Chapter 155: New Quest Line
Elias exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of every look leveled at him.
Junjio stood frozen near the back, his frame rigid, fists clenched tight enough to tremble. His Ikona clung dimly to his shoulder, a frail flicker of light barely holding form. He hadn’t moved since the tunnel was revealed. Hadn’t spoken. Just stared — not at Elias, not at the others — but past them, like whatever answer he needed hadn’t shown up yet.
His silence filled the spaces the others had left behind. Where voices had clashed — Kikaru’s anger, Faye’s careful hope, Tidwell’s cynicism — Junjio left only the sound of his breathing, uneven and shallow. The absence of sound became a pressure of its own, pressing into the narrow space with more weight than any argument.
Elias exhaled slowly, his lungs tight. The weight of all their stares settled squarely on him — Kikaru’s sharp distrust digging in from one side, Faye’s cautious steadiness brushing against his other. Tidwell’s irritation, Paul’s quiet fatigue, and Wes’s unreadable stillness all added layers to the room that hadn’t been there minutes ago. A Block’s pod quarters felt smaller than ever.
The bolt-locks flared again, a deep red pulse across the ceiling panels, followed by that heavy metallic clank that had sealed them in. The sound didn’t lose any of its bite, even after hearing it over and over. The air pressed flat against the walls, stale and warm from recycled flow.
Oliver’s voice echoed again in Elias’s memory — a rogue shard user breach in B Block... swayed by the Epics’ views... stay in your blocks... let us handle this.
But nothing felt handled. And Vardency’s shadow hadn’t gone anywhere. It was still out there, thick behind the steel and silence.
Elias’s shard pulsed under his ribs, slow and steady, a dull throb that matched the tight ache settling into his chest. His sleepwear clung cold and damp to his skin, clinging to the remnants of adrenaline that hadn’t gone anywhere.
Dot hovered near his side, her glow casting soft blue arcs of light across the cracked pod floor, the lines of scuffed metal catching just enough of her hum to pulse faintly in return.
He closed his eyes for a second — just a second — and the chant came rushing back.
Blood binds.