The reaction was immediate.
The walls didn’t move.
They shifted.
Like the room itself had decided to enforce a new rule.
The space tightened around them.
Not physically crushing—
But restricting.
Emily felt it instantly.
Her movements slowed.
Her breathing felt heavier.
“…Okay,” she muttered. “That’s not subtle.”
Kael took a step forward.
The resistance pushed back against her.
She didn’t stop.
She pushed through it.
“The system is escalating,” she said.
Theodore’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Yes.”
The entity remained at the center of the room, unchanged.
But the space around it was no longer neutral.
It was active.
The doorway behind it pulsed once.
Then widened.
Emily’s core surged in response.
Hard.
Too hard.
She winced.
“…It’s trying to pull me,” she said.
Kael
