The tunnel tightened behind them with a grinding, organic rumble—
as if the planet itself were sealing them in.
Seris glanced back nervously. "Okay… that's not creepy at all."
Lysera walked ahead without fear, barefoot, her glowing steps leaving faint ripples across the living floor. Her presence alone seemed to calm the shifting walls.
Eris caught up to her.
"What exactly is the Core? A machine? A creature? A god?"
Lysera did not look at him.
Her golden eyes stayed fixed forward.
"It is all three."
Astra inhaled sharply. "You mean it's a planet-wide biomechanical consciousness?"
Lysera nodded.
"Created before human history. Before any star you know was born."
Nymera frowned. "Why… why would something like that choose Eris?"
Lysera stopped walking.
The others nearly collided into her.
She turned to Eris, her voice suddenly softer—almost reverent.
"Because his body carries a pattern that matches the primordial signal. Only one among all living species."
Eris blinked. "I didn't ask to match anything."
Lysera tilted her head slightly.
"No chosen one ever does."
Another tremor shook the passage—this one deeper, accompanied by a strange humming vibration that resonated through their bones.
Liora gripped her staff. "That felt… alive."
Lysera resumed walking.
"The Core is stirring. It senses us."
Seris sighed. "Does it sense us in a 'welcome' way or in a 'crush them like insects' way?"
Lysera did not answer.
That alone was answer enough.
---
THE LIT CHAMBER
After minutes of silent walking, the tunnel widened into a vast circular chamber.
The ceiling arched high above them, glowing with red constellations—patterns they did not recognize.
The air was warm.
Breathing, pulsing.
Alive.
At the center of the room stood a massive structure:
A spiraling column of crystal and metal, rotating slowly, veins of golden fire running through it.
Astra whispered in awe:
"That's… the Core Conductor."
Lysera inclined her head.
"Correct."
Eris took a step forward—but the moment he did, the Core Conductor pulsed, sending out a wave of golden light that swept through the chamber.
The others stumbled back.
Eris stood firm.
Lysera watched him carefully.
"The Conductor recognizes your presence."
Eris exhaled. "So what now?"
Lysera approached the spiraling column.
"With your resonance awakened, it will seek to merge its consciousness with yours."
Eris froze.
"Wait—merge?! As in… take over my mind?"
"No," Lysera said. "It will not dominate. It will blend."
Nymera frowned. "And if the merge fails?"
Lysera answered without hesitation.
"Your body will burn from the inside out."
Seris threw up his arms. "Great. Amazing. Why don't we just feed him to a volcano while we're at it?"
Lysera turned to Eris.
"You may refuse. The Core will sleep again. But the planet will continue collapsing. Eventually, Mars will implode."
Eris clenched his jaw.
"So it's merge—or we all die."
"Correct."
A long silence followed.
Astra, voice trembling slightly: "Eris… are you sure?"
He didn't answer right away.
He stepped closer to the Conductor.
He slowly placed his hand on it.
The moment his skin touched the spiraling surface—
The entire chamber screamed.
Light exploded outward.
Symbols blasted across the walls.
The floor cracked open as beams of energy shot upward.
The planet itself seemed to roar.
Lysera's voice echoed:
"THE CORE ACCEPTS THE MERGE!"
Eris' body lifted into the air—
glowing, burning, shaking violently.
Nymera, Seris, Liora, Astra—they all reached out instinctively—
Lysera held up an arm.
"No one touches him. If you interrupt the merge, he dies instantly."
Eris gasped—
energy ripping through him, each pulse stronger than the last.
Images flashed in his mind—
oceans that never existed, civilizations long buried, skies turned red with fire.
A voice filled his skull:
"YOU ARE RESONANCE."
Another pulse—
his bones felt like molten steel.
Another—
his chest felt like it would explode.
Another—
"MERGE."
---
A deafening blast shook the chamber.
Eris screamed.
And then—
everything went white.