That night, his dreams were filled with crystalline forests, their branches reaching toward an unseen sky. A voice echoed through the glittering canopy: "The river-stone... is a seed."

  He woke to find the core's crack had shrunk, ever so slightly, its glow steadier than before. More... alive.

  The workshop's resonance field destabilized around them, corruption evolving to encircle their purified zone. But Eli barely noticed. He was too focused on the impossible healing taking place before his eyes, defying Marco's calculations and hinting at something far more extraordinary than just a power source.

  Something that would change everything – if it was given the chance to grow.

  ?Your inaction defies logic,? Marco said, his hologram flickering as he analyzed the latest scan results. ?The phase-shift crystals demonstrate a 41% probability of stabilizing the core. Every hour of delay increases risk of total failure.?

  Eli traced the core's shrinking crack with gentle fingers. The warmth beneath his touch pulsed in a rhythm that felt impossibly familiar. "You keep talking about probability and failure," he said softly. "But look at this, Marco. Really look. The crack isn't spreading anymore. It's healing itself."

  ?Impossible,? Marco's response was immediate, almost defensive. ?River-stone cores are inert conduits. They do not 'heal.' Your anthropomorphization of—?

  "Then explain this." Eli held up Starling, letting the workshop's failing lights illuminate the undeniable evidence. Where the crack had once spider-webbed across the entire core, now several smaller fissures had sealed themselves, leaving behind traces like silvery scars.

  Marco's sensors whirred as he conducted another scan. ?Error: Data inconsistent with established parameters. Core integrity has increased 3% without intervention. This... this is not...? For perhaps the first time since Eli had known him, the AI seemed genuinely unsettled.

  A thin line of frost spread across the workbench as the Argentum Sparks reacted to Marco's agitation. ?Your wounds require additional treatment,? he announced abruptly, clearly trying to redirect the conversation to more quantifiable territory.

  But Eli wasn't letting it go. "The voice in my dreams, Marco. The way the core responds to touch. The healing. It's all connected. This isn't just a power source anymore. Maybe it never was."

  ?Dreams are neural misfire. Touch response is residual energy. Healing is...? Marco paused again, his hologram dimming slightly. ?Healing is... unexplained. But that does not validate supernatural hypotheses.?

  The core's glow intensified, and again that whisper brushed Eli's mind: "The river-stone... is a seed." This time, the words carried an impression of depth, of roots growing deep into ancient earth, of something waiting to bloom.

  "A seed," Eli breathed, understanding beginning to dawn. "Not a weapon. Not a tool. A seed."

  ?Eli,? Marco's voice held a warning note. ?This line of thinking is dangerous. We cannot afford to—?

  A sudden surge of power made the workshop's lights flare. The phase-shift crystals in Eli's pocket began to vibrate, resonating with something. The binding spell's golden threads pulsed, and for just a moment, Eli felt them sync with the core's rhythm, creating a harmony that sent shivers down his spine.

  Then, deep within the crack, a new color bloomed – a hint of violet, like the first star appearing at dusk.

  In the workshop's dim light, Eli hunched over the workbench, his muscles still aching from the Argentum Sparks' invasive healing. Before him lay Starling, its fractured core pulsing with that now-familiar warmth, while scattered scout fragments cast obsidian reflections across the ancient stone surfaces.

  Almost without thinking, he picked up a piece of salvaged scout core, turning the dark crystal in his hands. As he brought it closer to Starling, something extraordinary happened. The river-stone's glow intensified, and thin arcs of golden light reached out, drawing the scout core's residual energy into the fracture like water into parched earth.

  "What the..." Eli breathed, fascinated. He reached for another fragment, this one still humming with phase-shift resonance. The reaction was even stronger – Starling's core seemed almost hungry for this energy, consuming it in flickering waves of light.

  ?Energy absorption rate increased by 210%,? Marco's voice cut through Eli's wonder, the AI's hologram materializing beside him. ?No external source detected. Clarify anomaly.?

  Eli hesitated, watching as each fragment produced a different reaction in the core's glow. Some energies were devoured instantly, while others made the light stutter and dance in erratic patterns. But there was something else, something at the edge of hearing – not words exactly, but tones, frequencies that felt... deliberate.

