The light from the circle had not yet completely faded.
It no longer exploded outward.
But pulsed.
Deeply.
Rhythmically.
Like the breath of something that had just awakened.
Daniel stood rigid at the edge of the circle.
His eyes stared at the empty space in its center.
The spot where the child had vanished seconds earlier.
"It… has fully activated…" his voice was faint.
Leonard Graves slowly ran a hand over his face.
"And we've lost the only one who knew how to turn it off. Brilliant."
Richard Blackwood did not reply.
He stood a little closer.
His gaze pierced through the light.
Searching.
Assessing.
"No," he said finally.
Daniel turned quickly.
"What?"
Richard lifted his chin slightly.
"She hasn't disappeared."
Silence fell.
Daniel looked back into the circle.
More focused.
Deeper.
And for a split second
he saw something.
A silhouette.
Faint.
Like a shadow behind water.
"She… is still there…"
Leonard narrowed his eyes.
"I don't like the sound of 'there'."
The vibrations in the room intensified.
The floor trembled slightly.
The walls reflected blue light that now mixed with another color—
paler.
Colder.
Daniel looked at his device.
Data spiked.
Unstable.
"The energy from this gate… isn't the same as Helios…"
He paused.
"It's broader… like opening something far larger."
Richard remained silent.
But his hands were now readier.
Leonard turned toward the back corridor.
"We won't have much time before our old friends show up again."
Daniel nodded.
But his eyes stayed fixed on the circle.
"We have to pull her out."
Richard replied shortly,
"If that's possible."
Silence returned.
Then
a sound.
Not from outside.
Not from within the room.
But from the gate itself.
Soft.
Almost like an echo.
"…don't…"
Daniel froze.
"That's her!"
He stepped closer.
But Richard immediately held him back by the shoulder.
"Don't get too close."
The light inside the circle trembled.
Stronger.
Faster.
The silhouette appeared again.
Clearer.
The child.
But not entirely the same.
Her body looked blurred.
As if part of her was left on the other side.
"Pull me… out…" her voice was broken.
Daniel immediately tried to reach for her.
But as his hand drew near.
A wave of energy pushed him back.
"Ah...!"
Leonard caught Daniel at once.
"Don't touch it!"
Richard observed.
His eyes narrowed.
"Something is holding her there."
The child trembled.
Her body was pulled backward.
Into the light.
"She… isn't alone…"
The silence turned cold in an instant.
Leonard let out a slow breath.
"Of course not."
The light inside the circle changed.
No longer just blue.
But mixed with dark shadows.
Like something trying to get out.
Or pull something in.
Daniel stared in horror.
"What is that…"
Ethan.
at the core.
felt the surge.
A new connection.
The open gate.
And something beyond it.
He tried to hold on.
To regulate the flow of energy.
To lock the pathways.
But the pressure from the other side
was too strong.
"Don't let it out…" he whispered.
But his voice did not carry through.
In the room—
Richard stepped closer to the circle.
His gaze unwavering.
"There's a way."
Daniel turned.
"What?"
Richard did not answer immediately.
He observed the pattern of light.
The changing frequency.
The movement of the silhouette.
"This isn't just a portal."
He continued,
"It's a two-way connection."
Leonard raised an eyebrow.
"And?"
Richard looked straight into it.
"If something is holding her there… we can pull her from here."
Daniel frowned.
"With what?"
Richard lifted his weapon.
But not to shoot.
He aimed it at the panel beside the circle.
Pressed several points.
Looking for a response.
"Disrupt its stability."
Leonard smiled slightly.
"Finally, a plan that makes sense."
Daniel moved to help at once.
"If we change the frequency… maybe we can weaken the pull from the other side."
The child inside the gate cried out,
"Hurry…!"
The light began to shift.
The panels around the circle flickered.
Daniel worked quickly.
Leonard guarded the rear.
Richard stayed focused on the circle's core.
Frequency rose.
Fell.
Changed.
The light trembled.
The child's silhouette moved closer.
A little.
But enough.
"Again!" Daniel shouted.
Leonard fired toward the corridor.
Footsteps sounded again.
They were close.
Richard did not turn around.
"Focus."
Daniel adjusted the parameters again.
The light in the circle flickered wildly.
Vibrations increased.
The floor screeched.
The child was now almost at the edge.
Her hand stretched out.
"Now!"
Richard moved.
Fast.
He grabbed her hand
and this time
there was no pushing force.
He pulled.
Hard.
The child emerged from the light.
Her body fell to the floor.
Daniel rushed over immediately.
"She's alive!"
Leonard turned quickly.
"Good. Now let's—"
His words stopped.
Because inside the circle.
something moved.
Not the child's silhouette.
Larger.
Darker.
The light around it dimmed.
As if swallowed.
Richard stood up at once.
Pulling the child away.
"Stay back from there."
Daniel helped drag the child's body.
Leonard aimed his weapon.
"Whatever that is… doesn't look friendly."
The gate trembled.
Stronger than before.
