Both sides of the reinforced glass fell silent once more.
Facet stood quietly inside the observation chamber.
Lucian stood on the opposite side.
The thick protective glass still separated them.
The only sound in the air was the low, steady hum of the purification equipment.
Looking at Facet, Lucian spoke first.
"Stop tracking Irina."
His voice was not loud.
Yet there was no room for negotiation in his tone.
Facet remained silent for a moment before slowly shaking her head.
"I can't do that."
Her reply was perfectly calm.
"She remains an important subject of observation for the Archives."
"The records will continue."
Lucian continued, "Then you're refusing."
Facet nodded.
"If you're asking us to stop recording her, then yes. We refuse."
She paused briefly, her tone remaining unchanged.
"However, we have never harmed her."
"And we never will."
Lucian said nothing.
He simply watched her in silence.
Facet knew that a mere verbal assurance would not be enough to convince him.
She slowly raised her left hand and gently loosened her cuff, revealing a slender, pale wrist.
Then she opened a concealed drawer beside the observation chamber and took out a transparent syringe.
Inside the barrel was a pale green liquid.
Its color closely resembled the glow emitted by the pollution crystal.
Lucian's gaze slowly settled on the syringe.
Facet raised it and spoke calmly.
"This is a technology currently under development by the Archives."
"For a short period of time, it increases the human body's tolerance to pollution."
"It is neither a cure nor immunity."
"It simply extends the amount of time the body can withstand pollution's corrosive effects."
After finishing her explanation, she showed no hesitation.
She drove the needle directly into her left arm.
The pale green liquid slowly entered her bloodstream.
Throughout the entire process, Facet's expression never changed.
She neither frowned nor showed any sign of pain.
It was as though she had repeated this procedure countless times before.
Several seconds later, the syringe was completely empty.
Facet withdrew the needle and returned the syringe to the drawer.
She then straightened her cuff and adjusted her pristine white glove.
Finally, she raised her head and looked at Lucian again.
"Now."
"What I really wanted you to see comes next."
She slowly turned and walked toward the metal conference table in the center of the observation chamber.
The moment she stopped, a familiar mechanical sound rang out from the middle of the table.
Click.
The tabletop slowly separated.
A lifting mechanism rose from within the table once more.
The machinery gradually came to a halt.
The transparent cube settled securely in front of Facet.
Inside it, the dark green pollution crystal remained embedded at the center.
Compared to before, it appeared even quieter.
Facet slowly extended both hands.
She used no protective equipment.
Nor did she activate any additional devices.
She simply picked up the pollution crystal with calm, steady movements.
Lucian's eyes narrowed slightly.
Just moments ago, the crystal had released a single pulse of light during the detection process, enough to instantly rob an ordinary ability user of the ability to move.
Yet now, Facet was touching it directly.
Without the slightest hesitation.
The moment her fingers closed around the crystal, the patterns of light flowing within it suddenly surged violently.
In the next instant, the entire pollution crystal erupted in a brilliance far greater than before.
Not merely a little brighter.
Dozens of times brighter.
In the blink of an eye, the entire hidden space was swallowed by green light.
There was nowhere to hide.
No shadows remained.
Dense green radiance, almost tangible in its intensity, swept through the entire room like a surging tide.
The air began to vibrate violently.
Lucian reacted without hesitation.
Azure enveloped his body and expanded instantly.
The pale blue barrier thickened rapidly.
The defensive layer that had previously clung closely to the surface of his body now unfolded completely.
One layer.
Two layers.
Three layers.
Azure continued to stack upon itself, firmly isolating him from the green radiance.
The two forces collided repeatedly.
Rings of pale blue ripples spread across the surface of the barrier.
Meanwhile, the green light surged against the shield constructed by Azure like countless tiny currents, each one relentlessly battering its defenses.
Throughout the room, there was no sound other than the deep hum produced by the collision of energy.
The separated partition walls showed no cracks.
The conference table did not shake.
The chairs remained neatly arranged.
The entire space appeared untouched, as though nothing had happened.
Only the terrifying energy released by the pollution crystal continued to intensify.
Lucian stood motionless.
His gaze remained fixed on Facet.
He noticed something.
Facet's breathing had begun to grow labored.
Fine blue-green veins gradually appeared across her exposed skin.
Those markings were not an ability.
They looked more like pollution spreading through her body.
Yet she continued to hold the pollution crystal firmly.
She did not take a single step backward.
Lucian quickly understood.