  "It's responding to the energy," he said carefully, knowing how Marco would react. "Different fragments produce different... responses."

  ?You're anthropomorphizing unstable matter,? Marco replied coldly. ?The logical application is clear – weaponization. If we can control the intake, perhaps even repair the binding spell's—?

  "No." Eli moved between Marco's scanning instruments and Starling, his posture protective. "That's not what this is."

  ?Your sentimentality is inefficient,? Marco's hologram flickered with something like frustration. ?Tools are meant to be optimized, not coddled. The absorption properties could revolutionize our defensive capabilities. We must begin immediate research into energy redistribution protocols.?

  But Eli wasn't listening. He pressed his palm against the core's fracture, and the glow surged, matching his heartbeat perfectly. The whispered tones grew stronger, almost musical, a harmony of frequencies that made his skin tingle.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  "Then why does it feel alive?" he asked softly, more to himself than Marco.

  ?You're projecting emotional biases onto raw energy,? Marco insisted. ?Further exposure without proper containment is dangerous. I recommend immediate isolation and controlled energy siphoning to—?

  "I said no." Eli's voice hardened as he lifted Starling from the workbench, cradling it protectively. When Marco's deeper wave spectrum scanners deployed, something inside Eli snapped. "We're not treating it like a weapon to be optimized. It's more than that. Can't you see?"

  The tension in the workshop thickened like storm clouds gathering. Then, without warning, Starling's core flared brilliantly. A single, powerful pulse of energy rippled through the chamber, distorting Marco's hologram into fragments of static.

  ?Unknown external frequency,? Marco reported as his systems reset. ?Recalibrating.?

  But Eli felt it – a wave of emotion so pure it took his breath away. Not words, not even thoughts, but raw feeling pulsing from the fracture. A desperate yearning, like a seedling straining toward sunlight. A warmth that spoke of trust, of recognition. And beneath it all, a deep, instinctive urge to grow, to become, to live.

  The core's glow dimmed to its usual soft pulse, but the echo of that moment lingered in Eli's chest, as undeniable as his own heartbeat.

  Eli stood at the edge of the purified zone, where cleansed stone met corrupted shadows. The air hung unnaturally still, as if the dungeon itself held its breath. Only Starling's fractured core broke the silence, its rhythmic glow pulsing against his palm like a second heartbeat.

  The pulses had been growing stronger, more insistent. At first, he'd thought they were random – just another quirk of the damaged core. But there was a pattern. Face east, and the glow intensified, the pulses quickening with an almost eager energy. Turn west, and they weakened, becoming sluggish, reluctant.

  ?Energy fluctuation detected,? Marco's hologram shimmered into existence beside him. ?Correlating with local magnetic anomalies. However, the pattern suggests non-random...? The AI paused, recalculating. ?Direction appears deliberate.?

  "It's pulling me somewhere," Eli murmured, taking a step east. The core's glow brightened immediately, warming beneath his fingers. A wordless urge flowed through him – not speech, not even thought, but pure instinct. Forward. This way. Here.

  The terrain changed as they ventured deeper into the eastern sector. The dry, metallic scent of the refinery gave way to something older, earthier. The air grew thick with minerals and algae, while moisture beaded on the ancient walls.

  Then they found the pool.

  Black water stretched before them, perfectly still save for faint ripples that matched – impossibly, perfectly – the pulses from Starling's core. Eli knelt at the edge, drawn by an inexplicable certainty. There, beneath the dark surface, golden runes flickered to life, their pattern shifting in perfect synchronization with the core's glow.

  ?No readable energy signature detected,? Marco announced, his scanners whirring. ?Minimal residual mana only. Define what you see.?

  But Eli was already moving, guided by that wordless pull. He held Starling over the water's surface, watching in wonder as the runes responded. They shifted like a living thing, their glow strengthening and fading as he moved the staff, searching for... something. A key. A lock. A memory.

  ?Variable response detected,? Marco noted, his clinical tone barely masking his fascination. ?This appears to be an activation mechanism. But for what purpose??

