Timeline: TC1853.02.01 (Night)
Location: North Shrine Containment Facility - Inner Sanctum
The shrine doors opened.
Not from Raven's lightning. Not from external force. From inside—locks disengaging with mechanical precision, heavy metal swinging inward with a groan that echoed across the courtyard.
And from within—golden light. Faint. Pulsing. Calling.
Raven moved forward despite every tactical instinct screaming this was a trap. Behind her, the team followed—weapons ready, healing prepared, professional support for whatever waited beyond threshold.
The Federation officer who'd tried to stop them stood frozen, face pale with terror that transcended simple fear. He'd seen what happened to people who entered this shrine. Knew the mutation rate. Understood contamination protocols that declared anyone who crossed this threshold as lost.
But Raven didn't hesitate. Just walked through doors into an interior that should have been sacred but felt profaned.
