They arrived at Aria's hidden lab beneath an abandoned subway terminal. The walls were lined with glowing blue runes, tech devices, and holographic projections of multiple Earths.
"This is… impressive," Ryken muttered, brushing dust from a floating console. "You've been hiding a lot."
Aria ignored him, guiding Kael to a chair. "We need to stabilize your resonance with the Nexus," she said. "If the glyph consumes you fully, you won't survive long."
Kael stared at his reflection in the polished steel panel. The glyph shimmered faintly, like it had a heartbeat of its own. Fear licked at his stomach. "Consume me? You mean the shadow?"
"The shadow is part of you, yes. But it doesn't care about survival. It only wants dominance." Aria's eyes were sharp. "And the Null Order will exploit that."
Ryken frowned. "Great. So not only am I trying to survive a war, now I have to babysit a walking ticking bomb."
Kael tried to laugh. It came out hollow.