The road twisted like a ribbon of silence through the woods north of London. The bck sedan slid along the gravel path, its engine barely more than a whisper. The surrounding forest stood still, ancient trees crowding in close, branches knitted overhead like a canopy of secrets. Shadows flickered in the headlights, but nothing moved. Not a single soul in sight.

  Inside the car, Ren “Compass” Waynd sat in the passenger seat, eyes narrowed as he studied the way ahead. No signs. No gates. No security cameras. Nothing. Just the forest swallowing the road whole.

  “You own all this?” he asked.

  “The nd? Yes,” said Sky Montgomery from behind the wheel.??“The truth? No one really owns anything this old.”

  Her tone was casual. Unapologetic. As if centuries and secrets were just tools at her disposal. Ren didn’t respond. He was still thinking about the conference. About the ughter. About the cube burning in his bag like it was alive. Atntis was just a curtain... Sky had said she believed him. Showed him proof. A second artifact. A twin. But why now? And why him?

  They passed under an archway, ivy-covered and forgotten by time, then rolled up to what looked like a manor built for kings. Stone walls loomed high, cracked and weathered. Ivy clung to every crevice like time itself was trying to recim it. But there was no rot. No decay. Only silence. The car coasted to a stop. Sky stepped out first.

  “Come on,” she said, already walking.

  Ren followed. The air here felt different—thicker somehow, like it held its breath.

  Inside, the manor was dim and cool. Marble floors. Wooden beams. Heavy portraits with hollow eyes. But Sky wasn’t leading him deeper into the house. She led him downward. Down a flight of stone stairs. Past the wine celr. Through a reinforced steel door with a biometric scanner. It opened with a hiss. And the world changed.

  Below the old bones of the mansion y something utterly alien— A boratory that didn’t belong in this century. A cathedral of science. Soft white light pulsed along the walls. Workstations glowed with readings. Sleek terminals blinked with real-time data. Air purifiers hummed in the corners, keeping the air dry, clean, sterile.

  Ren stopped at the threshold.

  “This isn’t a b,” he said.??“It’s a command center.”

  Sky gave a half-shrug.

  “Same thing, these days.”

  Ren turned slowly, taking it all in. This wasn't just wealth. This was preparation.

  “So,” he asked carefully.??“What is it you actually do here?”

  Sky gnced at him, then walked toward a long table in the center of the room. A spotlight illuminated something resting on a velvet-lined ptform.

  “We solve riddles,” she said.??“The kind buried under time, myth, and fear.”

  She stepped aside. And there it was. The sphere.

  Ren took a breath. The same material as the cube. Same cold shine. Same delicate lines etched across its surface. And at the center— That same haunting symbol. A human brain, cradled in a web of fungal threads. Mycelium.

  His fingers twitched. He wanted to touch it. Needed to. But stopped himself just short.

  “Where did you find it?” he asked, voice low, eyes locked on the artifact.

  “Another expedition,” said Sky.??“Another part of the world. Another set of questions.”

  She paused.

  “But the answers… they all lead here.”

  Ren slowly reached into his pack and pulled out the cube. His hands trembled—not from fear, but from something deeper. Recognition. He pced it gently beside the sphere.

  Two shapes. Two halves. Speaking the same nguage across centuries. And then— The cube vibrated. Only slightly. But enough to feel it in his bones. The sphere responded. It lifted. Without wires. Without motion. Just… floated. Suspended above the cube like it had been waiting.

  Ren took a step back.

  “That’s not possible,” he whispered.

  The sphere began to rotate. A fine needle extended from its core—thin, sharp, glowing faintly. It moved. Wavered. Then fixed. Pointing. As if waking from a slumber, it had remembered its purpose.

  “It’s a compass,” Sky said, breathless.??“A spatial navigator. Not just directions on a map—but orientation in three dimensions.”

  She turned to him.

  “They were never meant to be alone. They activate each other.”

  He stared at the glowing line, transfixed. Through stone. Through continents. It pointed somewhere far beyond what maps could show.

  “Do you know where it leads?” he asked.

  “Not yet. But I have my suspicions.”

  He looked at her. And something clicked. The nickname. “Compass.” It wasn’t just irony anymore. It was prophecy.

  He reached out and touched the sphere. It spun easily under his fingers. But the needle didn’t move. Locked on. Unyielding.

  “We need to follow it,” he said quietly.

  Sky nodded.

  “I’ve already assembled a team. Vessels. Equipment. We were waiting for this moment.”

  She looked at the floating sphere.

  “Now that the two are reunited… we have our path.”

  Ren exhaled. The memory of ughter in Oxford was still there. But now it felt small. Distant. There was something calling them forward. Something ancient. Something real. And maybe… Something alive.