The sanctuary was no longer silent.
It breathed unevenly.
The crystals embedded in the rock pulsed erratically, like an arrhythmic heart. The bluish light, once steady, flickered in short, nervous waves. Each pulse seemed to respond to something invisible—an echo that should never have existed.
Daniella stood at the center of the circle, motionless.
She felt the link.
Not broken.
Shifted.
As if someone had slipped a blade between two still-living nerves.
Kaël was a few steps away. He dared not approach. Since HÉLIOS' frequency activation, something had changed in their proximity—a subtle, dangerous tension. When he took one step too close, the air vibrated. When their eyes lingered too long, the pain rose.
— Say something, Pyra murmured, voice tight.
Daniella opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because deep inside, a certainty had settled. Cold. Definite.
HÉLIOS no longer sought to destroy them.
They were studying them in real-time.
Nyx finally broke the silence.
— The link is still active, she said. But it's… filtered.
— Filtered how? Terra asked.
Nyx slowly looked at Daniella.
— Like a river passed through a sieve. What remains still flows. But what's lost… will not return.
A shiver ran through the group.
Aeris clenched his fists. — You mean they can feel us?
Nyx shook her head. — Not hear. Feel. They've created an emotional interference zone. Every activation of the link gives them data.
Daniella took a deep breath.
Every time she needed Kaël.
Every time she was afraid.
Every time she loved too strongly.
They knew.
— Then we stop using the link, Pyra decided.
Kaël stiffened immediately. — It's not that simple.
— Yes, Pyra said dryly. — It is exactly that simple. We cut it.
Daniella felt pressure rise in her chest.
Cut the link.
She had always known this day would come.
She had only hoped to never hear it voiced aloud.
— If we cut it abruptly, Nyx said, the backlash will be violent.
— For whom? Terra asked.
Nyx fixed her gaze on Daniella. — For her.
The word fell like a stone.
Kaël stepped forward. — No.
His voice low. Dangerously calm. — There must be another solution.
Nyx did not look away. — There is always one. But they all have a price.
Daniella closed her eyes.
Within the darkness, the link vibrated faintly. A familiar, wounded presence. Kaël. Not his voice. Not his thoughts. Just… him. A diffuse warmth, like a memory refusing to die.
— If I continue to use the link, she finally said, HÉLIOS progresses.
No one answered.
— If I stop it… you lose your advantage.
She breathed again. — And if I try to modify it, I risk destroying it.
Kaël clenched his jaw. — You don't have to bear this alone.
She opened her eyes. — Yes. That's exactly it. Being at the center.
Nyx nodded slowly. — She's right.
Silence fell. Heavy. Oppressive.
Then Lina spoke.
— And me?
Everyone turned to her.
The young girl stood near the sanctuary entrance, arms wrapped around herself. Her eyes were dark-circled but clear.
— You speak of the link, of HÉLIOS, of strategies… But they've already taken me once.
Daniella felt her heart tighten.
— If we become more discreet, Lina continued, they'll look for something else. Someone else.
A shiver ran through the assembly.
— They'll take me again, she concluded simply.
No one protested.
Because no one could promise otherwise.
Daniella felt something give way inside her.
Not the link. Not yet. But an illusion.
— No, she whispered. They won't take you.
Kaël looked at her. — Daniella…
— I know what I'm doing.
She turned to Nyx. — You said there was another solution.
Nyx squinted. — Yes. One.
— Tell me.
Nyx hesitated. Then: — Create an active silence.
Pyra frowned. — That makes no sense.
— Yes, Nyx replied. She stops using the link… but not completely.
Kaël understood before the others. — She becomes a decoy.
Nyx nodded. — She isolates the link. Locks it inside her. HÉLIOS will detect only… emptiness. A constant absence.
Terra paled. — And the cost?
Nyx closed her eyes. — Absolute solitude. The link will exist, but inaccessible. Like speaking to someone behind a bulletproof glass.
Kaël turned to Daniella. — Don't do this.
She looked at him. And for the first time in a long while, she smiled sadly.
— You've protected me from the start, Kaël. Let me protect you in return.
— It's not protection, it's amputation!
— It's a pause, Nyx corrected. Reversible. Maybe.
Maybe. The word hung.
Daniella took one last breath, then stepped into the exact center of the circle. The crystals reacted immediately, their light tightening around her.
— When you start, Nyx said, you must not retreat. Even if it hurts.
— It will hurt, Daniella whispered.
Nyx did not reply.
Kaël felt panic rise. — Daniella, look at me.
She turned her head. Their eyes met. The link vibrated one last time. Weakly. Like a goodbye refusing to be spoken.
— I'll find you, she whispered.
Nyx lowered her hand. The world seemed to contract. The light around Daniella abruptly extinguished, sucked inward. A brutal, artificial silence fell over the sanctuary. Not natural. A void.
Kaël staggered.
The link… had disappeared.
No.
It was still there. But cold. Silent. Distant.
Daniella fell to her knees, gasping.
— Done, Nyx whispered.
No one spoke.
Because everyone understood.
They had just bought time.
But Daniella had just lost something no one else could ever replace.
Far away… in a white room with translucent walls, Elias Korr watched the data scroll. Then stop.
— Interesting, he murmured.
A technician looked up. — The signal disappeared, sir.
Korr gave a slow smile. — No.
He placed a finger on the screen. — It's silent.
A pause. Then: — Prepare Phase Four.
— Objective?
Korr thought a second. — Force the noise.
His gaze hardened. — And see who bleeds first.