Chapter 256: Time
The elevator sank.
No sound but the low hum of descent. The numbers on the panel shifted, -3, -7, -12...
Finally, it stopped at B-17.
The doors parted to reveal a long corridor, lined with reinforced glass. On the other side of the glass: rows of machines, humming in unison, blue light flickering across the walls like water.
The Core Containment Sector.
Merlin stepped out first, his reflection splitting across the glass panels. The hum of the cores filled the air, steady, rhythmic, like a heartbeat.
"Stay close," Regina murmured. "The data node’s through the main chamber."
They moved quickly. Their footsteps echoed softly, the rain above faintly audible through the layers of steel and earth.
Halfway through the hall, a mechanical tone chimed overhead.
[Security Protocol: Audit Mode Active.]
[Unscheduled access detected in Section B-17.]
Merlin and Regina froze.
"Scrambler?" he asked.
"Still active," Regina replied sharply. "Someone else tripped this."
"Someone else?"
Before she could answer, the lights flickered, once, twice, and then stabilized.
From the far end of the hall, a second elevator opened.
Two men stepped out. Both in dark suits. Both armed.
Regina’s breath caught. "Kael’s internal security."
Merlin’s eyes narrowed. "They weren’t supposed to be here."
"They’re never supposed to be anywhere," she said bitterly. "They just... are."
The guards spotted them instantly, raising their weapons.
Merlin reacted first. The air between them shimmered, a ripple, barely visible, and the first bullet flattened mid-flight, crushed as if it had struck invisible glass.
He moved before the second shot could follow. Wind folded around him, pressure shifting, one step became five. The corridor blurred, and in less than a heartbeat, he was behind the first guard.
The man barely had time to register a shadow before Merlin’s hand hit his neck, a short, precise strike. The guard collapsed silently.
The second spun, but Regina was already moving, grabbing his arm and jamming a stun injector into his shoulder. The hum of electricity filled the space.
The man dropped.
For a moment, the only sound was the whirring hum of the servers.
Regina looked at him, slightly breathless. "...You’re not trained security."
"Neither are you."
"Fair point." She crouched, pulling a data key from the fallen guard’s belt. "This’ll open the inner vault."
"Then let’s finish this before more show up."
They reached the main door, a massive, circular vault-like structure, sealed by rotating locks.
Regina inserted the key. The mechanisms shifted, plates sliding aside with heavy clicks.
As the final lock disengaged, the door opened into a wide chamber.
The Core.
Dozens of translucent cylinders lined the room, each one pulsing with faint blue light. Cables ran across the ceiling, feeding into a single central column, the Heart Node, a sphere of dense metal and glowing filaments.
Merlin felt the static pressure in the air the moment he stepped closer. This wasn’t ordinary energy. It was condensed, refined to something beyond human use.
"What is this?" he muttered.
Regina’s eyes flicked toward a nearby console. "This is where the designs are processed before mass production. But the data flow—" She stopped. Her face went pale. "No. No, this is wrong."
"What?"
"Look at this feed." She pointed at the holographic stream. The energy readings were mismatched, pulsing in irregular patterns. "They’re diverting power somewhere else. Off-grid."
Merlin frowned. "Where?"
Regina typed rapidly. The screen flashed error codes. "I can’t trace it, it’s being masked. Whoever set this up... they knew exactly what they were doing."
A new voice echoed through the chamber. Calm. Almost amused.
"I should hope so."
Merlin turned sharply.
Damien Cross stood at the entrance, hands clasped behind his back. The raincoat he wore dripped faintly onto the floor, leaving small, perfect circles of water.
Two more guards flanked him, these armed with heavier rifles, their visors blacked out.
Regina’s fingers hovered near the console. "You—"
"Please," Damien said smoothly, stepping forward. "No sudden moves. I’d rather not ruin such a clean room."
Merlin’s gaze hardened. "You set this up."
"I invited you," Damien corrected mildly. "The rest... you did on your own."
"Why?"
"Because," Damien said, walking slowly around the central column, "I needed to see how far you’d go. Whether you’d act on instinct or hesitation. And, perhaps, whether you could survive being bait."
Regina’s voice cut like a blade. "You’re diverting core energy into the private servers. What are you hiding, Damien?"
He smiled faintly. "Insurance. Against Kael. Against all of them."
Merlin stepped forward. "And what happens to the people who get in your way?"
Damien’s eyes flicked toward him. For a brief instant, the facade slipped, something darker flickering beneath the calm.
"They stop being in my way."
The guards raised their weapons.
Merlin didn’t wait.
The lights shattered with the sound of rushing air. Wind spiraled, bending the shadows themselves. The first guard went flying into a console; the second barely had time to react before space folded, dragging him sideways into a wall.
Damien didn’t move. He simply watched.
"Impressive," he murmured. "But this isn’t over, Mr. Everhart. You’re playing a game whose board you can’t even see."
Merlin’s expression was unreadable. "Then show me."
For the first time, Damien’s smile faded. He turned toward the Heart Node, placing a small, black device against its base. It pulsed once, and the room trembled.
Regina shouted, "He’s triggering a wipe!"
Merlin lunged forward, but Damien had already stepped back into the shadows near the exit.
"Good luck, Mr. Everhart," his voice echoed faintly. "Let’s see if you’re truly worth eight percent."
The blast door slammed shut.
Merlin spun, eyes flashing. "Regina—"
"I know!" She was already at the console, typing frantically. "The node’s destabilizing. If the wipe completes, every file in the system— gone. Including proof of the diversion."
"How long?"
"Thirty seconds!"
He moved beside her, placing a hand over the console. The air rippled, light bending across the holographic interface. The patterns froze, suspended mid-flicker.
Regina stared. "...What did you just do?"
"Bought us time."
He closed his eyes briefly, senses spreading through the space, every hum, every pulse, every thread of energy connecting the cores. He found the one feeding the wipe and severed it with a thought.
The light in the Heart Node dimmed. The tremors stopped.
Silence.
Then, a single, steady pulse resumed.
Regina let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. "...You’re insane."
"Efficient," Merlin corrected.
She stared at the console. "You didn’t just stop the wipe. You mirrored the data."
Merlin looked at her. "Then we have what we need."
She nodded slowly, eyes still wide. "Kael’s going to burn the city down when he finds out."
Merlin turned toward the sealed door where Damien had vanished. "He won’t have to. Someone else will do it for him."
Lightning flashed beyond the reinforced glass.
Somewhere above, thunder rolled again, closer this time.