That injection had not enhanced her strength.
Instead, it had temporarily increased her body's capacity to withstand pollution.
Otherwise, she would never have been able to touch a pollution crystal of this magnitude directly.
The green radiance continued to pour forth.
The entire space resembled the inside of a green sun.
Several seconds later, the light, which had reached an almost blinding intensity, finally began to fade rapidly.
The green glow dimmed at an accelerating pace.
The patterns of light that had continuously flowed through the crystal gradually came to a halt.
Facet maintained her grip on the pollution crystal.
However, her right hand, still covered by a white glove, had begun to tremble slightly.
The next second, tiny cracks slowly appeared across the crystal's surface.
One.
Two.
Three.
The cracks rapidly spread throughout the entire crystal.
Then—
Crack.
A faint snapping sound rang out.
The pollution crystal completely disintegrated in Facet's palm.
There was no explosion.
No energy remained behind.
It simply crumbled into countless tiny gray-green particles that slipped through the gaps between her fingers.
The powder dispersed into the air before slowly settling.
It was difficult to imagine that the object responsible for unleashing such terrifying power moments earlier was the same crystal now reduced to dust.
The green radiance vanished completely.
The hidden space returned to its normal lighting.
Lucian slowly withdrew part of Azure.
The pale blue barrier still covered his body, but it was no longer as thick as before.
His gaze swept across the room.
The conference table—
It was gone.
More precisely, it had not simply disappeared.
It had completely disintegrated during the eruption of green light.
The edges of the tabletop had begun crumbling into fine dust before the disintegration spread inward.
In just a few seconds, the entire long table lost its shape and collapsed into a pile of pale gray powder.
Next came the surrounding chairs.
The filing cabinets.
The metal racks standing in the corners.
One after another, they began to disintegrate as well.
There was no burning.
No explosion.
It was as though the very structures holding them together had been directly dismantled by some unseen force.
Eventually, everything crumbled into dust and drifted toward the floor.
And yet, the surrounding walls remained completely unchanged.
The dark gray specialized material retained its original appearance.
No cracks.
No corrosion.
Not even the slightest change in color.
It was as though the entire hidden space had been designed from the beginning for the sole purpose of withstanding this very form of pollution.
Facet gently exhaled.
Fine beads of sweat had formed across her forehead.
Her face had also grown noticeably paler.
Nevertheless, she remained standing straight.
She lowered her head and looked at the ashes in her palm.
Then she slowly opened her hand.
The last traces of powder drifted away.
Raising her head, she looked through the glass at Lucian.
Her gaze settled on the Azure barrier that still surrounded him, completely intact.
After several seconds of silence, she spoke softly.
"As expected."
"The records were accurate."
"The pollution crystal…"
"Has no effect on Azure."
It was not a question.
It was a confirmation.
She spoke as though completing an experimental record.
Lucian did not respond.
His gaze remained fixed on Facet as well.
The injection.
The pollution crystal.
Used together, they had allowed an ordinary human to come into direct contact with pollution of this magnitude for a limited period of time.
This was not an ability.
It was technology.
Technology that could fundamentally change how pollution was handled under existing methods.
Facet slowly put her white glove back on and straightened her sleeve.
She behaved as though everything that had just happened had been nothing more than an ordinary demonstration.
Then she looked at Lucian again.
Her voice returned to its usual composure.
"Now."
"You should understand why the Archives needs to continue recording Irina."
"And why we will never harm her."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"As long as she remains alive, she can continue to generate new records."
"That is far more valuable than her death."
"Therefore, the Archives will not deliberately harm her."
Lucian watched her in silence.
After a long moment, he finally spoke.
"Any act that harms Irina is prohibited."
Facet nodded without hesitation.
"Agreed."
"The Archives accepts this condition."
"This is a negotiated agreement."
The moment she finished speaking, a section of the wall behind the observation chamber slowly opened to both sides.
A straight passageway appeared beyond it.
At the far end stood a flight of metal stairs leading downward.
This was another route out of the hidden space.
Facet turned slightly to the side and raised her right hand, still covered by a white glove.
She calmly gestured toward the exit.
"The agreement is established."
"Lucian Jace."
"Please."
Lucian said nothing more.
He did not look back, either.
Maintaining the Azure barrier around his body, he stepped forward and walked toward the stairs leading back to the outside world.
His pace remained unhurried.
Behind him, the hidden space returned to silence.
As though nothing had ever happened.
English word count: approximately 2,650 words.