The descent into the sublevel felt deeper than any previous stretch of the Labyrinth City. The walls were made of metallic layers mixed with living rock, pulsing as if invisible veins ran through them. The farther we went, the more the air seemed to vibrate with a low frequency, almost like an ancient heart slowly awakening.
Rai'kanna walked at the front, her wings raised to keep her balance. Liriel followed close behind, the faint light in her hands reflecting off surfaces that seemed to move when we looked away. Elara breathed with difficulty, trying to save every drop of mana. Vespera kept her bow ready, though she was still far too nervous to hit anything. Lyannis stayed close to me, gripping her spear far too tightly.
The corridor opened into an enormous circular chamber, supported by metallic pillars descending from the ceiling like giant fangs. At the center, an octagonal structure glowed deep blue—the place where, according to the collector, the five keys were meant to be fitted.
But no one touched anything.
The structure pulsed on its own.
The ground trembled, faint at first, but enough to scatter glowing dust through the air. My flame reacted immediately, heating my chest involuntarily. It seemed to recognize that energy. Or fear it.
Rai'kanna narrowed her eyes.
"This shouldn't be active without the five keys. Someone tampered with it."
Liriel stepped closer, analyzing the glowing lines.
"It's not a full activation… it's something trying to wake up on its own."
Elara pressed a hand to her forehead. "If it's what I'm thinking, we're very late."
Lyannis brushed her arm. "Takumi… your flame is hotter than before."
"It's reacting to whatever is beneath the city." I took a deep breath. "This isn't just a machine."
The ground vibrated again. Stronger.
The blue lights concentrated at the center of the structure, forming a small ascending beam. The energy rose and spread across the ceiling of the chamber, creating lines that looked like glowing scars.
Vespera swallowed hard. "This… looks dangerous. Very dangerous."
Liriel tried to cast a containment spell, but her light dissipated. "The library gave me power while I was inside it, but here… here the system is different. My magic barely works."
"Then we need to stop this another way," Rai'kanna said firmly.
The structure pulsed again. This time, the impact was so strong that it split the ground into concentric circles. Fragments broke away from the floor, forming small floating platforms that slowly rotated around.
Lyannis stumbled, and I caught her. "Stay close."
A crack opened at the center of the structure. The glow turned violet. Metallic sparks spiraled upward.
Liriel shouted, "It's going to release something! Get ready!"
There was no time.
The ground exploded in light.
A roar rose from the subsoil—deep, metallic, monstrous. The energy surged upward like a pillar and pierced the ceiling of the chamber. The impact knocked Vespera down and nearly sent Elara to the ground.
Rai'kanna grabbed me before I could stand.
"Takumi! Your flame is… different!"
I could barely breathe. The flame expanded, pulsing like a second heart. A fleeting image crossed my mind: a gigantic white eye buried beneath kilometers of rock.
It wasn't imagination.
It was a call.
The energy at the center finally took shape. A crystal, the size of a fist, rose into the air. It glowed in blue and violet hues, as if it were alive. The veins of light around it pulsed in the same rhythm as the trembling ground.
Liriel stepped back. "That crystal… it's part of the giant's core. One of the internal locks."
The crystal vibrated more intensely.
Lyannis covered her ears. "It's screaming!"
Rai'kanna clenched her teeth. "If this continues, the giant will awaken."
Then the crystal shattered.
From the explosion of fragments emerged a creature made of pure energy. Its body was composed of layered light, like a distorted figure trying to stabilize itself. It had no defined shape, but vaguely resembled a forgotten dragon, with glowing claws and a pupil-less gaze.
Vespera raised her bow. "Anyone want… me to try hitting that?"
"No!" Elara shouted. "If you miss, you'll hit us!"
"I always miss! It's inevitable!"
The creature advanced.
Rai'kanna spread her wings and struck with fire. The energy passed through the creature without effect. Elara tried a simple spell, but her mana failed halfway. Liriel cast light, which only made the creature vibrate.
It came straight for me.
The flame inside me reacted—not with uncontrolled heat, but with focus. A call. An involuntary response.
Lyannis shouted my name, but the creature was already in front of me.
I touched the sword.
The flame ran along the metal like a living current.
When I struck, the creature recoiled as if it had been hit by something far greater than a simple slash. It let out a distorted sound, almost as if it were trying to speak.
Liriel watched, impressed.
"It recognizes the flame. It was made to react to you."
"Or to test me," I replied.
The creature advanced again. Every time I attacked, it shattered into fragments and recombined in the same instant. It was like fighting solidified light.
Vespera ran to a floating platform, tried to shoot, missed, and hit another sphere that exploded in a flash of light. By some miracle, that destabilized the creature for a few seconds.
"Vespera, that helped!" Rai'kanna shouted.
"It wasn't on purpose!"
The creature became unstable with the explosion. Violet lines ran through its body. The flame inside me burned stronger, as if it knew exactly where to strike.
I advanced, concentrating all the energy into the blade.
The creature tried to reassemble, but it was too late.
The final blow pierced straight through its center.
The light exploded in all directions, but without injuring anyone. When it faded, the crystal had split into five smaller fragments, scattered across the ground.
Liriel ran to them.
"These fragments… they weren't supposed to appear yet. This was the first release of the core."
Rai'kanna looked at me, serious.
"If the first one happened on its own… the others can happen too. And each one will be worse."
The ground trembled again, deeper, more distant — as if the giant, buried beneath the entire city, had breathed for the first time in centuries.
My hands were shaking.
The flame… was shaking too.
Elara spoke softly, almost in a whisper.
"Takumi… it felt you."
I didn't answer.
Because I knew it was true.
And something, deep within the earth, had finally awakened.