Silence.
Not the peaceful silence of safety.
But the suffocating silence that came before history changed forever.
No alarms.
No countdown.
No rumbling machinery.
Only the faint glow of thousands of blue lights stretching endlessly beneath the Sanctuary.
Linh stood motionless.
The black key still rested in her trembling hand.
Its silver veins pulsed gently, beating in perfect rhythm with her heart.
One beat.
One light.
Another beat.
Another light awakened.
The underground chamber slowly transformed into something impossible.
The stone walls dissolved into transparent crystal.
Ancient pillars rose from the darkness.
Above them...
An artificial sky slowly appeared.
Stars.
Constellations.
Galaxies.
It was as if an entire universe had been hidden beneath the earth.
Mina
