The retreat was silent.
Not heroic.
Not spectacular.
Just necessary.
The Bearers left Sector Twelve along separate routes, withdrawing like a tide refusing to be trapped. The city around them began to breathe again—civilian sirens, rescue helicopters, confused voices—while the traces of the battle were already being erased by HÉLIOS protocols.
Daniella barely remembered the journey back.
Only the exhaustion crushing her muscles, the Light still too present beneath her skin, vibrating, unstable, as if it refused to recede. Kaël walked beside her without letting go, his shadow wrapping around her whenever she faltered.
When they finally crossed the sanctuary's threshold, it reacted instantly.
The symbols carved into the stone flared to life, casting a soft but urgent glow. Ancient mechanisms locked into place behind them with a deep rumble—faster, sharper than usual.
As if the sanctuary itself had been afraid.
Daniella collapsed to her knees.
The Light burst from her one last time, uncontrolled, splashing the walls with golden shards before cutting off abruptly.
Silence fell.
— She's overloaded, Pyra said immediately, stepping forward. — Too much output, not enough grounding.
Kaël knelt beside Daniella.
— Breathe. Look at me.
She tried, but her vision blurred.
— I felt… something break, she whispered. — When I fired that beam.
Terra frowned.
— Break what?
Daniella shook her head.
— I don't know. Like… something answered me. Then closed again.
Nyx, leaning against a column, straightened slowly.
— It wasn't the Light that answered, she said. — It was the world.
A chill rippled through the chamber.
Aeris, unusually serious, activated a projection of the urban grid.
— Energy flows are still chaotic. — Not just where we struck. — Everywhere.
Unstable lines crossed the map like invisible fractures.
— HÉLIOS will call it a localized anomaly, Pyra said. — But they know.
Kaël nodded.
— Yes. And they'll analyze every microsecond of that fight.
He turned to Daniella.
— You held against a countermeasure designed to break synchronization.
— Barely, she replied weakly.
— But you held, he insisted.
The sanctuary suddenly vibrated.
Not violently.
Rhythmically.
A slow heartbeat.
— That's not normal, Terra murmured.
The symbols on the central floor began to light up—one by one—far beyond those already active.
Daniella felt the Light inside her stir again.
— Kaël…?
His face paled slightly.
— What you did out there… — it wasn't just an attack.
The ancient inscriptions animated, projecting concentric circles of light.
— It was a call.
The word landed heavily.
— A call to who? Aeris asked.
As if answering, a symbol none of them had ever seen ignited.
Then another.
And another.
— That's impossible, Terra growled. — Sanctuaries are meant to stay dormant.
Nyx smiled slowly.
— Not when the Original manifests.
All eyes turned to Daniella.
— No, she protested weakly. — I didn't mean to—
— The Original Light doesn't ask permission, Nyx said. — It recognizes.
The sanctuary's pulse accelerated.
A side passage opened with a whisper of stone.
Someone stood on the other side.
A teenage girl, soaked, face tight with fear. Blue sparks leapt from her fingers uncontrollably.
— Please—don't hurt me, she cried, raising her hands. — I followed the signal.
Daniella pushed herself to her feet despite the exhaustion.
— What signal?
The girl swallowed.
— The one that said… I wasn't alone.
Silence fell completely.
Kaël inhaled slowly.
— You're a Bearer.
She nodded.
— Electricity. — At least… I think so.
Pyra swore under her breath.
— They're waking up too fast.
Daniella approached gently.
— What's your name?
— Lina.
The moment the name left her lips, more symbols ignited along the walls.
One.
Then three.
Then six.
Terra stepped back.
— This is a forced convergence.
— No, Nyx corrected. — It's resonance.
Daniella felt fear grip her chest.
— You mean… that fight woke others like us?
Kaël nodded.
— Yes. — Those close to awakening. — Those who were still hiding from themselves.
Aeris clenched his fists.
— And HÉLIOS will feel it too.
As if to confirm his words, a deep alarm echoed through the sanctuary's depths.
An external signal.
Kaël activated an ancient device.
A fragmented image appeared.
The man in the dark coat.
Elias Korr.
— He's speaking, Pyra muttered. — Live.
The transmission was unstable, but his voice carried clearly.
"Phase Two: partial failure.
Synchronization confirmed.
Resonance detected beyond projections."
Korr paused.
"We are entering Phase Three."
Daniella's heart skipped a beat.
— There's a Phase Three?
Nyx stared at the image.
— Of course. — And it's no longer defensive.
The transmission cut.
The sanctuary trembled harder this time.
— He's going to hunt the newly awakened, Lina whispered. — Like my brother.
Something hardened inside Daniella.
Not anger.
Resolve.
— Then we can't just hide anymore.
Kaël looked at her for a long moment.
— No.
— We have to find them before HÉLIOS does.
Terra nodded slowly.
— Gather them. — Protect them.
Pyra clenched her fist, flame steady.
— And strike when they least expect it.
Aeris let out a grim smile.
— The war becomes visible.
Nyx fixed her gaze on Daniella.
— And you… are becoming a point of gravity.
The sanctuary pulsed once more, as if sealing a decision.
Daniella closed her eyes.
She hadn't wanted this role.
But she accepted it.
— Then we start now, she said.
Kaël placed a hand on her shoulder.
— Yes.
Somewhere deep within HÉLIOS, Elias Korr watched new points appear on his screens.
Too many.
His expression remained cold.
But his fingers tightened slightly.
The first strike had been made.
The backlash had begun.