The silence that remained after the troops retreated brought no sense of relief.
Quite the opposite.
The air felt heavier.
As if something unseen was still watching from behind the walls.
Daniel stood before the panel, his eyes fixed on the constantly moving graphs.
"The numbers aren't dropping," he said softly but clearly. "Energy keeps rising even with no activity."
Leonard Graves rubbed the back of his neck.
"So we don't need to fight to make things worse. Interesting."
Richard Blackwood stood in a constant state of alertness.
His gaze shifted from the core to Ethan.
"You said it absorbs energy from outside."
Ethan nodded slowly.
His eyes were still fixed on the protective layer surrounding the core.
The blue light inside looked stable.
But he knew—
it was only surface deep.
"It's not just collisions," he replied. "It responds to our presence."
Daniel turned quickly.
"You mean… human presence?"
Ethan took a deep breath.
"There's something inside it that learns from life patterns."
Leonard smiled slightly.
"So now we're feeding the thing just by breathing near it?"
Daniel did not answer.
But his expression said enough.
Richard stepped closer to the core.
His hand almost touched the protective layer.
"We have to move this."
Daniel reacted immediately,
"Are you serious?! We haven't even fully understood how it works!"
Richard stared sharply at him.
"And we don't have time to understand everything."
Ethan averted his gaze.
"He's right."
Daniel froze.
"You too?"
Ethan stepped closer.
"If this node stays here, they'll come back."
He looked up at the stairs above.
"And next time, they won't stop."
Leonard nodded.
"I'd rather move than wait around."
Daniel let out a long sigh.
"Fine… but we need a way."
He turned back to the panel.
His hands moved quickly.
"Maybe there's an internal transport system… something to move the core without opening the protective layer."
A few seconds passed.
Then—
the screen flickered.
"Found it."
Everyone turned.
Daniel pointed to the data on the screen.
"There's an underground route… some kind of conveyor track."
Leonard raised an eyebrow.
"This place is bigger than we thought."
Richard spoke shortly,
"Activate it."
Daniel nodded.
His fingers pressed a series of commands.
A mechanical sound came from beneath the floor.
Metal structures shifted.
A platform slowly emerged under the core.
Ethan watched closely.
A faint vibration could be felt.
Like something that did not like the change.
"Hurry," he said.
The platform locked into place under the core.
The metal tracks opened up, forming a path to another corridor.
Daniel swallowed hard.
"This will take us to another part of the complex."
Leonard grinned wryly.
"Hope it's not to a bigger nest."
Richard raised his hand.
"Move out."
The platform began to move.
Slowly.
But steadily.
The protected Helios core glided along the tracks.
The blue light inside pulsed gently.
Ethan walked beside it.
Keeping his distance.
But staying close.
He felt every small change.
Every fluctuation.
Every tremor.
Daniel followed behind, his eyes constantly monitoring data from his portable device.
Leonard guarded the right side.
Richard led the way.
A wordless formation.
The corridor they entered was narrower.
Darker.
Dim lights flickered on one by one as they passed.
The sound of metal wheels on tracks echoed softly.
Adding to the tension.
Several minutes passed without incident.
But the sense of unease grew stronger.
Ethan stopped suddenly.
The platform continued moving a little before finally coming to a halt as well.
Richard turned immediately.
"What is it?"
Ethan raised his hand.
A signal to be quiet.
Everyone froze.
No sound.
But…
there was something.
A faint vibration.
Not from the core.
From ahead.
Leonard narrowed his eyes.
"I can feel it too."
Daniel whispered,
"What is that…?"
Ethan stared into the dark corridor ahead.
His eyes narrowed.
"Not one."
Tense silence fell.
Richard raised his weapon.
"Be ready."
The light at the end of the corridor began to flicker.
Then—
something appeared.
A silhouette.
But not human.
Its form was unstable.
Like an energy wave taking shape.
One.
Then two.
Then three.
Daniel stepped back half a pace.
"Those… are they from the core?"
Ethan shook his head slightly.
"No."
He stared deeper.
"They're… its fragments."
Leonard let out a breath.
"Great. Now we've got its kids."
The silhouettes moved.
Not fast.
But steadily.
As if trying to understand movement.
Searching for direction.
Ethan stepped forward slightly.
"Don't attack."
Richard spoke at once,
"Are you sure?"
Ethan replied,
"They respond to energy."
Leonard held back.
"So we just stand still and hope they're not hungry?"
Ethan did not answer.
He slowly extended his hand.
Trying the same approach as before.
The first silhouette stopped.
Its vibration shifted.
Slower.
As if uncertain.
But the second one
did not.
It moved faster.
More aggressively.
Straight toward Ethan.
"No!" Daniel shouted.
But it was too late.
The silhouette struck.
Not his body.
but the space around him.
A wave of energy spread out.
Ethan was thrown backward.
His body slammed into the wall.
His breath was knocked out of him.
Leonard reacted immediately.
A shot was fired.
The bullet passed through the silhouette.
with no effect.
"It doesn't work!" he yelled.
Richard moved forward.
Pulling Ethan away.
"Don't touch them!"
The silhouette spun around.
Larger.
More stable.
As if absorbing energy from the earlier attack.
Daniel panicked.
"It's getting stronger!"
Ethan got to his feet.
His eyes sharp again.
"I have to hold it back."
Leonard shook his head.
"You almost died just now!"
Ethan did not hear him.
He stepped forward again.
But this time—
more carefully.
He centered himself.
Blocking out all distractions.
Focusing only on the wave.
"Listen…" he whispered softly.
The silhouette trembled.
Stopped.
For a moment.
Enough to make space.
Richard took a deep breath.
"We have to get past them."
Daniel looked at the tracks.
"The platform can't reverse."
Leonard smirked slightly.
"So we only have one way to go."
Ethan opened his eyes.
His gaze was focused again.
"I'll hold them back."
He turned to Richard.
"Get the core out of here."
A brief silence.
Richard stared at him.
Assessing.
Then nodded.
"Do it."
Daniel moved immediately.
Reactivating the platform.
Leonard took position at the front.
"Don't take too long."
The platform moved again.
Slowly passing the silhouettes now held back by Ethan.
Blue light bounced all over the corridor.
Creating unstable shadows.
Ethan stood behind.
Holding back the waves.
Every second felt heavy.
Every second drained him.
But he did not retreat.
Because he knew.
if he failed
everything would be destroyed here.
And ahead
the path was still long.
Longer than they could have imagined.