The slide down the coal chute was terrifyingly fast and utterly pitch black.
It felt like sliding down the throat of a rough, sandpaper beast. Lyric tumbled, elbows banging against cold iron, surrounded by a cloud of choking dust.
THUMP.
Lyric landed hard on a pile of something soft and gritty. A second later, Rook crashed down next to them, followed by Valerius and finally Mira, who landed with a practiced roll, her tool bag clanking.
"Ouch," Rook wheezed, spitting out black dust. "I taste… fossil fuels. Is this coal? Actual coal?"
"It's anthracite," Mira said, clicking on a heavy-duty work light attached to her overalls. The beam cut through the swirling black dust. "High-grade. Pre-Collapse. Janus stockpiled it to keep the Clocktower running off the grid."
Lyric stood up, brushing soot from their clothes. The bandage on their hand was now gray, but the burn beneath throbbed a little less in the cool air.
"Everyone in one piece?" Lyric asked.
"Define 'one piece'," Valerius coughed, standing up unsteadily. He looked like a chimney sweep, his face smeared with soot, the stolen coat now completely ruined. "I think I bruised a kidney."
"You're walking, you're fine," Mira said, checking her bag. "We're in the sub-basement. The foundations of the Old Quarter."
Lyric looked around. The beam of Mira's light revealed a space that felt crushed by the weight of the world above. The ceiling was low, supported by massive, rusted iron beams. The walls were rough-hewn stone, weeping with moisture.
"Janus said to go to the Roots," Lyric said. "Which way is that?"
"Down," Mira said, pointing to a dark tunnel that sloped gently into the earth. "Always down. The Roots are the infrastructure layer. It's where the Guild plugged the simulation into the planet's core."
"Plugged it in?" Rook asked, wiping his goggles. "Like a lamp?"
"Like a parasite," Mira corrected. She started walking. "Keep up. The air scrubbers down here haven't worked in a decade. The CO2 builds up in the pockets. If you feel dizzy, tell me before you pass out."
They walked for an hour. The tunnel was silent, save for the crunch of coal dust and gravel under their boots.
The architecture began to change. The rough stone gave way to smooth concrete, then to tile.
"This doesn't look like a basement anymore," Lyric noted.
They emerged onto a platform.
Mira stopped and swept her light around.
It was a subway station. But not like the ones in the Underground or the City. This one was… wrong. The signs were yellow and black. The tiles were white. There were advertisements on the walls that were peeling and faded, but readable.
ENJOY THE SUN - VISIT THE COAST.
FRESH FRUIT, GROWN LOCALLY.
"The sun," Rook whispered, reading a poster. "I've seen pictures of the sun in the archives. But… 'grown locally'? Nothing grows locally except moss."
"This is a remnant," Valerius said, his voice hushed. He walked over to a rusted turnstile. "This station… it's from the Real World. Before Mnemos was built over it."
Lyric walked to the edge of the platform. The tracks were gone, replaced by a deep trench filled with thick, black cables the size of tree trunks.
"These are the Roots?" Lyric asked.
"Part of them," Mira said. "Power conduits. Data lines. They run from the core up to the Spire—well, where the Spire used to be."
She walked to the edge and looked down into the cable trench.
"We follow the cables," she said. "They lead to the Heart."
"Walking on high-voltage lines," Rook muttered. "Sure. Why not. Add it to the list."
"They're shielded," Mira said, jumping down onto a thick black cable. It swayed slightly under her weight. "Just don't puncture the casing, or you'll get fried with enough energy to power a city block."
Lyric helped Valerius down, then Rook. The cables were slick, humming with a vibration that traveled up through the soles of their boots.
"So," Rook said, balancing carefully as they began to walk along the cable highway. "Mira. You're the Apprentice. How long have you been down there with the sleeping wizard?"
"Five years," Mira said, not looking back.
"Five years in a clocktower?" Rook whistled. "What did you do all day?"
"I fixed things," Mira said defensively. "Entropy leaks. Gear failures. Janus taught me how to maintain the reality anchors. And I listened."
"Listened to what?" Lyric asked.
"To the world outside," Mira said. She stopped and pointed to a crack in the concrete wall of the tunnel.
Faintly, very faintly, there was a sound coming from the crack. It sounded like wind. A howling, lonely wind.
"That's the Dead World," Mira said softly. "The planet isn't just empty, Lyric. It's hostile. The atmosphere is toxic. The storms can strip flesh from bone. Janus built the city to save us, not just to trick us."
"But he lied," Lyric said. "He made us forget."
"Would you want to remember?" Mira asked, turning to face them. Her grease-stained face was hard. "If you knew the world outside was a hellscape, and there was nowhere to run… would you want to know? Or would you rather buy a bottle of 'Summer Vacation' and pretend everything is okay?"
Lyric touched the bandage on their hand. "I'd rather know the truth. Even if it hurts."
"Easy to say," Mira muttered, turning back around. "Until the truth kills you."
"She's delightful," Rook whispered to Valerius.
"She's scared," Valerius whispered back. "She just lost her mentor and her home. Cut her some slack."
They followed the cables deeper. The air grew warmer, and the hum of the energy beneath their feet got louder.
Suddenly, the tunnel opened up.
They stepped off the cables onto a metal gantry.
Lyric stopped. "Woah."
They were standing on the edge of a massive, spherical chamber. It was easily a mile wide. The walls were lined with millions of blinking server lights, spiraling down into the darkness.
And in the center of the sphere, suspended by the black cables, was a structure.
It looked like a cage. A massive, intricate sphere of brass and glass, pulsing with a slow, rhythmic blue light.
"Is that it?" Lyric asked. "The Anchor Point?"
"That's the casing," Valerius said, leaning on the railing. "The Heart is inside."