Something was trying to get out.
Ethan felt that pressure.
Greater than anything before.
"It's not part of the network…" he whispered.
"It's something else…"
In the room—
a small crack appeared in the air at the circle's center.
Dark.
Deep.
And from within it.
a pair of eyes opened.
Not glowing.
Not shining.
But clearly visible.
Watching.
Assessing.
Daniel stepped back.
"It… it's looking at us…"
Leonard held his breath.
"And I don't think it came to say hello."
Richard raised his weapon.
But this time.
he did not shoot immediately.
Because he knew.
this was not something that could be stopped with bullets.
The child on the floor slowly opened her eyes.
Her breathing was weak.
But her gaze went straight to the circle.
And for the first time.
genuine fear was visible on her face.
"It… has found a way…"
Silence fell.
Heavier than before.
Because they all knew.
whatever was beyond that gate.
had just seen their world.
And now.
it knew how to get in.
The ensuing silence felt oppressive.
Not just quiet.
But as if the room itself was holding its breath.
The pair of eyes in the crack did not move.
Did not blink.
Did not rush.
It simply… was there.
Watching.
Assessing.
Daniel stepped back another pace.
His hands shook even as he tried to steady them.
"It's not part of anything we've faced before…"
Leonard Graves did not reply.
But his jaw tightened.
Rarely did he run out of comments.
And when it happened—
it meant the situation was truly bad.
Richard Blackwood remained standing at the front.
His position shifted slightly.
Not attacking.
But protecting.
The child behind him tried to stand up.
Her body was still weak.
The cables attached to her moved slowly, as if losing their rhythm.
"It won't stop…" her voice was hoarse.
Daniel looked at her quickly.
"What do you mean?"
The child took a heavy breath.
Her eyes did not leave the crack.
"It has seen… it knows…"
Leonard finally spoke.
"Then we'll have to make it forget."
His casual tone was back.
But there was no humor in it.
Richard lifted his hand slightly.
A signal to be quiet.
The light in the circle began to change again.
The blue that had dominated earlier grew dimmer by the moment.
Replaced by a colder color.
Darker.
As if something from the other side was beginning to take over.
Ethan
at the core
felt the surge like pressure across his entire consciousness.
The previously stable Helios network began to be disrupted.
Several nodes trembled.
Some even… did not respond.
"No…" he whispered.
He tried to strengthen his control.
To close the pathways.
To isolate the gate.
But that connection
was not entirely his to control.
This was something older.
Wilder.
And not subject to the systems he commanded.
In the room—
the crack widened slightly.
Not much.
But enough to make the shadow within it clearer.
Its form was not whole.
Like something not yet fully able to enter this reality.
But its presence
was real.
Daniel whispered,
"We have to close it… now…"
Leonard looked toward the panel.
"The same way as before?"
Daniel shook his head quickly.
"It won't be enough."
Richard asked simply,
"Alternative options."
Daniel hesitated.
But finally said,
"We have to destroy the entire structure."
Silence fell.
Leonard raised an eyebrow.
"With us inside it?"
Daniel did not reply.
Because the answer was clear.
Richard looked at the circle.
Calculating.
Weighing.
The child suddenly spoke again.
Stronger this time.
"We can't close it from the outside."
Everyone turned.
The child sat upright.
Her eyes were sharp.
"It's already halfway in."
Daniel swallowed hard.
"Then what do we do?!"
The child looked toward the crack.
There was something in her gaze.
Not just fear.
But… recognition.
"I can hold it back."
Leonard reacted immediately,
"No. We're not doing that again."
The child did not turn around.
"I won't go in this time."
She raised her hand.
The cables on her body moved faster.
More alive.
"I'll just… lock the pathway."
Richard asked,
"How long?"
The child fell silent.
A few seconds.
Then.
"Enough."
Leonard sighed.
"I hate answers like that."
Daniel looked at the child.
"Are you sure?"
The child turned.
Her gaze was no longer that of a young child.
Older.
Heavier.
"I've done it before."
Silence.
Richard finally nodded.
"Do it."
Leonard stared at him sharply.
"Are you serious?"
Richard did not look away.
"We don't have time."
The child took a deep breath.
The cables on her body began to connect to the panels around the circle.
One by one.
Like roots seeking soil.
The light at the gate trembled.
Faster.
Wilder.
The crack widened a little more.
The eyes within it kept watching.
Not panicked.
Not rushed.
As if it knew
time was on its side.
The child closed her eyes.
Her body tensed.
Energy began to flow.
Daniel watched the numbers on his device spike.
"It's too high!"
Leonard stood ready at the rear.
Holding his position.
Richard stayed at the front.
His eyes never left the crack.
The child whispered,
"Now…"
The light in the circle changed drastically.
Blue appeared again.
But mixed with something else.
Like two forces colliding.
The crack trembled.
The shadow within it moved
the eyes narrowed
there was something there.
Not anger.
Not fear.
But… awareness.
That the path
was beginning to close.
And this time
it might not open again easily.