The narrow corridor we were descending seemed to have been carved by something that couldn't decide whether it was metal, stone, or flesh. The walls pulsed from time to time, emitting vibrations that reverberated through our feet. Liriel walked more slowly than usual, holding the light with both hands as if it might escape. Vespera looked back every five steps, clearly regretting every mission she had ever accepted. Elara leaned on my shoulder whenever she felt her mana falter. Rai'kanna led the way, serious, her wings partially open. Lyannis walked beside me, trying to look confident, but her hand trembled whenever it touched the spear.
The sensation in the air was unlike anything we had faced. It wasn't supernatural, nor magical, nor spiritual. It was something… manufactured. Alive, but manufactured.
Rai'kanna stopped in front of a large circular door. Luminous lines ran across the metallic structure in patterns that resembled runes, yet mechanical. The door was breathing.
Yes, breathing.
"This… was not built by human hands," she said.
Liriel approached and placed her hand on the metal. The surface felt hot and cold at the same time, like the inside of a frozen forge. "There's ancient energy here. Part magic… part something I don't even know how to name."
Vespera peeked over her shoulder. "So there's no way to just knock and ask for permission?"
The door heard.
Before any of us touched the mechanisms, the lines of light expanded, running across the entire surface. The structure rotated inward like a great eye opening. The sound was deep, almost organic.
On the other side was an immense room.
And it was not an ordinary room.
It was like being inside a gigantic organism. Transparent tubes ran along the ceiling, carrying bluish energy from one side to the other. The floor had metallic plates that resembled bone plates. The air—hot and cold at irregular intervals—pulsed with a rhythm that was clearly alive.
Lyannis squeezed my hand. "Takumi… this is…"
"A living machine," I finished.
Yes. It was obvious the moment we stepped inside.
Rai'kanna advanced cautiously. "These circuits… they're identical to the artifacts we collected."
Liriel opened the grimoire, which trembled on its own. "That explains why the city reacts so unpredictably. This isn't just an ancient mechanism. It's a dormant creature… but still conscious."
Elara sighed, sitting down for a moment. "And if we awaken… this?"
Vespera crossed her arms. "I sincerely hope it doesn't make copies like that cursed duplication."
We continued walking toward the center of the room. There, in the middle of the gigantic structure, was something resembling a core: a sphere suspended by living cables, vibrating like a metallic heart.
And as we approached, the flame within me burned stronger. It wasn't pain, nor a warning. It was recognition.
The core responded to my presence.
Lines of light ignited around me, spreading across the floor like roots awakening after centuries. The tubes lit up, and the entire room trembled.
Rai'kanna raised her wings, worried. "Takumi, it's reacting to you. Stop!"
I tried to step back, but the flame within me pulsed on its own, as if it were tired of running from something it had always called home. The sensation was strange: like approaching a fire I had known since before I was born.
Liriel tugged at my cloak. "Takumi, listen! This is the city's core! Don't let it connect to you completely!"
"I'm not trying to do anything!" I replied.
Lyannis clung tightly to my arm, her voice trembling. "Please… don't let this take you away from me."
The core glowed in patterns I vaguely recognized. The same energy that emanated from the fragments we had collected. The same energy that existed in the monsters that pursued us. The same energy that sustained the inversion.
The giant sleeping beneath the city.
The living city.
Everything was connected to my flame.
And that frightened even me.
Rai'kanna stepped forward and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Look at me. Breathe. You are not part of this machine. Your flame was taken from it, but you are more than that."
Her words pulled me back. The flame diminished, and the light around us faded as well.
The tremor in the room ceased.
For a moment, everything was quiet.
Until we heard footsteps.
They were not heavy, nor hurried. They were firm, rhythmic, as if whoever walked there knew exactly where to step without awakening anything.
On the other side of the room, emerging from among the glowing tubes, stood the Collector.
Yes. Him. The one who sent us to recover the five artifacts.
The one who never told the truth.
Rai'kanna raised her spear immediately. "How did you get here?"
He smiled calmly. "I know this city better than you imagine."
Vespera made a move to fire an arrow, but her nerves betrayed her and she nearly knocked over her quiver. "You followed us?!"
"I came before you," he replied. "This core… this colossal creature… this city… all of it is the work of a single creator. And you have just given me the five keys I needed."
Lyannis stepped forward, furious. "You lied! You just wanted to awaken this thing!"
"Not awaken," he corrected, raising one hand. The artifacts we carried began to vibrate inside our packs. "Reactivate."
Elara staggered, struggling to stay upright. "He's going to activate the entire city…"
Liriel raised the grimoire, trying to restrain the growing flow of energy. "If he does that, the city might… move."
The Collector smiled. "Ah, my dear, the city won't just move. It will wake up."
The core shone so brightly it nearly blinded us.
And the living machine began to awaken.