"How do we get to it?" Rook asked. "I don't see a bridge."
"There," Mira pointed.
Extending from their gantry was a single, narrow maintenance walkway. It stretched out over the abyss, leading straight to the brass sphere.
But there was a problem.
Standing in the middle of the walkway was a figure.
It wasn't a guard. It wasn't an Echo.
It was a suit of armor. Old, rusted, and bulky. It looked like a deep-sea diving suit from a century ago, complete with a heavy brass helmet and a single, glowing porthole.
It stood perfectly still, blocking the path. It held a massive, rivet-gun-style weapon in one hand.
"A Sentinel," Mira hissed, pulling everyone back into the shadows of the tunnel mouth.
"A what?" Rook asked.
"Janus didn't leave the Heart unguarded," Mira said. "That's a Sub-Core Sentinel. It's automated. It doesn't have a brain to erase, Lyric. It's pure clockwork and hydraulics."
"Can we go around it?" Lyric asked.
Mira shook her head. "That walkway is the only physical connection. Anything else involves jumping into the server abyss."
"So we fight it?" Lyric asked, hand drifting to the sword.
"It's heavily armored," Valerius noted, squinting at the figure. "Ceramic plating won't cut that brass. And if you erase the bridge while fighting it, you both fall."
Lyric looked at the Sentinel. It was a statue of unyielding metal.
"Rook," Lyric said. "You still have that laser cutter?"
"Yeah, but the battery is low. Maybe two minutes of cutting time."
"Mira," Lyric turned to the mechanic. "You know these machines. Does it have a weakness?"
Mira hesitated. She looked at the Sentinel, then at the path ahead.
"It's powered by a pressure valve on the back," Mira said. "If you rupture the valve, the hydraulics seize up. But you have to get behind it. And it has a 360-degree motion sensor."
"Distraction," Lyric said. "We need a distraction."
"We're out of grenades," Rook reminded them.
Lyric looked at the environment. The massive black cables they had walked on ran parallel to the walkway for a few yards before diving down.
"I have an idea," Lyric said. "Val, you and Mira stay here. Rook, come with me."
"Why me?" Rook complained.
"Because you're going to cut the lights," Lyric said.
"What lights?"
Lyric pointed to the bundle of cables. "If you nick the shielding on one of those data lines, it'll arc. A bright, loud flash. It might blind the sensor for a second."
"And while it's blinded?"
"I run," Lyric said. "And I pray I'm faster than a rivet gun."
Lyric took off the ceramic sword sheath and tightened the belt.
"On my mark," Lyric whispered.
They crept to the edge of the cable trench. Rook laid the laser cutter against the thick black insulation of a power line.
"Ready," Rook whispered, his hand shaking.
Lyric crouched, muscles coiled.
"Mark."
Rook pulled the trigger.
ZZZ-CRACK!
A blinding arc of blue electricity exploded from the cable, illuminating the entire cavern. The noise was like a thunderclap.
The Sentinel reacted instantly. It swiveled its torso with a mechanical whine, raising the rivet gun toward the source of the flash.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
Three massive steel spikes slammed into the wall inches from Rook's head.
"Go!" Rook screamed, ducking for cover.
Lyric was already moving.
Lyric sprinted onto the narrow walkway. The bridge swayed under the impact.
The Sentinel registered the movement. Its head swiveled back, the single glowing eye fixing on Lyric.
It raised the gun.
Lyric didn't stop. They didn't try to dodge.
Lyric slid.
Like a baseball player stealing home, Lyric threw themselves feet-first along the metal grating.
THUMP.
A rivet flew over Lyric's head, severing a support cable. The bridge lurched.
Lyric slid right between the Sentinel's heavy, brass legs.
As they passed underneath, Lyric reached up with the ceramic sword—not to cut, but to hook.
Lyric hooked the handle of the sword onto a hydraulic tube on the back of the Sentinel's knee and yanked.
HISSSSSS.
The tube burst. Hydraulic fluid sprayed out.
The Sentinel groaned, its leg locking up. It tried to turn, but the joint was frozen. It teetered, off-balance.
Lyric scrambled to their feet behind it.
"The valve!" Mira shouted from the tunnel. "On the back!"
Lyric saw it. A red wheel set into the brass backplate.
The Sentinel swung its arm backward, a massive metal fist aiming for Lyric's skull.
Lyric ducked, feeling the wind of the swing.
Lyric grabbed the valve with the bandaged hand.
Turn.
It was rusted shut.
Erase.
Lyric erased the rust.
The valve spun free.
WHOOSH.
Steam and pressure vented violently from the suit. The Sentinel shuddered. The glowing eye faded from angry red to dull amber. The arm dropped mid-swing.
It froze in place, becoming a statue once again.
Lyric slumped against the railing, gasping for air. "It's down."
"Nice job," Rook called out, his voice echoing. "I think I'm deaf, though."
Mira and Valerius ran out onto the bridge. Mira stopped to inspect the Sentinel.
"Clean disable," she noted, impressed. "You didn't destroy it. You just parked it."
"I'm getting better at editing," Lyric said, straightening up.
They walked past the frozen guardian to the massive brass sphere at the end of the bridge.
There was a door. It had no handle. Just a scanner plate shaped like a hand.
"Biometric?" Rook asked.
"No," Valerius said, stepping closer. "This is the Anchor chamber. It scans for resonance."
He looked at Lyric.
"It scans for the Void," Valerius said. "Or the Vessel."
Lyric stepped up to the door. The static in their head was deafening now—a choir of voices screaming in a language Lyric didn't understand.
Open it. Open it. Open it.
Lyric placed a hand on the scanner.
The brass sphere hummed. The door hissed and split open.
A cold, white light spilled out, blinding them all.
"Here we go," Lyric whispered.
They stepped inside.