Location:Growth Zone — Central Chamber to Perimeter, Rally Point
Date/Time:TC1856.01.12 (04:30 – 06:00)
They ran.
Back through the throat-corridor that had narrowed around them on the way in. Back through Zone 4 where the distribution network's nodes pulsed in the walls and the ambient spiritual energy pressed against the degrading formation seals. Back through Zone 3 where the breeding chambers held their rows of bodies and the bioluminescent green light turned everything the color of something drowned.
Faster than the approach. They knew the route — the recording crystals had mapped every junction, every turn. Naida led at full Ghoststride, the shadow-movement carrying her through the organic corridors at a pace the others struggled to match. Raven followed. Thorne and Mira behind her. Taron at the rear, Stormheart drawn for the first time since entering the growth zone, the blade silent in his hand, the combat readiness directed at something he knew wasn't coming.
