The vibrations from the Magic Tower were now felt deep within the bone. The silver light radiating from its peak began to destabilize, pulsing like a heart forced to beat too fast. Across Aethelgard, the citizens poured out of their homes, staring in horror at the tower they had long considered their protector, now transformed into a beacon of disaster.
In the basement, Harold attempted to slash through the mana threads surrounding Rainnes. However, every time his blade touched the energy, he was repelled by a searing shockwave.
"Harold, stop!" Caine shouted through the comms. "That isn't a standard shield! It's a feedback circuit. The more you attack it with physical force, the faster it drains Anne's consciousness up there!"
"Then what do I do?!" Harold roared, dodging a bolt of silver lightning arcing from the walls.
"Use a counter-frequency!" Caine's voice came through clearly despite the sound of explosions in the background. "I've activated The Catalyst transmitter towers in the lower district. In seconds, ultrasonic waves will hit the Tower's foundation. When the vibrations become harmonic, you'll have exactly three seconds to pull Rainnes out!"
At the pavilion, Anne no longer felt as if she were in the garden. She felt submerged in dark water, pulled by a thousand invisible hands toward a massive, glowing door. There, she saw her mother—not as a memory, but as an energy entity drained to her limit.
"Mother..." Anne reached out her hand.
"Don't, Anne..." her mother's voice echoed, filling every cell of her body. "They don't want to save me. They want to turn me into an eternal battery for this city. Run with Caine. Run with the man of the sword."
"No," Anne whispered, her glowing amber eyes now turning into pure gold. "I won't run anymore. If they need energy, I will give them something they cannot possibly contain."
In the physical world, Silas and Valerion recoiled. Anne stood up slowly, yet her hair drifted upward as if gravity no longer applied. The air around her began to roar—not with the sound of a spell, but with the thunderous drone of a massive steam turbine spinning beyond its limits.
"What is this?!" Silas screamed, trying to erect a barrier as the air pressure in the pavilion spiked drastically. "This isn't the Tower's power!"
"This is Iron Resonance," Anne declared, her voice now vibrating with a strength that could crack glass. "You thought steam and magic couldn't merge? Watch closely, Silas. This is what happens when logic meets the miraculous."
At that exact moment, Caine's Catalyst transmitters began firing high-frequency waves. A powerful low humming sound slammed into the Magic Tower from the outside. Inside the basement, the mana threads binding Rainnes began to falter and dim.
"Now, Harold!" Rainnes cried.
Harold didn't hesitate. He leapt through the fading remnants of the energy, caught Rainnes, and rolled away just as the silver circle detonated.
The explosion sent a shockwave through the entire Tower. In the upper pavilion, Silas was thrown into the quicksilver pool, while Emperor Valerion was forced to cling to a marble pillar to avoid falling.
Anne stood amidst the storm of energy, but she no longer appeared to be suffering. She closed her eyes, feeling the safety of Harold and Rainnes through the vibrations of the ground.
"The game is over, Your Majesty," Anne said, looking down at the Emperor, who now appeared small before her. "Rainnes is free. Your Tower is overloading. And I have just ordered The Catalyst to seize every energy node in this city."
Caine appeared on Anne's communication screen, his face drenched in sweat but wearing a wide smirk. "Sectors one through ten are under our control, Anne. Aethelgard is now officially powered by Isfellan steam. The Magic Tower has just lost its energy monopoly."
Emperor Valerion looked out toward the city. The crystal lamps that had been dark were beginning to flicker back to life one by one—but their light was no longer the cold blue of the mages. It was the warm, steady orange of Catalyst technology.