The mark on my hand pulsed like a second heartbeat.
Each flash synced perfectly with the timer hovering in my vision.
The last time the system opened a hidden path, it nearly killed me.
This time, it felt… expectant. Like it wanted me to follow.
Kira leaned over the cracked display table in the dorm’s back room, tracing the faint coordinates glowing on her wrist. “These readings are you sure they’re real? The Core Gate’s supposed to be under the northern ridge.”
“Not supposed to be,” I said. “Is. The coordinates match the Proto-Core’s frequency, just at a lower resonance.”
She sighed. “Every time you say lower, something explodes.”
“Then maybe we’re due for a miracle.”
Kira gave me a flat look. “You don’t believe in those.”
“No. But I believe in leverage.”
---
By nightfall we we
