The ground shook for the third time in less than a minute. It wasn't a common tremor, nor like those caused by the city when it shifted its mood. It was deep, slow, like the sound of a colossal heart beating after centuries of sleep. The vibration ran beneath our feet, climbing through our bodies until it reached our heads, leaving a light, unsettling dizziness.
Rai'kanna instinctively spread her wings, as if preparing to fly should the ground give way all at once.
"This isn't the city moving. It's something beneath it."
Liriel clutched the grimoire with both hands, trembling. "The mechanism has started responding to the keys. The Collector activated the first one unintentionally, now the giant is trying to wake up."
Vespera looked around, frightened. "And why are we just standing here? Let's get out before that thing comes up!"
"Because if we let it awaken, there won't be anywhere left to run," Elara replied, already out of breath, handling one of her simple spells to keep her mana minimally stable.
The narrow corridor we had crossed opened into a gigantic area, a kind of underground cavern. The city above looked like a living ceiling, pulsing as if connected to the being resting just below. Down there, among ancient metal plates, shattered rock, and flowing energy, we saw part of the creature for the first time.
It was only a fraction — but it was already terrifying.
The structure resembled a colossal dragon, but with metallic parts embedded in its flesh. Large plates of ice moved like lungs trying to breathe. And the eye, even closed, emanated a faint white light, as if the entire world were being watched from within that absolute silence.
Lyannis took a step back, clutching my cloak.
"Takumi… it senses you."
And I knew it. The flame within me didn't just recognize the giant — it burned with a mix of fear and deep familiarity. As if part of it knew exactly what was about to happen.
Vespera swallowed hard. "So… the monster that's trying to wake up is kind of the flame's parent? I'm trying to keep up here…"
Liriel sighed. "The flame is a fragment of the Living Core. It needs it to complete the awakening."
Elara looked at me seriously. "And we need to stop that."
The entire cavern shook again. This time, a muffled roar echoed, making the stones vibrate and dust fall like rain. The sound seemed to come from a distant world, as if the creature were trapped across several planes at once.
Rai'kanna approached me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Takumi… when it fully awakens, we don't know what could happen. It could destroy the city. It could destroy much more."
The flame inside me responded immediately. A hot spark slipped from my hand.
"He's calling," I murmured. "But not like an enemy… it's as if he's part of me."
Liriel opened the grimoire to pages that rearranged themselves. "We need to seal it before it fully opens its eyes. If the eye opens even a little, the entire city could fold in on us."
Vespera tried to joke, but her voice faltered. "Okay, I think I'd rather face—… never mind, I don't prefer anything."
Elara took a deep breath. "The cult will show up. They wouldn't let this happen without interfering."
As if she had foreseen it, footsteps echoed on the metal bridge linking the platforms. Hooded figures emerged from the shadows with spears, knives, and rigid symbols on their clothes.
The leader, the same one from the Night of Inversion, pointed toward the sleeping giant.
"You should never have come this far. The city must remain still."
Rai'kanna raised her spear. "You won't stop him with dogma alone."
"That's why we'll stop you."
They charged.
The narrow bridge became instant chaos. Vespera fired arrows that, surprisingly, struck two cultists thanks to reflections from the metallic light. Lyannis fought at my side, striking down anyone who came close. Elara cast short spells to push enemies back, but her mana fluctuated so much that the effort nearly made her collapse.
Rai'kanna faced the leader, wings blazing with effort.
Meanwhile, the giant beneath our feet exhaled heat between the ice plates, making the bridge tremble. Another strong quake spread cracks across the ground.
I felt the flame pulse so intensely it hurt.
"Takumi!" Liriel shouted. "The energy is pulling you! Getting too close will wake him!"
"I know!" I replied, trying to keep my distance, but the platform itself tilted toward the creature.
The cult was being pushed back by the tremors, but they kept fighting. The leader shouted:
"The flame must be removed! The Living Core cannot awaken!"
He leapt toward me.
Rai'kanna tried to intercept him, but another cultist blocked her. Lyannis ran toward me, but slipped when one of the trembling plates rose. The leader raised his weapon.
The flame exploded on its own.
A red and white wave swept across the bridge, knocking the cultists down. Rai'kanna shouted my name, but the sound grew distant. I felt myself losing control — the flame wanted to merge with the giant.
Liriel forced the grimoire open.
"Takumi! Look at me!"
Her voice pulled me back. I managed to breathe again, and the flame came under control for a few seconds.
The giant moved a finger.
Just that — but the entire bridge vibrated as if it were about to shatter.
Liriel ran toward us, trembling. "He's going to wake up! We need to close the passages or he'll emerge!"
Vespera shouted, "How do you seal a monster the size of a mountain?!"
Elara added, "Without enough mana?!"
Liriel opened the grimoire to a page glowing gold. "We use the route seal… but it only works if the flame reacts the right way!"
"And what's the right way?" I asked, feeling the heat begin to burn again.
"You need to stop your own flame from reaching him."
It was like asking the heart to stop beating.
The giant took a deep breath. Metallic plates shifted, ice cracked, and one of the gigantic eyes moved beneath the frozen layer.
Rai'kanna shouted, "Takumi, NOW!"
The flame pulsed one last time — as if deciding whether to fight against me or with me.
And I chose to contain it.
The energy retreated back into me like a wave pulled back to the sea. The giant reacted, writhing as if something had been torn away.
Liriel spoke the final words of the seal.
The ground roared.
And the giant stopped.
Silence.
The city above calmed. The cult, seeing that the awakening had been interrupted, fled through the passages.
Rai'kanna fell to her knees, exhausted. Lyannis ran to me, checking if I was conscious. Vespera breathed as if she had been running for hours. Elara was close to fainting, but still standing.
Liriel closed the grimoire slowly.
"The giant isn't sealed… just asleep again. And he knows you're here, Takumi."
I looked at the enormous, motionless eye beneath the ice.
"And I know he'll try to wake again."
The underground silence answered.