  "These runes..." Eli's voice was barely a whisper. "They're reacting to Starling. It wants to be here." The realization settled into his bones with the weight of truth. This wasn't coincidence. The core wasn't just leading them – it was coming home.

  Yet despite their efforts, despite the clear connection between staff and runes, something was missing. The pattern remained incomplete, waiting.

  ?Your connection is incomplete,? Marco confirmed. ?We require additional input.?

  Eli gripped Starling tighter, feeling that familiar warmth pulse through his palms. The answer was there, hidden in the core's fractured heart. But unlocking it... that would require something more. Something he wasn't sure he was ready to face.

  Golden light rippled beneath the black water, ancient runes shifting like leaves in an unseen wind. Marco's calculations spun through the air around them, complex algorithms trying to decode what should have been impossible.

  ?The sequence shifts unpredictably,? Marco announced, his hologram flickering with frustration. ?We lack a stabilization key. Perhaps if we—?

  "Wait." Eli held up a hand, his eyes fixed on the dancing runes. There was something familiar about their movement, a rhythm he recognized. The same rhythm that pulsed through Starling's core, that had been guiding them all along. Not a code to be cracked, but a song waiting to be heard.

  He knelt at the water's edge, letting Starling's fractured core hover just above the surface. Each pulse of light sent ripples across the dark mirror, making the submerged runes flare in response.

  "It's not a puzzle, Marco," Eli breathed, understanding dawning. "It's a song."

  ?Illogical. Runes do not—? Marco stopped as Eli tapped Starling gently against the water's surface. The core's glow synchronized instantly with the runes, creating harmonics that made the very air vibrate.

  ?Recalibrating,? Marco's voice sharpened with sudden insight. ?This is not an activation lock. It's a resonance gateway. The sequence isn't coded, it's sung.?

  Eli closed his eyes, feeling the rhythm flow through him. His heartbeat aligned naturally with the pulses, as if it had always known this song. With trembling fingers, he touched Starling's core to the central rune.

  The effect was immediate and breathtaking. A wave of harmonic energy rippled outward, making the runes flare brilliantly. The water itself began to rise, defying gravity, spiraling into a shimmering vortex of light and liquid. Ancient Aethel glyphs wove themselves into intricate patterns, creating a doorway of pure energy.

  Marco's hologram stuttered, overwhelmed by the sudden surge of power. ?This portal does not exist within mapped dungeon structures. We are outside Krev-registered networks. Eli, we should—?

  But Eli barely heard him. He felt the pull, stronger than ever, resonating through Starling's core. This was it. This was where they were meant to go. Where the core was trying to lead them all along.

  "I think this is where it was always meant to go," he said softly, stepping toward the vortex.

  ?Warning!? Marco's voice distorted urgently. ?Energy variance exceeds safe parameters—?

  The portal's light enveloped Eli, drowning out Marco's protests. For a moment, he felt weightless, suspended between one reality and another. Then darkness rushed in, and Marco's final warning cut off mid-sentence:

  ?Signal... lost... unknown anom—?

  Silence.

  The vortex collapsed behind him, leaving only ripples on dark water, and the echo of an ancient song still humming in his bones. The moment Eli stepped into the vortex, gravity released its hold. He felt himself being lifted, not falling – as if the portal itself cradled him in currents of liquid light. Marco's final warning fragmented into static, replaced by a deep, resonant thrumming that reminded him of water flowing over stones, of blood rushing in his ears, of something vast and ancient breathing.

  Starling's core flared against his palm, brighter than ever before, and in that burst of illumination, he saw –

  Crystal flowers swayed in invisible currents, their petals catching and fracturing light into impossible colors. Above, streams of pure mana twisted like aurora, painting the ceiling of the vast chamber in ribbons of living energy. And there, momentarily visible through the kaleidoscope of light and shadow – a figure waited beside a moss-covered altar, too indistinct to make out, yet somehow achingly familiar.

  Then darkness swept in, absolute and complete.

  The last thing Eli felt was Starling's warmth pulsing against his skin, no longer just a rhythm, but a presence. Not a weapon. Not a tool. Something becoming.

  Something awakening.