Chapter 27 · The City Holds Its Breath

The first thing Eli heard was the heartbeat.

Not his own. Not the deep mechanical pulse of Ash Zero Prime beneath his hands.

Something else was beating under the Black Tower.

Slow.

Heavy.

Patient.

The cockpit lights flickered across the glass, painting Sera's face in strips of crimson and black. She was still strapped into the auxiliary seat, one hand clamped over the port in her neck where the bloodline interface had burned her. Sweat darkened the loose strands of hair against her temple. Her breathing came shallow, but her eyes remained fixed on the tactical display.

A red circle expanded beneath the tower's foundation.

Then another pulse rolled through the ruined structure.

The cockpit shuddered.

Eli's fingers tightened around the command yoke. Beneath his gloves, the ember under his skin answered with a sudden flare of heat.

'That is not part of the frame,' Ash Crown said through the cockpit speakers. The voice was calm, almost gentle, which made the warning worse. 'Unknown power source detected. Depth: two hundred and forty meters below current position. Classification unavailable.'

Sera forced herself upright. 'Can you seal it?'

'Negative.'

'Can you destroy it?'

A pause.