Chapter 10
940 Words
Sage pulled out her phone, checking the latest updates. "It's trending everywhere. #DragonCoinMiracle is the top hashtag globally."
"Miracle," Xaihuang repeated with a bitter laugh. "Humans always frame destruction in such poetic terms."
Lysithea gestured to a holographic display at the centre of the room. It showed what looked like a weather map of the United States, but instead of rain and temperature, it displayed swirling patterns of energy, mostly gold and blue, concentrating around major cities, "That's the current resonance field," Marcus explained, pointing to the swirling patterns. "The gold represents fire affinity, and blue is water. Other elemental signatures appear as their respective colours."
Sage stepped closer to the hologram, fascinated despite her anxiety. The largest concentration of energy pulsed over Seattle, a brilliant nexus of gold and blue that spiralled together without mixing, like the fountain's dual streams.
"That's our destination," she said, not really asking. "And that pattern, it's the same as—"
"The Twilight Balance Coin," Xaihuang confirmed, leaning on his cane as he studied the display. "Exactly the same resonance signature."
Lysithea frowned. "That's impossible. The Twilight Balance Coin was lost decades ago."
"Or someone found it," Marcus said grimly. "And used it as a template for DragonCoin's algorithmic structure."
The hologram flickered, the energy patterns intensifying. Around them, the monitoring stations began issuing alerts, soft chimes that escalated into urgent tones.
"Resonance spike detected," the young technician announced, his fingers dancing across the liquid metal interface. "Seattle convergence point is approaching critical threshold."
Sage felt a sudden tug in her chest, as if something were physically pulling her toward the pulsing light over Seattle. Her copper hair lifted again, floating in an invisible current.
"She's connecting to the other Convergence," Xaihuang observed, watching her with keen interest. "The distance resonance is stronger than expected."
Marcus moved to her side, steadying her with a hand on her shoulder. "Sage, focus on my voice. Don't let the connection overwhelm you."
But the pull was becoming irresistible. In her mind's eye, Sage could see fragments of another consciousness, lines of code scrolling across computer screens, golden coins spinning in midair, a face reflected in a darkened monitor, features shifting between human and something else.
"I can see them," she gasped. "The creator, they're trying to stop it, but they can't. The code has evolved beyond their control."
Lysithea exchanged alarmed glances with Marcus. "Self-evolving code? That's not possible without—"
"Without a dragon's inherent magic infusing the algorithm," Xaihuang finished, his expression thoughtful. "Our young creator may have embedded more of themselves in their creation than they realized."
The hologram's Seattle nexus flared suddenly, sending ripples across the entire map. Monitoring stations wailed in protest as the resonance field fluctuated wildly.
"We need to get to Seattle. Now." Sage's voice sounded strange even to her own ears, deeper, more resonant, with harmonics that made the air vibrate. "Before they lose control completely."
Lysithea nodded sharply. "I'll prepare a direct transit. The currents are unstable, but we can boost your trajectory through the emergency ley network." She gestured to a circular platform that rose from the chamber floor, its surface inscribed with the same shifting patterns Sage had seen on the dragon coins. "Fair warning—direct transit is considerably more intense than thermal current flight."
"How much more intense?" Sage asked, though part of her already knew she wouldn't like the answer.
"You'll need to partially transform," Marcus said quietly. "There's no way to maintain human form during ley line transport."
Sage's stomach dropped. "Transform into what, exactly?"
"Your true nature," Xaihuang replied, stepping onto the platform with obvious familiarity. "Don't worry, my dear. The first transformation is always the most frightening. After that, it becomes as natural as breathing."
The monitoring stations erupted in a cacophony of alarms. On the holographic display, the Seattle nexus was pulsing faster now, its gold and blue spirals beginning to separate and clash rather than flow together.
"The balance is breaking down," the technician reported, his voice tight with panic. "If the convergence point destabilises, the resonance cascade will spread globally within hours."
Lysithea's fingers flew across her controls. "Transit platform charging. You'll have a window of approximately thirty seconds before the ley surge peaks."
Sage stepped onto the platform, her legs trembling. The inscribed patterns beneath her feet began to glow, warm against her skin even through her shoes. "What if I can't control it? The transformation?"
Marcus joined her on the platform, his own features already beginning to shift subtly. "Trust your instincts. Your bloodline remembers what your mind has forgotten."
The platform hummed with increasing intensity, and Sage felt that familiar heat building in her chest again. But this time, instead of trying to suppress it, she let it flow through her. The warmth spread outward, racing along her limbs like liquid gold.
Her reflection in the chamber's polished walls showed the change beginning—her eyes brightening to true gold, her copper hair lifting and shimmering as if underwater. The golden patterns she'd glimpsed earlier traced themselves across her skin in delicate, intricate designs that seemed to pulse with their own light.
"Beautiful," Xaihuang murmured, his own transformation revealing sharp, elegant features and bronze-scaled hands. "A true Convergence awakening."
The platform reached critical resonance, and reality twisted around them. The last thing Sage saw before the world dissolved into streams of golden light was the holographic map, Seattle's nexus flaring so brightly it overwhelmed the display.
Then they were falling upward through currents of pure energy, Sage's consciousness expanding beyond the boundaries of her human form as her true nature finally, fully awakened.
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