The projection flickered violently across the underground cathedral.
Every synchronized individual stared silently toward the crimson display showing the creature moving through Sector Seven's outer corridors. Warning sirens continued echoing through the underground structure while red emergency lights pulsed across the massive black pillars surrounding the chamber.
But no one moved.
Not immediately.
Because the thing crawling through the corridor—
Didn't look alive in any normal sense.
Its enormous body twisted unnaturally across the ceiling and walls simultaneously, black flesh layered over metallic skeletal structures that constantly shifted beneath the surface like unfinished machinery trying to imitate biology.
And the eyes—
Dozens of glowing white eyes opened randomly across its body.
Watching everything.
Not blinking.
Not reacting emotionally.
Just observing.
Ayan felt cold spread slowly through his chest.
Because unlike the network—
This thing didn't feel intelligent.
It felt hungry.
Primary Source's voice echoed through the underground cathedral quietly.
"…A Harvester scout."
Silence followed immediately afterward.
The synchronized individuals visibly stiffened.
Even the silver-black haired woman looked disturbed now.
Aelira's expression hardened sharply.
"…How did it enter this world already?"
The cocoon pulsed unevenly again.
"…Dimensional boundaries weakened faster than predicted."
The projection shifted.
The creature continued moving through the corridor slowly, its limbs piercing directly into the metallic walls as though gravity itself meant nothing to it. Everywhere it touched—
The network structures blackened.
Died.
Crimson lines flickered and collapsed instantly beneath contact with the creature's flesh.
Ayan narrowed his eyes sharply.
"…It's destroying the network."
The synchronized young boy nearby answered quietly.
"…Harvesters consume adaptive structures first."
Ayan glanced toward him briefly.
The boy's crimson eyes remained fixed on the projection.
"…The network represents resistance."
Resistance.
That word settled heavily.
Because suddenly—
The network no longer looked like the biggest threat in the room.
The projection trembled violently.
Then the creature stopped moving.
Slowly—
All of its glowing white eyes turned toward the projection itself.
Toward them.
Ayan's instincts exploded instantly.
"…It sees us."
The synchronized woman immediately deactivated the display.
But too late.
The underground cathedral shook violently.
BOOOOOOOM.
The entire structure trembled hard enough that several suspended chambers cracked nearby while crimson warning lights intensified across the walls.
The sirens changed tone.
Higher.
Urgent.
Primary Source's voice lowered sharply.
"…It detected the Core."
Aelira immediately stepped forward.
"…Seal the outer sectors."
The synchronized individuals moved instantly afterward, disappearing rapidly through surrounding corridors as emergency systems awakened throughout Sector Seven.
Massive metallic doors began closing across distant passages while crimson barriers activated around sections of the underground structure.
Ayan looked toward the cocoon sharply.
"…You're afraid of one scout?"
Silence followed briefly.
Then—
"…You do not understand what a Harvester is."
The underground cathedral darkened slightly.
The cocoon pulsed harder.
"…A scout exists only to locate viable worlds."
Ayan's heartbeat slowed.
"…Meaning?"
Primary Source answered calmly.
"…If it confirms intelligent life remains active here…"
The projection above the cathedral flickered again.
This time showing the gigantic biomechanical entities drifting through space.
The Harvesters.
"…The main fleet will accelerate arrival."
Cold silence filled the chamber.
Ayan clenched his jaw tightly.
One scout.
And already the entire network was panicking.
The realization hit hard.
Because if this thing represented only a scouting organism—
Then the real Harvesters would be far worse than anything he imagined.
The underground structure shook again.
Closer this time.
A synchronized individual rushed back into the cathedral rapidly.
"…Primary Source."
His voice remained controlled—
But tense.
"…Outer defense units eliminated."
Ayan's eyes narrowed.
Eliminated already?
That fast?
The synchronized man continued.
"…The scout is adapting to network architecture."
Primary Source pulsed sharply.
"…Impossible."
Aelira's expression darkened further.
"…No."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"…That's exactly what Harvesters do."
The underground cathedral trembled violently again.
Then suddenly—
The lights flickered.
For half a second—
Darkness swallowed the entire chamber.
And within that darkness—
Ayan heard something.
Breathing.
Not human breathing.
Something massive inhaling slowly somewhere beyond the underground walls.
The lights returned instantly afterward.
But the atmosphere had changed.
Every synchronized individual looked unsettled now.
The silver-black haired woman activated another projection rapidly.
This time—
The corridor from earlier was gone.
Completely destroyed.
Black organic growths spread across the walls where the scout passed, consuming network structures continuously while faint white light pulsed beneath the flesh.
And in the distance—
A massive hole had been torn directly through several underground sectors.
The synchronized woman's voice lowered.
"…It's moving toward the cathedral."
Ayan's chest tightened.
Fast.
Way too fast.
Primary Source finally spoke again.
"…Prepare synchronization defense protocols."
Several synchronized individuals immediately hesitated.
Interesting.
Fear again.
Aelira noticed too.
"…You cannot be serious."
The cocoon pulsed calmly.
"…Conventional resistance will fail."
Ayan frowned sharply.
"…What's synchronization defense?"
Silence spread briefly.
Then the young synchronized boy answered quietly.
"…Emergency forced integration."
Ayan immediately looked toward him.
"…Meaning?"
The boy's crimson eyes lowered slightly.
"…Sector Seven can temporarily synchronize compatible humans directly into the network."
A cold feeling spread through Ayan's chest instantly.
Compatible humans.
The room slowly became silent again.
Then—
Every synchronized individual in the cathedral looked toward him.
Ayan's expression hardened immediately.
"…No."
Primary Source's voice echoed softly through the underground cathedral.
"…You are the highest compatibility subject currently present."
Ayan stepped backward slightly.
"…I said no."
The cocoon pulsed steadily.
"…Without synchronization, the scout cannot be stopped."
Aelira immediately moved in front of him.
"…You are not using him."
For the first time—
Primary Source's voice sharpened slightly.
"…Humanity does not survive your sentimentality."
The underground cathedral trembled again.
Closer.
Then—
Far beyond the chamber—
Something screamed.
Not human.
Not mechanical.
A sound so alien and empty that Ayan felt his blood run cold instantly.
The synchronized individuals visibly stiffened.
Several crimson lights across the cathedral died completely.
And somewhere within Sector Seven—
The Harvester scout had entered the inner sectors.