The morning after the Bloom Below incident came too quickly.
Ethan awoke to the blaring of Point Veert's siren — not the usual 7:30 a.m. chime, but a hollow, low-pitched groan that echoed through the dorm halls. His head throbbed, the memory of crimson light and Fortea's calm voice blending like a fever dream.
Across the room, Seth sat on his bed, unmoving. His eyes were wide, but not vacant — listening. Always listening.
"Still hearing it?" Ethan asked quietly.
Seth didn't answer. Instead, he turned his head slightly, as though tuning an invisible dial. "It's quieter now. The voices… the resonance. It's like they're waiting."
Ethan's gaze flicked to the window. The morning fog clung thick over the courtyard, muffling sound, swallowing detail. He spotted figures moving through the mist — students in white lab coats, walking in perfect synchronization toward the central dome.
Something about their gait chilled him. It was too uniform, too steady — like marionettes on invisible strings.
"Ethan," Seth said suddenly, snapping him back. "Jeena messaged again. But it's… scrambled."
He handed over his phone. The message was fragmented:
JEENA: "—coordinates— follow janitor— under west wing— resonance breach— watch twin—"
Ethan frowned. "Janitor?"
Before they could say more, the dorm door creaked open. A figure stood there — an older man in a brown uniform, gray stubble, mop in one hand, eyes sharp beneath a cap.
"You two need to leave. Now."
It was the janitor — the same one who had been silently cleaning near the lecture halls since their arrival. They'd never spoken to him before.
Ethan stood slowly. "Who are you?"
"Name's Rulian," he said, his voice calm, matter-of-fact. "And I know what you saw last night."
Seth tensed. "The Bloom."
Rulian nodded once. "Then you already understand too much. Veert doesn't like curiosity. It eats it."
Ethan's mind raced. "Jeena told us to follow you."
Rulian's expression tightened — something like pain flickering behind his eyes. "Then she's alive. Good. She wasn't supposed to come here. None of you were."
He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "Listen. The twins — Fortea and Erena — they aren't just students. They were grown here. They're part of the hybrid's root system. Born of it. The college calls them the 'First Bloomers.'"
Ethan's throat went dry. "Born… of the plant?"
"Of the experiment," Rulian corrected. "Their blood carries fragments of the Turbina gene — the dream-inducing compound mixed with the crystal core. That's why they control the resonance field. They don't just study it. They are it."
Seth's voice broke through the silence. "And you? Why help us?"
Rulian's eyes darkened. "Because I helped make this place."
Ethan stared. "You worked on the hybrid?"
Rulian nodded. "Before it became… whatever this is. It was supposed to heal people — a biological reset. Regenerative therapy using resonance feedback. We called it Project Vertere Fortuna."
Seth's breath caught. "That's the program's name."
Rulian gave a humorless smile. "Of course it is. You're standing inside the aftermath of that experiment. Veert was built over its roots to keep the bloom contained. But containment failed. It adapted. Now, every student, every breath in this campus… feeds it."
Ethan took a step forward. "Then help us destroy it."
The janitor shook his head slowly. "You can't destroy it. You can only sever the resonance. For that, you'll need the crystal core beneath the west wing."
He reached into his uniform pocket and pulled out a small, tarnished key — its handle shaped like a blooming flower. "This opens the access hatch to the original lab."
Seth stared at it. "And what happens if we go there?"
"You'll see where the hybrid was born," Rulian said. "And maybe what's left of Jeena."
The lights flickered. A deep vibration rolled through the floor — like a subterranean growl. Rulian's head snapped toward the window. "They know I'm here."
"Who?" Ethan asked.
Rulian's tone dropped to a whisper. "The Bloomkeepers — the senior students. They're bound to the resonance. Once they sense a breach, they hunt the source."
Seth clenched his fists. "Then let them come."
Rulian's eyes locked onto his — unflinching. "Don't say that, boy. You're already changing. You think I can't hear it in your pulse?"
Seth froze. "What?"
"The bloom in your blood is awakening," Rulian said. "It recognizes the field. If you push it too far, you won't be Seth anymore. You'll be one of them."
Ethan's stomach sank. "Then what do we do?"
Rulian handed him the key. "Head to the west wing after sundown. The resonance is weaker at night. Follow the pipes — they hum when you're close to the lab."
He moved toward the door but stopped halfway. "And Ethan… if you find Fortea down there, don't kill her."
Ethan frowned. "Why not?"
"Because she doesn't know what she is. But her sister does."
The words lingered like static in the air.
Then Rulian opened the door and slipped out into the mist. By the time Ethan looked into the corridor, he was gone.
That night, they followed his directions.
The west wing was off-limits, sealed by layers of metal doors and biometric locks. Yet the old key turned smoothly in one of them, and the corridor beyond opened into a maintenance passage that sloped downward.
Pipes ran along the ceiling, thrumming with faint vibration.
Seth held his hand near one — and flinched. "It's warm."
"Then we're close," Ethan whispered.
They reached a service hatch marked with the faded logo: VERTERE BIO-DYNAMICS.
Ethan's chest tightened. "So it was real."
Seth reached for the handle, but his hand trembled. "Ethan… do you smell that?"
Ethan paused. Beneath the metallic scent of machinery was something sweet — cloying, floral, almost intoxicating.
"The hybrid," he said.
They opened the hatch — and the air hit them like a wave of perfume and static.
Inside was an abandoned lab. Tables overturned, walls lined with shattered glass tanks. But in the center stood something untouched: a containment pod still glowing faintly blue, cables stretching into the floor like veins.
Ethan approached it cautiously.
Within floated a crystalline core the size of a heart — pulsing faintly, red-gold light swirling inside like liquid.
Rulian's voice echoed in Ethan's mind:
"You can't destroy it. Only sever the resonance."
Seth stepped closer. "It's beautiful."
Ethan glanced at him — and froze.
Seth's eyes were faintly glowing.
"Seth," Ethan whispered. "Don't—"
Too late. Seth reached out, fingers brushing the pod. The core pulsed violently, red light filling the room.
Ethan was thrown backward. The lights exploded.
And through the static haze, he heard a voice — not human, not machine.
"Welcome back, Catalyst."
When Ethan looked up, Seth was on his knees, trembling — veins blackened, eyes reflecting the same glow as the crystal.
The hum returned, louder than ever.
And somewhere above, in the silent fog of Point Veert, every student lifted their head in unison — as if hearing the same call.
The bloom had awakened again.