Chapter 20 - The Eyes Beneath the Earth
The entire chamber trembled.
A deafening sound rolled upward from the depths of the shaft, not like an animal's roar, nor like collapsing stone. It resembled thousands of voices speaking at once in a language no one present could understand.
The crystal suspended itself above the three locks.
Blue light spread across the ancient rings surrounding the shaft.
Doctor Vale stepped backward instead of forward.
For the first time since Marta had met him, fear appeared in his eyes.
"It shouldn't be awake yet," he whispered.
Anton looked toward him.
"You never understood the purpose of the chamber."
Vale tightened his grip on the control device.
"I understood far more than you."
"No," Anton replied. "You only understood how to exploit it."
The golden-eyed girl remained perfectly still beside the crystal. The strange blue light reflected in her eyes until they no longer appeared human.
Marta called to her.
"What is your name?"
The girl slowly turned.
"I've had many names."
"My first one was Iris."
Mira stepped closer.
"You're our sister."
Iris gave a faint smile.
"Only by blood."
Another violent tremor shook the platform.
The rotating rings accelerated.
Ancient symbols began glowing one after another.
Henrik hurried to the nearest control terminal, brushing away decades of dust.
"These aren't engineering markings."
Victor looked over his shoulder.
"They're coordinates."
"Coordinates to what?"
Victor stared at the symbols.
"I don't know..."
"...they don't point across the surface."
"They point downward."
Robert suddenly noticed movement inside the shaft.
At first he believed it was water.
Then the blue glow revealed thousands of metallic cables slowly rising from below like living vines.
None of them touched the crystal.
Instead...
May you like
They moved toward Marta.
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