Chapter 22 · The Monster on Every Screen

The first thing Xia Lan heard was silence.

Not true silence. The left side of the world had gone quiet after the Core tore through her nerves, but the right side still carried fragments: the low mechanical thrum beneath the floor, Milo’s ragged breathing, Nolan’s boots scraping over stone.

And somewhere far above them, bells were ringing.

One. Two. Three.

The sound shivered through the underground command chamber. Dust drifted from the ceiling. The twelve dormant artillery shafts surrounding them groaned as their locking mechanisms disengaged, then froze halfway through the motion.

On the central platform, the Ashfall Core pulsed like a heart made of black glass.

A red countdown still glowed across its surface.

00:00:00

The numbers did not disappear. They simply stopped.

Xia Lan stood with one hand pressed against the Core. Her fingers had gone numb. Her knees trembled beneath her, and every breath scraped through her throat as if she had swallowed ash. The silver feathers along her folded wings were stained dark with soot and blood.

The Core’s voice whispered through the chamber.

“Target classification denied.”

Again, softer this time.

“Target classification denied.”

Then, beneath the machine’s voice, a child giggled.

Xia Lan’s stomach twisted.