For several seconds after Elara's words, no one moved.
The chamber felt colder than before.
Not physically.
But in the quiet way reality shifts when a new danger appears.
Adrian looked toward the tunnel leading to the surface.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
Elara nodded once.
"Yes."
Lyra ran a hand through her hair.
"Please tell me there's some other explanation."
"There isn't," Elara said calmly.
Kaelith stepped toward the tunnel entrance, listening carefully.
"I feel it too."
Seraphine looked at Adrian.
"The network?"
He closed his eyes briefly.
The bond system activated immediately.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Bond Network System
Domain Stabilization Active
External Mana Disturbance Confirmed
Location: Western District Surface
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The signal pulsed again.
Stronger.
Closer.
Adrian opened his eyes.
"It's real."
Aria's voice trembled slightly.
"But the barrier is still sealed."
"Yes," Adrian said.
"This is something else."
Lyra crossed her arms.
