The layer was not merely deep.
It… remembered.
Aurelia felt the difference from the very first step she took toward the opening core.
It was not just complex.
But there was something that held traces.
Not traces of time as she had known before.
But traces… of existence.
The entity beside Aurelia moved very slowly.
Its lines of light were no longer just reading.
It was as if… listening.
The units behind continued to guard the core.
But now they were more silent.
As if they did not wish to disturb something far older.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"There is something here," he said softly.
"Like… remnants of many things."
Orion nodded.
"Not broken remnants."
Ragnar exhaled.
"It's like… memories."
Aurelia did not answer immediately.
Because she felt it deeper than mere words.
She stepped forward slowly.
And there,
She felt something that made her stop.
The space did not merely respond to presence.
It… recognized.
Aurelia narrowed her eyes.
This was not observation.
