The quarantine basin cracked open above the Atlantic like a dying star.
Across orbital monitoring systems, the structure glowed white-hot as its containment rings tore apart one by one. The trapped collapse fragments inside the basin no longer moved like scattered debris. They spiraled together in tightening layers, merging into a dense storm of unstable resonance.
Inside the chamber, alarms drowned out almost every other sound.
Elira's hands flew across her console.
"Containment integrity below thirty percent."
Kael stared at the orbital projection. "If that thing ruptures over Earth—"
"It won't stay in orbit," Mara finished grimly.
The growing mass inside the basin had begun pulling nearby resonance fields toward itself. Satellite systems drifted slightly off alignment. Communication arrays flickered. Even the Gate's outer harmonic membrane trembled faintly in response.
Sarya felt the instability directly through the hybrid scar.
