Night fell over Velith like a curtain of brass dust.
The streets glowed gold from relic lanterns, and steam rolled lazily off the rooftops.
The Pulse Renewal Festival had begun — laughter, music, and the faint ticking of hundreds of mechanical clock-drums echoed through the air.
People danced under turning bridges, unaware that the song playing tonight wouldn't end the way it started.
---
The Signal
In the shadow of a broken rail pillar outside the city, nine figures watched the light rise from Velith's center.
A low hum pulsed through the ground — the Chronoloom preparing to reset its annual cycle.
Mael stood apart from the group, back straight, eyes half closed.
The others waited for him to speak.
He didn't.
He only raised a hand, fingers tapping the air in a slow, deliberate rhythm.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Pause.
The others moved.
---
The Entry
The twins were first.
They vanished into the crowd at the festival's southern gate, slipping through the rhythm of the music like ghosts between beats.
Every time the drums hit, they took a step.
Every time the cymbals clashed, they stopped.
To anyone watching, they weren't sneaking — they were dancing.
Inside the city, they split paths without looking at each other.
No words. Just motion.
The silver-haired woman took the rooftops. Her gloves shimmered faintly, arcs of relic light jumping between her fingers as she climbed the metallic walls.
Each step left a faint spark, timed perfectly with the ticking of a nearby clock tower.
The glyph-covered man followed the underside of the bridge rails, his body blending with the shadows as he whispered an old incantation.
The relic sensors dimmed, one by one.
The heartbeat of the city skipped once.
---
Mael and the Others
Mael and the remaining four watched from the outskirts, waiting for the moment when the rhythm faltered — when the song of the city stumbled.
He checked the small relic on his wrist — the half-formed dial.
It ticked steadily, then stuttered once.
He smiled.
> "There it is," he said softly. "The first beat."
They began to move.
---
Through the Lower Rings
The lower tunnels beneath Velith were a maze of pipes and forgotten corridors.
Rust mixed with the smell of relic oil.
The boy led the way, scattering his small metallic spheres along the path.
They glowed faintly blue, humming in tune with the festival music above.
> "They'll echo the sound for five seconds," he said quietly. "Just long enough to fool the sensors."
Mael nodded.
> "Make sure they don't sound perfect. Perfection is suspicious."
The boy grinned nervously and adjusted one of the devices.
When it hummed slightly off-key, Mael's expression softened.
> "Better."
---
The Distraction
Aboveground, the silver-haired woman reached the relay tower.
She cracked open the panel, sparks flickering over her gloves.
The glyph man's voice came through the small comm crystal in her ear.
> "Ready."
She touched her fingertips together — and the tower lights exploded outward like a shower of shooting stars.
The crowd below screamed — half in awe, half in panic.
Music faltered, laughter turned to confusion.
Down in the tunnels, Mael stopped walking.
The air trembled once, as if the entire city had taken a deep breath.
He raised his hand again, humming quietly — a single, simple tune that barely existed.
> "Second beat," he said.
---
The Guild Reacts
Inside the Guild's control hub, alarms started to flicker.
One operator frowned.
> "Power fluctuation in the south relay," she said. "But… the readings are inverted."
> "Inverted how?" her superior asked.
> "Like it's pulling energy backward."
The superior scowled.
> "Impossible. It's probably just a surge. Reset the flow."
They didn't notice the time on their chronometers repeating the same second twice.
---
The Lower Chamber
The Ninefold reached the first sealed gate of the Chronoloom.
A colossal relic wall engraved with thousands of rotating symbols stood before them.
Each symbol pulsed like a heartbeat.
Mael stepped forward, eyes tracing the pattern.
He placed his palm on the metal and began tapping, softly, in sync with the lights.
The others watched in silence.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Pause.
The lights stuttered — once, twice — and the symbols began to rotate in reverse.
The gate opened.
The boy stared, wide-eyed.
> "How did you—"
> "Everything listens if you tap in the right rhythm," Mael said.
---
Above, the Chaos Spreads
The festival had turned into confusion.
Lanterns blinked erratically, music distorted, relic speakers crackled with echoes that weren't supposed to exist.
People ran as the ground beneath the main plaza vibrated like a drum about to break.
The Guild scrambled to maintain order, unaware that their own city's heartbeat was being rewritten beneath their feet.
---
Below, the Calm Before the Storm
The Ninefold entered the inner tunnels —
a spiral descending toward the Aethern Kernel's Vault.
Mael looked back once, his voice calm, almost gentle.
> "Remember," he said. "This isn't about breaking in. It's about teaching the world a new tempo."
The boy swallowed hard.
> "And if the world doesn't like the song?"
Mael smiled faintly, the relic dial on his wrist ticking twice in perfect sync.
> "Then we play it louder."
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End of Chapter 23 – The First Beat
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