portals without me. No weaponizing what you learn."
Hollen's smile faded a little. "Weaponizing is a strong word."
"It is the correct word."
A pause.
Then Hollen nodded slowly. "Agreed."
Sarya studied her face.
She did not fully trust it.
But she believed the woman thought she was telling the truth.
"For now," Sarya said.
Hollen extended a small card. "We will begin with information exchange only. No facilities. No labs."
Sarya did not take the card immediately.
"Three hours," she said quietly.
Hollen blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"I get three hours before reset," Sarya explained. "That window is mine. You do not interfere with it."
Elira looked at her sharply.
Hollen's eyes narrowed slightly. "Reset?"
Sarya did not answer further.
Some truths were not for them.
Hollen accepted that boundary.
"For now," she echoed.
Sarya finally took the card.
The woman gave a small nod and stepped back.
"We will be in touch."
The two officials walked away calmly.
No threats.
No raised voices.
Which somehow made it worse.
---
When the door closed, the apartment felt tight again.
Elira exhaled. "You just made a deal with a government agency."
"I made limits," Sarya corrected.
Kael approached her slowly.
"You trust them?"
"No."
"Then why?"
Sarya looked toward the faint shimmer of the threshold.
"Because if we refuse completely, they will move without us."
Elira nodded slowly. "That is true."
Kael crossed his arms. "Humans build cages for what they do not understand."
Sarya met his eyes.
"I will not let them cage you."
Something in his expression softened.
"I know."
A vibration passed through her palm suddenly.
Different from before.
Not violent.
Not forced.
But urgent.
She turned toward the mirror.
The shimmer behind it deepened.
Kael stepped closer. "What is it?"
"It is not the city," Sarya said quietly.
"It is Aurelion."
---
The threshold opened.
This time the forest was not calm.
Smoke rose in the distance.
The sky carried a strange red glow.
Creatures moved quickly through the trees.
Not hunting.
Running.
Kael's expression changed instantly.
"That is not natural."
Sarya stepped through without hesitation.
Elira grabbed her wrist. "Wait."
Sarya looked back.
"You cannot follow fully," she said gently. "You don't survive long there."
Elira released her slowly.
"Come back."
Sarya nodded once.
Then she crossed.
Kael followed.
The forest air hit hard and warm.
Ash drifted down lightly from above.
A distant roar echoed across the trees.
Not wolf.
Not anything she had heard before.
Kael turned slowly, scanning.
"The northern ridge," he said. "That is where the fire began."
"Fire?" Sarya asked.
Kael's jaw tightened. "No lightning. No storm."
Understanding settled heavy.
Humans were not the only ones learning.
"Something opened without me," Sarya whispered.
Another roar split the air.
Closer now.
The ground trembled slightly.
Through the trees, a massive shape moved.
Scaled.
Burning at the edges.
Its eyes glowed like coals.
It was not from here.
It had crossed.
And it was not alone.
Kael stepped in front of Sarya.
"You must anchor the field."
"If I close it, anything trapped here stays here," she said.
"And if you do not close it," he replied, "more will come."
The creature lifted its head and saw them.
Its mouth opened.
Heat burst outward in a wave.
Sarya felt the threshold pull violently.
Unstable.
Strained.
She raised her marked hand.
The air bent around her.
The creature lunged.
Kael leapt forward to intercept.
Claws met scales.
The forest shook.
Sarya reached inward for the connection.
With the same steady center she used at the power station.
The same calm she forced when the world tried to split.
The threshold tightened.
The tear in the sky flickered.
The creature roared again, louder.
And behind it—
More shapes moved.
Watching.
Waiting.
This was no accident.
Someone on the other side had learned to push.
And they were testing her.
---
Back in her apartment, the stabilizer device on the table began to glow faintly.
Elira stared at it.
"That is not good," she whispered.
On the screen, the stress levels spiked higher than anything she had seen before.
And Sarya was on the other side.