The corridor's echoes faded as Rourke, Seren, and the gravitational guide moved deeper into the sphere's spine. The air felt heavier now—not in weight, but in meaning. The Hunters' presence had altered the sphere's equilibrium. Every step sent new readings into Rourke's mind: pressure changes, temperature shifts, gravitational tremors.
The Heart was warning him.
Seren kept a steady pace beside him, though her breathing was shallow. "If those four Hunters down there were the scouts…" She wiped sweat from her brow. "What does their main strike team look like?"
Rourke didn't answer immediately. He could feel them—multiple signatures pressing against the sphere's outer layers like claws testing the shell.
"Worse," he finally said.
"Much worse."
The guide drifted ahead, its form flickering like a lantern in wind.
"Their vanguard breached the lower levels using force alone," it said.
"But their elites will attempt coordinated gravitational collapse. If they succeed, this structure will fold inward."
Seren grimaced. "You mean implode."
Rourke nodded.
"We have to reach the sphere's command core," the guide continued.
"Only there can you amplify the Heart's defensive systems."
Rourke felt a pulse of energy through his chest, aligning with the guide's words.
"Lead the way."
A Dead Hallway Reborn
The next section of corridor was collapsed entirely—long columns of shattered alloy, dust, and mangled conduits blocking their route.
Seren groaned. "We're not squeezing through that."
Rourke stepped forward, raising a hand.
The rubble shivered—trembling as if waking from a long sleep. Rourke closed his eyes, letting the Heart's energy flow outward. He felt the mass of every stone, every fragment of metal, the gravity that clung to them out of habit.
He didn't force them to move.
He invited them.
The rubble lifted in a graceful arc, drifting aside until the corridor was clear.
Seren blinked at him. "You do know none of this is normal, right?"
Rourke smirked. "I'm starting to get the hang of normal."
The guide's glow brightened.
"Your control grows quickly. But be cautious, Rourke Talon.
The Heart grants access—
but control belongs to your will."
Rourke nodded, releasing a long breath.
"I know."
The Signal
As they continued upward, a low vibration shook the hall.
Not seismic. Not explosive.
A frequency.
Seren clutched her ears. "What is that ringing?"
Rourke felt it too—an alien resonance threading through the air. The guide froze, then spoke in a low hum.
"The Hunters have activated a signal beacon."
Seren frowned. "Meaning what?"
The guide looked at Rourke.
"They are calling for more."
Rourke felt cold settle in his stomach. He examined the vibrations in the walls, running his awareness along the structure until he found a cavernous space several levels above them.
A space now filled with movement.
"They're massing on the upper platforms," he said.
"Can they detect us?" Seren asked.
"Not anymore," Rourke replied.
"They can detect me."
Seren rolled her eyes. "Great. Wonderful. That's exactly what I needed today."
The Ascent Shaft
The corridor opened into a towering vertical chamber—an ascent shaft that stretched upward for hundreds of meters. Dim blue light pulsed along its walls, marking ancient rails and magnetic lifts long dead.
Rourke stepped to the edge and peered down. The bottom was lost in shadow.
"We can't climb this," Seren muttered.
"We're not climbing."
Rourke lifted his palm.
At once, the sphere responded.
A platform of gravitational energy formed beneath their feet—thin, translucent, shimmering like heated air.
Seren stared. "You made an elevator."
"I made… something," he corrected.
The platform rose smoothly, carrying them upward at a speed faster than any mechanical lift. Wind rushed past their faces, lifting Seren's hair. The walls blurred into streaks of blue.
Halfway up, the guide stiffened.
"Stop."
Rourke halted the platform instantly.
Seren gripped his arm. "What is it now?"
The guide's eyes dimmed.
"Something is above us."
Rourke extended his senses.
A presence.
Cold.
Still.
Waiting.
No—three presences.
They were clinging to the walls like spiders, unmoving, silent, their gravity signatures coiled tightly around their cores.
Elites.
Rourke whispered, "They're setting an ambush."
Seren swore under her breath. "Can we go back down?"
Rourke shook his head. "They'd just follow."
The Ambush
The first Hunter leapt.
It dropped from the ceiling like a falling blade, limbs spread wide. Black spikes extended from its arms, designed to impale and crush in one strike.
Rourke reacted instinctively.
He threw his hand upward.
A gravitational blast fired from his palm, catching the Hunter mid-descent. The creature twisted in midair, absorbing the blow with a rippling distortion of its armor.
Seren fired at its head. The bullet ricocheted harmlessly.
Two more Hunters lunged from opposite walls.
Rourke's platform lurched sideways as one of them slammed into its gravitational frame. The distortion nearly buckled the field, sending energy sputtering.
"Rourke—!" Seren shouted as she nearly slipped off.
He caught her wrist with one hand, stabilizing the field with the other.
For a brief moment, he held Seren and the entire platform together—every atom resisting collapse.
"Don't… fall," he muttered through clenched teeth.
She shot him a look. "Great advice! Very helpful!"
One of the Hunters spiraled toward them.
Its chest opened, revealing a pulsing inner core.
The guide shouted:
"Do NOT let them touch you while they're open!"
Rourke didn't need the warning.
He could feel the gravitational force building inside the creature—an implosive vortex capable of collapsing bone in an instant.
He raised both hands—
And split the gravitational field in two.
A horizontal shockwave erupted from the platform, slicing through the air like a blade. The wave struck the approaching Hunter, spinning it sideways into the central rail.
The rail exploded in a burst of sparks.
Seren shouted, "What about the other two?!"
Rourke spun—
The second Hunter launched itself at him, claws extended.
Rourke swept his arm upward.
Gravity bent.
The creature slammed into the ceiling hard enough to leave a crater. Its limbs twitched, then fell limp.
The third Hunter landed beside the platform.
Too close.
It swung—
Rourke ducked—
Seren fired—
The bullet ricocheted—
The Hunter punched the platform's edge, destabilizing the gravity field.
Rourke lost footing.
The platform dropped several meters, spiraling out of control.
Seren screamed. "Rourke!"
He grabbed her, slamming both hands downward.
The field caught.
The platform jerked back into stability.
Rourke turned to face the final Hunter.
It lunged.
He met it head-on.
Gravity surged through him—pure, focused, unstoppable.
He thrust his fist into the air.
The Hunter froze.
Midair.
Trapped.
Rourke crushed the gravity around its core.
Its chest imploded inward with a metallic shriek. The body dropped like a puppet with cut strings.
Silence settled over the chamber.
Seren slid to the floor of the platform, panting. "I take back what I said. You're allowed to get angry around me. It's actually very convenient."
Rourke helped her up. "We're almost at the top."
The guide drifted forward, its glow returning.
"The command core awaits. But be warned…"
It turned its gaze upward.
"The Hunters' true strike force gathers just beyond the next level."
Rourke clenched his fists.
Then let them relax.
"Let them come."
The platform rose again—
toward the final confrontation.