The ward-stones hummed with new energy as they finished getting ready. Three groups, once fighting, now worked together uneasily.
The Severers had laid down a web of cold iron, the Chorus kept a breathing pattern going, and the Architects had built a geometric frame around their circle.
They'd set up rules... a 90-heartbeat time limit, staggered anchors, emergency pull-phrases, and a "no-write" first pass.
Lena and Kael stood at the center, their hands held together, their minds in sync.
The Seed symbol on their maps pulsed with excitement, a constant reminder of what they were about to try.
Tonight, they didn't just enter the Door space... they challenged it.
The second dive started with the guard avatar already waiting, upgraded from their last meeting.
It immediately boxed in their consciousness, marking them as "read-only" visitors. Orrin's iron web dampened the spikes of fear that ran through the network, while Mara's breathing grid stabilized their shared rhythm.
Elian threaded a path they could follow through the crystal library, leading them straight to the Seed.
At the Seed, Kael began mapping its main commands... Persist, Learn, Propagate.
Each command was a complex pattern of light and information, but he could see a locked gate that would let them add a Consent/Constraint rule.
It needed a three-group agreement signature... a perfect harmony of Severer, Chorus, and Architect intent.
Outside pressure hit as Severer hardliners tried to cut the connection mid-dive, cracking the ward-stones.
The Chorus held the field, their breathing exercises getting stronger to make up for it. The Architects rerouted the load, but the political break threatened their mission.
The guard avatar responded by tightening its box, making their search harder.
If agreement wasn't reached by the deadline, Vaetheris would auto-start Propagation using the settings it already learned from the network... world-level copying without any Consent/Constraint rule.
The mental cost became clear as being close to the Seed started a memory tax.
Pieces of Barrow Falls blurred through Kael's mind... Elara's face, the sound of falling rocks, the smell of blood. Lena wavered, pulled by the deeper heartbeat, her addiction threatening to drag her under.
Kael anchored her with shared map loops, reminding her of their purpose.
Her struggle made her the weak link in the network, tempting her to skip safety measures for a deeper connection to the Seed.
Against all odds, the network achieved a brief three-signal harmony.
A compile-key symbol printed itself onto their shared consciousness, triggering the guard's immediate chase. The takeover-risk meter rose fast, its needle moving into the danger zone.
They'd triggered something they weren't ready for.
Emergency pull became their only choice. They yanked themselves out with the key, but the damage was done.
As consciousness slammed back into their bodies, they found every map now had a countdown symbol tied to the Seed's next open window.
Vaetheris had given them a deadline, and it was counting down.
The countdown symbol pulsed with an urgency that matched the dungeon's heartbeat. Seven days.
That's how long they had until the Seed opened again, whether they were ready or not.
The Severers were mad, blaming the hardliners for the break. The Chorus was tired from keeping things stable. The Architects were already calculating, trying to find a way to skip the agreement requirement.
And Lena... Lena was quiet, her eyes fixed on the symbol, her addiction fighting with her fear.
They'd bought themselves time, but at what cost?
The dungeon was learning, changing, and their next meeting would be even more dangerous.
The question was whether they'd be ready when the timer ran out.
"Our maps show a timer we didn't set."
The ward-stones flickered badly, their ancient power clearly weakened by the strain of their interrupted mission.
The hardline Severers had separated themselves, refusing to join what they saw as a stupid mission.
Orrin stood between them and the rest, his face grim.
"We've made things worse," he said, his voice low. "The dungeon knows our weaknesses now. It knows how to divide us."
Mara came forward, her face pale but determined. "The Chorus will strengthen the ward-stones. We can bring back some of their power before the next try."
She looked at Lena with worry. "But we need everyone working together. No secrets, no hidden plans."
Elian nodded in agreement. "The Architects are making new rules. Faster, better ways to reach agreement. But we need more time."
He pointed to the countdown symbol. "Seven days isn't enough."
Lena finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "What if we don't need all three groups? What if two of us could reach the same harmony?"
Her suggestion was met with doubt, but Kael could see the gears turning in Elian's mind.
The chance of a shortcut, however dangerous, was too tempting to ignore.
Kael looked at the faces around him, seeing the same mix of fear and determination that he felt in himself.
They were running out of time, running out of options. The dungeon was evolving faster than they were, learning from their every move. The guard avatar would be stronger next time, its security systems more advanced.
And if they failed to reach agreement before the countdown ended... the results didn't bear thinking about.
"We need to prepare," Kael said, his voice steady even though his hands shook. "Make our anchors stronger, improve our rules, and find a way to work together despite our differences."
He looked at Lena, his face softening. "Especially you. Your connection to the dungeon is both our greatest strength and our greatest weakness. We need to help you find balance."
She nodded, her eyes filled with thanks. "I'll try. For all of us."
But Kael could see the struggle in her face, the pull of the Seed's heartbeat fighting with her desire to help.
Her addiction would be the true test of their unity.
As the meeting broke up, Kael noticed Orrin watching Lena with suspicion.
He didn't trust her, didn't trust anyone who seemed too eager to accept the dungeon's influence.
His paranoia made sense, but it was also dangerous.
If they couldn't trust each other, they couldn't reach the harmony needed to access the Seed's locked gate.
The night passed with uneasy rest as the Changed took turns strengthening the ward-stones and practicing their jobs.
The countdown symbol on their maps kept pulsing, a constant reminder of the deadline they were facing.
Each day that passed, it grew brighter, clearer, like Vaetheris was eagerly waiting for their next meeting.
In the morning, they met again to review their progress.
The Architects had made a new plan that could possibly reach agreement with only two groups, but it needed perfect timing and carried big risk.
The Severers were split on whether to join at all.
The Chorus was tired but determined.
And Lena... Lena was struggling, her hands shaking as she tried to focus on the breathing exercises.
"We need a breakthrough," Kael said, talking to the gathered Changed. "Something that will give us an advantage when we go back into the Door space."
He looked at Elian, who nodded in understanding. "The Architects have been working on a theory... a harmonic bridge that could temporarily link our minds directly, skipping the need for physical anchors."
Mara's eyes got wide. "That's dangerous. It could leave us open to takeover."
"But it might be our only chance," Elian argued back. "The ward-stones won't survive another full-scale try. We need something faster, better."
Orrin laughed harshly. "Faster isn't better if it gets us all killed."
But even as he spoke, Kael could see the calculation in his eyes.
He was considering it, weighing the risks against the alternative.
The decision hung in the air, heavy as a tombstone.
Did they play it safe and risk the auto-start of Propagation? Or did they take a dangerous gamble that could either save them or destroy them?
The countdown symbol pulsed, reminding them that time was running out.
And as Kael looked at the faces around him, he realized that their unity... or lack of it... would decide not just their fate, but maybe the fate of the world beyond these ward-stones.
"We have seven days," Kael said, his voice steady despite the fear that churned in his stomach. "Seven days to prepare, to find harmony, to face whatever waits for us beyond the Seed's locked gate. Together."
The Changed nodded in agreement, their faces a mix of determination and dread.
They were no longer just individuals trying to survive.
They were a network, a shared mind with the power to shape reality itself.
And the dungeon was watching, waiting, learning from their every move.
The next phase of the experiment had begun, and the outcome was far from certain.