Kael stepped into the darkness of the hallway, his footfalls echoing against cold stone. The walls were lined with faintly pulsing Runelights, their violet glow flickering like dying stars. He tried to ignore the gnawing unease settling in his gut—the feeling that the walls themselves were watching him, waiting for something.
"This way."
Sarai's voice surged in his head again, cool and indifferent as ever.
"The transport rail you seek is beyond the junction ahead. Repair it. Activate the Core node."
"I can hear you fine, Sarai," Kael muttered, adjusting his gear. His lockbreaker was now fused to his arm, skin and tech melded together, an unsettling reminder that he wasn't entirely human anymore. His movements felt alien, as though his body were never quite where it should be.
"Not that it matters," he added bitterly. "Guess you're still gonna pull the strings."
"I am not your enemy," she replied. "You are far too weak for that."
Kael didn't respond. He didn't have the energy to argue anymore.
The corridor narrowed as he moved forward, the air growing cooler and more oppressive. It felt like something was growing under the earth, pressing down on him with every step. He pressed a hand to the wall—smooth, unnaturally smooth—and felt a strange hum of energy ripple beneath his fingers.
"What's the deal with this place?" Kael asked, more to himself than Sarai. "This isn't just some ruins. You're telling me this is alive, right?"
"It was," Sarai responded, her tone unsettlingly calm. "The Core pulsated with life, but that was long ago. Now… it is only echoes."
He nodded, though she couldn't see it. Echoes. A fitting word. Everything around him felt like a memory, a piece of something that had long since died.
As Kael moved through the tunnel, the walls grew tighter. Exposed wiring snaked across the ceiling, casting occasional sparks as a distant, low hum reverberated through the ground beneath him. At the junction ahead, a massive stone door stood, sealed tight. Its surface was decorated with glowing glyphs, a combination of arcane Aeon runes that pulsed with faint energy.
He reached out, cautiously, and brushed his fingers against the glyphs. Nothing. It was dead.
But as his fingers hovered near the surface, the lockbreaker on his arm hummed to life. The metallic edge of the device crackled, and his skin tingled. The glyphs shimmered briefly, and a low mechanical click echoed from within the door.
"It's working…" he whispered, surprised at how easily the device had responded. A whirl of gears inside the door whined to life, and slowly, with an agonizing groan, the door began to shift.
Beyond the door was a vast chamber, its ceiling high and arching, lost in shadow. The center of the room was dominated by an aetheric conduit that stretched toward the far wall, glowing with energy.
There, beside the conduit, was a broken transport rail, its tracks twisted and bent under the weight of time. The system was still connected to the mainline, but a section of it had collapsed—rendering the system useless unless repaired.
"So this is the rail you want me to fix, huh?" Kael muttered, kneeling beside the damaged section. His heart hammered in his chest. This was it—the first real challenge. This was his way to the Hollowroot, but it wasn't going to be easy.
He ran a hand along the edges of the rail, inspecting the cracks and fractured wiring.
He took a deep breath, trying to center himself. "Alright. Let's see if I can do this."
His mind flickered back to the moment when the Core first pulsed through his veins. The shock of it, the rush of power, the sense that he was no longer alone. Sarai was always there—whispering, urging him forward. But now, as he knelt before the rail, she was silent. Her presence was there, but distant.
"Sarai?"
Her voice filled his mind, as cool and dispassionate as ever. "You will need to integrate the energy. Use your Resonance to activate the nodes."
His hand hovered over the rail, then pressed against it. The aetheric pulse surged beneath his fingers, the tech humming like it was alive. He could feel the energy running through the rail—raw, untamed.
Kael closed his eyes for a moment, focusing. His body had already begun to feel the weight of Sarai's presence, but now, it was different. His thoughts blurred with hers, his will bleeding into the energy beneath his palm.
For a moment, the air around him seemed to still.
Then—**
"Shit!"
He jolted back as a shock of aether tore through his arm, knocking him flat onto his back. The rail began to hum in a dissonant tone, the energy flaring uncontrollably.
"You fool," Sarai's voice was cold. "You did not center yourself properly. You are fragile—this will burn you."
Kael gritted his teeth, breathing heavily. His body was already beginning to feel the aftershocks—the power was too much for him to control. His mind raced as the resonance between him and Sarai twisted, pulling at his sanity.
But there was no choice. He couldn't go back.
"Do it."
Her words pierced through him. And despite the panic rising in his chest, Kael forced himself to stand.