The room didn’t explode.
It reconfigured.
Quietly.
Deliberately.
The shift was subtle at first—like the structure itself was adjusting its internal logic. The smooth surfaces around them began to ripple faintly, lines appearing where there had been none before.
Emily felt it immediately.
Her stomach tightened.
“…That’s new,” she whispered.
Kael didn’t take her eyes off the entity.
“It’s adapting,” she said.
Theodore’s shadows thickened slightly, spreading closer to Emily without touching her.
“Not adapting,” he corrected quietly.
“Responding.”
The entity hovered in place, unchanged in form—but its presence had shifted.
Heavier.
Colder.
More focused.
“CORRECTION IN PROGRESS.”
The words pressed into Emily’s mind.
Her core reacted instantly.
Heat surged under her skin.
“…
