The glow around Eris slowly dimmed, leaving faint silver lines across his arms and neck, like veins of starlight etched into flesh. He sat upright, unsteady but no longer broken.
Mara helped him to his feet, studying his changed body. "You look… different."
Jonas whistled low. "Different? He looks like he swallowed a whole power plant."
Eris flexed his hands. The air around his palms shimmered faintly, a distortion that bent the light. He clenched his fists quickly, afraid of what else might happen. "It's… hard to control. But I feel… everything. The Ark. The walls. The engines. It's like they're part of me."
Selene stepped forward, her gaze sharp. "The Binding worked. But it won't be stable. You need to learn control—fast. Power this raw can break the wielder before it bends to him."
Eris nodded, though unease lingered in his eyes.
The Ark's voice rolled through the chamber once again, calm and vast.
"He is no longer only human. He is conduit. He carries my will, my systems, my memory. Through him, I act. Through me, he endures."
Liora stepped closer, her expression soft despite the weight of the moment. "Then he's… both? Eris, and the Ark?"
The crystal pulsed faintly in reply.
Eris rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know what I am. But I know this—if I lose control, I could destroy everything around me. Including all of you."
Mara snorted. "Good thing we're already used to walking on the edge of disaster." But her eyes softened as she met his. "Just don't shut us out, kid. We'll keep you steady."
Jonas folded his arms, raising a brow. "Yeah, as long as he doesn't start sprouting rocket thrusters and blasting us across Mars."
Despite the tension, a laugh broke out among them, brief but grounding.
Then Selene's voice cut through, serious once more. "If the Ark has truly chosen, then it will also guide us. What is its will, Eris?"
Eris closed his eyes. His mind stretched outward—not into the air, but through the Ark itself. He felt the corridors like veins, the engines like lungs, the crystal like a beating heart. And beneath it all, an old directive burned: one final purpose written into the Ark's soul.
His eyes snapped open, glowing faintly. "It wants us to go deeper. There's more hidden below Mars's crust. Something even it fears."
The Ark's hum deepened, resonant and ominous.
"What stirs beneath is older than me. Older than the Heart. But if you seek truth… you must descend."
The chamber grew cold, as if Mars itself had heard the words.
Mara gripped her blade tighter. "Deeper into hell, huh? Figures."
Selene lifted her staff. "Then the path is set."
Eris glanced at his friends—their trust, their fear, their unyielding resolve. His voice was quiet, but firm. "Then we descend."