Alteea led them to a square of floor that had opinions. Lines lit themselves and then held - clean, surgical geometry. A white column lifted out of the tile with a soft hydraulic breath. At chest height, a hexagonal recess unfolded like a quiet mouth. Beneath the glass skin, nested lenses ticked in micro-steps around a crystalline core that turned as slow as tide.
"Fortitude column" Alteea said, glasses catching a slice of light. "You point your weapon into the panel and give me everything your body can push through it - cleanly. The column reads raw Eon, your channel quality, and what you're best at. Saffi, if you could, please?"
Saffi's slate woke with a tiny sigh. She stood a half-step back, eyes on no one and everything.
Arashi eyed the machine like it might bite first. "So we just… blast the mouth?"
"Panel" Alteea corrected, amused.
Kori folded her arms, clipboard under one elbow. "If you wobble, step out. Overexertion here is as foolish as underperforming."
