The shard vibrated violently, then snapped in half.
But the room did not collapse.
Instead, the light from the walls began to shift. The webbing pulled inward, spiraling toward the core. The creature screamed, not in pain, but in frustration, in disbelief. It was being pulled back, sealed not by force, but by invitation. Jude had become the lock, the cipher, the very key it once used turned now against it.
But the cost was immediate.
His nose bled. His eyes burned. His thoughts began to fracture.
Darren saw it happening. "Jude!"
Jude didn't answer. He couldn't. Every word, every breath was being consumed by the pattern. He stumbled forward, placing what remained of the shard into the heart of the core. It melted into the machine, and the floor ignited with symbols that had no human equivalent.
The creature howled one last time.
Then it was gone.
The chamber fell silent.
Jude collapsed.
