Chapter 127: The Trial of Truth
Wayland’s private hall in Dornheim was thick with shadows. A venison roast steamed on the massive oak table, flanked by pitchers of heavy red wine and baskets of bread that still smelled of the oven fire.
Iron sat at the head of the table, opposite the Count. Lumon was cycling through system logs, painting the status of his magical channels in a warning amber.
"It's the atmosphere," Iron thought to himself. "The Count has definitely found out about something."
"Try the sauce, Master Iron," Wayland said, elegantly working his knife to slice a thin strip of meat.
"Thank you, Your Excellency." Iron touched his wine glass but didn't drink.
Beside him, Darwin was single-mindedly battling an enormous bone. The apprentice looked like he hadn’t eaten in a week, though he was really just trying to eat his way through a nervous tic. Every time the Count raised his eyes, Darwin froze in fear.
Noah sat a little further back. His plate was empty; he only occasionally raised a glass filled with something thick and dark to his lips.
Elyria, sitting to Iron’s right, giggled. She was busily braiding celery stalks, which immediately began sprouting roots straight into the ceramic plate.
"Safety is boring," she declared, winking at Walter. "You humans are so funny, fearing what you can't touch."
"I think it's time to reveal everything," Iron thought.
Iron set down his utensils.
"Count," "stop circling. We both know this dinner was staged to make me talk."
Wayland paused, his glass raised mid-air.
"I hid the true nature of Point Number One from you," Iron continued. "All this time, I gave you reports about an 'ancient energy source' and an 'unknown reactor.' That's true, but only half of it."
Darwin went pale. In the shadows, Noah leaned forward slightly.
"Under my workshop isn't just a warehouse of old scrap metal," Iron said, looking straight into Wayland's eyes. "There is a First Cycle bio-mechanical node down there. In plain terms, a 'Heart.' Technology that manipulates reality on a non-linear level."
Iron paused, expecting an outburst of anger or an order for Walter to draw steel.
"I hid it because I didn't trust you, and I was afraid you'd only see the Heart as a massive power grid for your lands. But this thing... it’s like a living mind, trapped in crystal and copper."
A heavy silence hung over the hall. Darwin seemed to stop breathing entirely. Elyria abandoned the celery and looked at Wayland with sudden gravity.
The Count slowly set his glass back on the table. A strange smile played on his lips.
"First Cycle... Non-linear logic..." Wayland shook his head. "You love complex terms to hide the obvious."
He turned to Walter and nodded. The captain relaxed his shoulders and stepped back toward the window.
"Iron, did you honestly think that I, Count Wayland, representative of one of the oldest bloodlines in the Protectorate, came to this forgotten Dornheim for your repeating crossbow patents?" Wayland laughed. "In my family's archives, Point Number One has been marked in red ink since the First Schism. We knew a 'Heart' slept here. We just didn't know exactly where the entrance was."
"I’ve been waiting for this confession for three months," Wayland continued, leaning forward. "I read every one of your reports with a smile, seeing how carefully you danced around the topic. You could say it was my test for you, Master Iron."
"A test?" Darwin croaked.
"Exactly. If you had kept lying to me after we nearly died at Cassian's hands... I would have known that doing business with you was a bad idea. But you chose the truth precisely when you have no strength left to resist."
Wayland pulled a lacquered case from his inner coat pocket.
"We came here for the Heart. Since you've shown your hand, I'll show mine."
He opened the case. Inside, on black velvet, lay a crystalline rod. A thin filament of blue flame pulsed within it.
"The Wayland Key," Iron whispered. Lumon, analyze.
[NOTICE: AUTHENTICATION MODULE 'INITIATOR' CLASS DETECTED. COMPATIBILITY WITH POINT NO. 1 — 98.4%]
"My ancestors kept it for generations, never knowing what lock it fit," the Count said. "Now I see you found the lock. Let's go, Master Iron."
They walked through the workshop cellars. The air grew steadily colder, taking on a distinct metallic tang.
They entered Point Number One. The walls of dark, matte composite were shot through with veins of quicksilver. In the center, within a massive capsule of armored glass, the Heart pulsed.
It looked nothing like a human organ. It was a tangle of copper tubing, glowing filaments, and crystalline plates that slowly contracted and expanded in a rhythm that defied logic.
Elyria approached the glass first. She pressed her palm against the cold surface, and for a split second, her eyes turned the same deep blue as the Heart's veins.
"It's crying, Iron," she whispered. "It's been alone so long, it forgot why it's here."
Wayland walked up to the console Iron had assembled a month ago in an attempt to crack the system. The Count extended the crystalline rod toward Iron.
"This is your altar. You perform the rite."
Iron took the rod. He slotted the key into the drive.
An ear-popping hum filled the chamber. The blue veins on the walls flared with blinding light. The Heart inside the capsule froze for a fraction of a second, and then... it beat.
Lumon, stabilize! Iron commanded, linking to the interface through the port in his prosthesis.
[SYNCHRONIZATION: 10%... 40%... 85%...]
[CORE LEVEL ACCESS GRANTED]
Above their heads, the entirety of Dornheim lit up for a split second with a soft, azure glow. The streetlamps Darwin was only just planning to hook up to the steam generator ignited on their own. The pumps at the water station ground to life, discharging a jet of clean water.
"Incredible..." Wayland whispered, watching the ancient machinery come alive. "We did it."
Iron stood with his eyes closed. Through the Lumon interface, he felt every pipe in the city, every bolt in the Iron Boar, every crack in the stone walls.
They returned to the surface just as the sky began to bleed light. The city looked different. There was a latent tension to it now, a current of force humming through the very air.
Wayland stopped by the workshop gates.
"Iron," he said, pulling on his gloves. "We are bound by one secret now. If the capital finds out what exactly we have awakened..."
"We’ll need to be ready by then," Iron said.
Darwin, still clutching a piece of bread, looked up at them. "Guys... can I get a second serving of dinner now?"
Noah slapped the kid’s shoulder hard enough to nearly buckle his knees.
"Let's go, Master Darwin. I know a place that's still serving hot stew."