The chamber door sealed with a heavy metallic thud.
Silence followed.
Mark stood alone inside the reinforced room. Steel walls. Thick glass panel above. Floor marked with faint circular patterns, like targets worn into the metal.
He closed his eyes.
“Focus,” the Architect’s voice echoed through hidden speakers. “Do not force it. Let it respond.”
Mark inhaled slowly.
The heat inside him was different now.
Before, it had felt like a wildfire—wild, angry, devouring everything.
Now it felt contained.
Like coals beneath stone.
He reached for it carefully.
A spark answered.
His hands warmed first. Not burning. Not painful.
Just heat.
“Stage two only,” the Architect reminded.
Mark imagined the flames wrapping his arms as they had in the factory. Not exploding outward. Just controll
