Chapter 6: Stab Wounds
"Madam Chairwoman," one of the council members stammered, his voice trembling, "what is that thing doing?"
The Chairwoman pressed her earpiece firmly, her tone sharp and demanding. "Dr. Anders! What is going on down there?"
Through the static, Anders' voice came through, frantic. "Chairwoman, it's... the cube's energy levels are spiking beyond anything we've recorded. It's destabilizing!"
"Destabilizing?" she repeated, her eyes narrowing as the cube's glow reached a blinding intensity. "What does that mean? Is it going to explode?"
"I... I don't know!" Anders admitted, panic clear in his voice. "It's never shown activity like this before. You need to evacuate the area now!"
Before she could respond, the cube emitted a deep, resonant pulse that shook the entire chamber. Papers flew from the table, and several council members ducked for cover.
The pulse was followed by a sudden, violent crack—the cube fractured into a hundred glowing shards, each one streaking out in a different direction.
The shards tore through the facility like comets, carving through walls and leaving trails of searing light in their wake.
One shard careened directly toward Elara. She barely had time to react before it struck her chest with the force of a battering ram, slamming her backward into the wall. The impact left a crater in the reinforced paneling, and Elara crumpled to the floor, motionless.