The group emerged from the crumbling core chamber, the faint hum of residual energy still buzzing in their ears. The forest greeted them with an eerie silence, its tall trees casting long shadows under the pale moonlight. They paused for a moment, catching their breaths and taking in the cool air.Ethan glanced back at the faint glow of the disabled core. “One down,” he murmured, though his voice held little triumph. “How many more to go?”Kael wiped sweat from his forehead. “If the map I deciphered is right, there are at least five other major cores like this one. Each of them will be harder to reach.”“And more heavily guarded,” Lila added, her tone sharp. She scanned their surroundings, her hand gripping her blade. “The System won’t let this slide. We’ve made ourselves targets.”Vera nodded in agreement. “We need to keep moving. If we stay here too long, they’ll find us.”As they walked deeper into the forest, the group’s tension became palpable. Trent lagged behind, his face hard

The air in the cavern hung heavy with tension. Ethan tightened his grip on the edge of the stone slab as the faint glow of the mysterious symbols pulsed in an unsteady rhythm, like the heartbeat of something ancient and alive. Lila knelt beside him, her fingers tracing the lines on the surface. “This isn’t just a map,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “It’s a warning.”Mara stood at the edge of the room, her sharp eyes scanning the shifting shadows. “Whatever’s hidden here, it doesn’t want us to find it,” she said, her tone cold but wary.Ethan exchanged a glance with Dr. Trent, who was furiously scribbling notes in his worn notebook. “What are we dealing with here, Doc?” Ethan asked.Trent hesitated, adjusting his glasses. “The System may have origins far older than we ever imagined. This place... it’s not just ancient—it’s alien. Something buried deep, waiting to be uncovered.”Before Ethan could respond, the symbols on the slab flared, flooding the chamber with blinding light. A

The ground trembled beneath their feet as the group followed Ezra deeper into the forest. The air grew colder, and the trees seemed to press closer together, their branches clawing at the sky. Behind them, the shadow of the enormous machine loomed larger, its beams of light piercing through the dense forest like searchlights.“Faster,” Ezra urged, his voice calm but firm. His staff emitted a faint blue glow, casting eerie shadows on the forest floor.“Where are you taking us?” Ethan demanded, his breath labored.“To a place the System can’t see,” Ezra replied, glancing back briefly. “But it won’t be easy to get there.”“That thing behind us doesn’t look like it plans on making anything easy,” Lila muttered, her grip tightening on her weapon.Mara, who had been unusually quiet, suddenly stopped. She turned to face the direction of the machine, her eyes narrowing. “It’s not just hunting us. It’s scanning for something—probably a signal.”Trent, struggling to keep up, adjusted his glasse

The echoes in the tunnel grew louder, heavy footsteps reverberating through the stone walls. Ethan, Lila, Mara, Trent, and Ezra froze in place, their breaths shallow. The faint tremors beneath their feet hinted at something massive and deliberate moving toward them.“We don’t have time for this,” Trent muttered, clutching his scanner with shaking hands. The device beeped erratically, its screen flickering with warning signals. “Whatever’s coming, it’s big. Bigger than the last one.”Ezra stepped forward, his staff glowing faintly. “This isn’t a test of strength. It’s a test of resolve. Stay together, and we might have a chance.”“Resolve won’t stop whatever that is,” Mara growled, tightening her grip on her blade. “We need a plan, and we need it now.”Ethan scanned the area, his mind racing. The obelisk’s visions still lingered, flashing in his mind like ghostly echoes. He had seen what would happen if they failed—entire cities reduced to ashes, humanity enslaved under the System’s ir

The tunnel ahead was narrower than before, its walls rough and jagged like the throat of a beast. The hum that had guided them so far now felt sharper, cutting into their ears with a metallic edge. Ethan led the group, his mind racing. The trials in the chamber had shaken them all, but he knew they couldn’t afford to falter.“What’s our plan, Ethan?” Lila asked, her voice steady despite the tension in the air.“We keep going,” Ethan said. “The System knows we’re here, and it’s trying to break us. If we stop now, it wins.”Trent adjusted his scanner, his eyes darting nervously. “The energy readings are spiking. Whatever’s ahead... it’s big.”Mara smirked, gripping her blade tighter. “Good. I was getting bored.”But even her confidence couldn’t mask the unease that had settled over the group. The tunnel seemed alive, its walls pulsing faintly as if breathing.As they pressed on, a voice echoed through the tunnel, smooth and cold like the figure from the chamber.“You were warned,” it sa