Page 25

E ntering the core chamber approach, the heat slammed into me like a physical blow, pressing against the protective gear, searing my exposed skin.

The roar of uncontrolled energy filled the vast space, a deafening cacophony that vibrated through the floor and deep into my bones, making my lifelines protest against the dissonance.

Before us, the fractured crystalline heart of the ancient machine pulsed with angry, unstable red light, suspended in a web of conduits, one of which—the primary feeder—glowed cherry-red, visibly strained, threatening rupture.

Beside me, Nirako and Pravoka stood ready, their faces grim but resolute. We each held two harmony stones retrieved from the Crystal Depths, their cool surfaces contrasting with the oppressive heat of the chamber. Their gentle hum felt pitifully small against the failing core's raging power.

My gaze locked onto Jen. She stood poised before the core interface platform, a small, determined figure facing the heart of the storm.

Her back was to me, but I sensed her fear overlaid with fierce concentration.

Her markings glowed with a steady silver light, already resonating with the ambient energy, preparing for the immense task ahead.

The memory of the night before—her warmth, her scent, her body yielding beneath mine—flashed through my mind, a stark counterpoint to this moment of extreme peril.

The need to protect her warred with the knowledge that only she could do this, that I had to trust her, enable her, even if it meant exposing her to unimaginable danger.

"The placement must be simultaneous," I reminded Nirako and Pravoka, pitching my voice low but sharp to cut through the roar.

I pointed to the three critical junctions Jen had identified along the overloaded conduit—points where the chaotic energy feedback seemed most concentrated.

"Two stones at each point. The moment they are placed, the harmonic field should engage, creating the window Jen needs.

We hold position only as long as necessary to ensure placement, then withdraw immediately.

The energy backlash when the core stabilizes could be. .. significant."

They both gave curt nods, their eyes fixed on the glowing conduit, assessing the risks.

The heat radiating from it was intense enough to make the air shimmer.

Approaching it, let alone touching the junctions to place the crystals, would require immense fortitude and would undoubtedly cause burns despite our protective gear.

"Jen," I called, ensuring I had her attention before we moved.

She turned slightly, her profile illuminated by the core's angry red glow. Her eyes met mine, wide but focused. I sensed her readiness, her fear held tightly in check by sheer force of will.

"We move now," I said. "Be ready."

She nodded once, then turned back to the interface, placing her hands lightly on the crystalline hemisphere, bracing herself.

"Now!" I commanded Nirako and Pravoka.

We moved as one, darting forward into the oppressive heat radiating from the conduit.

Speed and precision were essential. We reached the first designated junction point.

The metal casing of the conduit glowed, radiating heat that scorched through my gloves even before direct contact.

Ignoring the searing pain, Nirako and I slammed our harmony stones against the junction point simultaneously.

A brief, intense pulse of pure, cool energy flowed from the crystals, creating a localized field of shimmering blue light that pushed back against the conduit's angry red glow. The discordant hum lessened fractionally in this immediate area.

"Next point!" I yelled, moving quickly along the conduit's length, ignoring the pain blossoming in my hands.

Pravoka met me at the second junction. Again, we placed the stones simultaneously.

Another pulse of blue light, another localized dampening of the chaotic energy.

The air around the conduit seemed to stabilize slightly, the violent energy fluctuations momentarily smoothed by the crystals' harmonizing influence.

"Final point!" I reached the third junction just as Nirako arrived from the first. We placed the last two stones. The blue harmonic field flared, connecting the three points, creating a temporary shield, a bubble of relative stability around the overloaded conduit.

I sensed the shift instantly—a fractional decrease in the dissonance radiating from the core. It was subtle, almost imperceptible against the background roar, but it was there. The window.

"Jen! Now!" I shouted, projecting strength, stability, anchoring her consciousness as she prepared to plunge into the storm.

I felt her take the plunge.

It was like feeling a lightning strike. A surge of raw, chaotic energy slammed into her as she opened her markings fully to the core interface.

I sensed her gasp, her mental shields buckling under the initial assault.

Pain, sharp and blinding, flooded between us.

My own lifelines flared in sympathetic agony, the protective gear offering little defense against this level of psychic feedback.

Focus, Jen! Find the harmony! I pushed the thought forward, reinforcing it with the memory of the Harmony Circle, the pure resonance of the crystals, the feeling of our joined hands.

I sensed her struggle, her consciousness tossed on a raging sea of dissonant energy and fragmented data streams—echoes of the machine's ancient purpose warring with the chaos of its decay.

The whispers Nirako had warned of intensified, swirling around her mental defenses, tempting her with false patterns, trying to pull her under.

Anchor to me! I commanded silently, pouring my own energy, my own will, into the connection, trying to build a firewall around her mind. Visualize the sequence! Override the chaos!

I poured every memory of her into the link—her smile in the firelight, the tremble in her breath when she let me kiss her, the feel of her hand in mine. I turned devotion into armor.

Twelve seconds. The timeframe felt impossibly short.

I sensed her latch onto the core's underlying structure, the original harmonic pattern buried beneath layers of corruption.

Her markings blazed, a silver fire against the core's angry red.

She began to input the counter-harmonic sequence.

Through our link, I sensed her focused intent project the stable, blue-green patterns of harmony into the interface.

The core fought back.

Waves of pure chaotic energy pulsed through the interface, slamming against her mental shields.

Pain, white-hot and searing, ripped through our connection.

I staggered, gritting my teeth, forcing myself to remain standing, to maintain the anchor.

Nirako and Pravoka had already retreated to the edge of the chamber, the heat and energy near the conduit becoming unbearable, but my focus remained locked on Jen, on lending her every ounce of strength I possessed.

The harmony stones we had placed began to overload, their blue glow flickering, struggling to maintain the dampening field against the core's raging feedback loop. The conduit beneath my feet pulsed violently, threatening to rupture. Time was running out.

Faster, Jen! Push through!

I sensed her gather her remaining strength, her will hardening into a razor edge. She poured everything she had into the counter-harmonic sequence, forcing the stabilizing pattern into the core's chaotic matrix. Layer by layer, the new harmony overlaid the old dissonance.

For one terrifying moment, the feedback intensified, threatening to shatter us both. The pain was excruciating, stealing my breath, blurring my vision. My lifelines felt like they were tearing apart from the strain.

Then... a shift.

Subtle at first, then growing stronger. The chaotic energy patterns began to align, responding to the counter-harmonic.

The jagged red visualizations I perceived softened, smoothing into more ordered flows.

The roar of the core began to lessen, the discordant notes resolving into something approaching a stable, resonant hum.

The interface beneath Jen's hands shifted color, the angry red fading, replaced by the steady blue-green glow of stable operation.

She did it.

Relief, fierce and potent, washed through me, momentarily eclipsing the pain. Pride surged—pride in her strength, her courage, her unique ability to find harmony amidst chaos.

The stabilization sequence completed. The feedback loop broke. The core settled into its new, stable resonance pattern.

And the energy backlash hit.

With the core no longer raging against the dampening field, the contained energy snapped back along the conduit pathway. It struck the harmony stones, shattering them instantly, then slammed into me, bypassing the failing protective gear, searing through my lifelines like a physical blow.

Agony exploded through my system. It felt like every nerve ending was simultaneously ignited, my lifelines overloaded, burning from the inside out. My vision dissolved into white light. I felt myself falling, collapsing, the stone floor rushing up to meet me.

My last conscious thought, felt dimly as darkness claimed me, was of Jen. Safe. Successful.

Harmony restored.

At a price.