The corridor grew narrower.
The low ceiling forced them to duck slightly as they moved. The walls on either side were lined with old pipes some leaking, dripping water in an irregular rhythm.
Each drop echoed clearly.
Too clearly.
As if the world above had drifted away, leaving them in a separate space.
The child walked ahead.
Their steps were steadier now.
The cables on their back crept along the contours of the walls, sometimes sticking, sometimes trembling as if reading something invisible.
Daniel followed close behind.
"How much farther?" he asked softly.
The child did not answer right away.
They paused for a moment.
Their head tilted slightly.
As if listening.
"Close… but not safe."
Leonard Graves let out a long breath.
"My favorite phrase of the day."
Richard Blackwood stayed at the back, keeping the last position.
His eyes occasionally glanced back at the corridor they had passed.
No sounds.
Yet his instincts were uneasy.
"We're being watched," he said shortly.
Daniel tensed up.
"Are you sure?"
Richard did not reply.
He only stared into the darkness behind them.
Leonard smiled faintly.
"If he says that, it's usually not a guess."
The child started walking again.
Faster.
"Don't stop."
Their tone had changed.
More urgent.
The corridor turned sharply.
Then sloped downward again.
The air grew colder.
More damp.
But something was different now.
A pressure.
Subtle.
Yet clear.
Daniel felt it.
He looked at his device.
The graphics on the screen flickered.
Unstable.
"There's interference," he muttered.
Leonard raised an eyebrow.
"From where?"
Daniel shook his head.
"Not from Helios… this is a different pattern."
The child stopped suddenly.
Everyone fell silent at once.
Richard moved closer.
"What is it?"
The child did not answer.
Their gaze was fixed straight ahead.
The corridor ahead looked empty.
But
something felt off.
Something unseen.
"We're not alone," they whispered.
Leonard let out a quiet breath.
"We already knew that."
There was no trace of casualness in his voice.
Because he felt it too.
Richard raised his weapon.
"Positions."
Daniel stepped back half a pace.
The child stood still.
But the cables on their body moved faster.
More restlessly.
And then
they saw it.
Not a solid form.
Not a clear figure.
But a distortion.
The air before them seemed folded over.
Like something was trying to emerge
yet was not fully there.
Daniel held his breath.
"What… is that?"
The child whispered,
"Him."
Silence fell.
Heavier than before.
Leonard narrowed his eyes.
"Him who?"
But the answer was already clear.
This was not the same force as earlier.
Not human.
This was something else.
The distortion moved.
Slowly.
Drawing closer.
Not walking.
Not stepping.
More like… gliding.
Richard did not wait.
He fired.
The bullet passed through the distortion
with no effect.
Leonard muttered under his breath.
"It doesn't work."
The child stepped back one pace.
Their body trembled slightly.
"We can't fight that…"
Daniel looked at them.
"Then what do we do?!"
The child stared toward it.
Their eyes narrowed.
"Don't move."
Leonard raised an eyebrow.
"That's a bad plan."
But there were no other options.
Everyone stopped.
Still.
Not moving.
The distortion drew closer.
Nearer.
Until it was only a few meters away.
The air around them felt heavy.
Hard to breathe.
Daniel felt his heart beating faster.
Cold sweat trickled down his temple.
Yet he did not move.
Did not dare to.
The child closed their eyes.
The cables on their body slowly stopped moving.
As if calming themselves.
The distortion halted.
Right in front of them.
Its vibrations were palpable.
Like an unstable frequency.
Yet it did not attack.
As if… observing.
Ethan
deep within the core
felt everything.
He saw that point.
Felt that connection
he understood.
"It's not an enemy…"
he whispered.
But the words did not reach them.
In the corridor.
the child slowly opened their eyes.
Their gaze was calm.
Yet focused.
"He's looking for…"
Daniel whispered,
"Looking for what?"
The child answered softly,
"The source."
Leonard crossed his arms.
"And we're carrying the source?"
The child shook their head.
"Not us…"
They paused for a moment.
Then stared off into an unseen direction.
"Him."
Silence.
Everyone understood.
Ethan.
The distortion vibrated.
More strongly.
As if responding.
Daniel nearly panicked.
"We have to go!"
Richard remained still.
His eyes sharp.
Watching every change.
The child slowly raised their hand.
The cables moved again.
More gently.
More purposeful.
They sent something out.
Not sound.
Not movement.
But a signal.
Subtle.
Calm.
The distortion reacted.
Its vibrations shifted.
Slower.
More stable.
Like… listening.
Ethan felt it.
That connection.
The child
was speaking to something even Helios's network did not fully understand.
"Don't… not yet," Ethan whispered in his consciousness.
The signal pulsed.
As if responding.
The distortion in the corridor.
slowly retreated.
Not out of fear.
But because… it chose to.
It vanished.
Like mist being drawn back into the darkness.
Silence returned.
But not as it had been before.
Deeper.
Heavier.
Daniel immediately drew a long breath.
"What was that just now…"
Leonard let out a breath.
"I'm not sure I want to know."
Richard looked at the child.
"Did you control it?"
The child shook their head slightly.
"No…"
They lowered their gaze.
"He just… listened."
Silence fell again.
But this time.
it was filled with questions.
More than before.
Daniel looked ahead.
"We have to keep moving."
Richard nodded.
"Now."
They continued on their way.
But the mood had shifted.
Because they knew.
out there.
there was something that was not human.
Not machine.
Yet still alive.
And it.
was watching them.
Meanwhile.
deep within the core.
Ethan stood in an ocean of light.
But his thoughts were no longer only on the network.
He was thinking of something else.
That signal.
The child.
And the creature in the corridor.
Everything was connected.
But not through the same system.
There was something deeper.
Older.
Wilder.
And he had just touched it.
The pulse within him shifted.
Not only because of Helios.
But because something was beginning to awaken.
Something not created.
But… discovered.
And perhaps.
should never have been touched.