Coppelia!
Columbina lost her composure instantly, nearly standing up from the cushion in that very moment.
But the instant the thought arose, a sensation of "transgression" came from her power core. Something had bypassed her will, directly contacting and forcibly mobilizing the Spatial Authority deep within the core!
She immediately withdrew all her attention from the Ley Lines, looking inward at her own body in horror.
The glowing metal patterns beneath her were no longer passive conductors. They had become greedy suction cups, using brute force to madly extract the Lunar Force within her. She tried to sever the connection and restrict the output of power, but it was of no avail.
At the same time, the voices from the adjacent room rose steeply, becoming rapid and chaotic. Through the transparent partition, she saw those researchers huddled before instrument screens gesturing wildly. Some began to run between different devices, their faces wearing expressions that mixed nervousness with excitement.
Was it their "experiment"... had it already begun?
She forced herself to calm down, sinking her consciousness into the Ley Lines once more to trace the power being drawn away from her. Through the perspective of the Ley Lines, she finally "saw" the full panorama.
The formation in this hall was merely the tip of the iceberg. It was part of an integrated formation so massive it was suffocating. The core of that colossal formation was located above an underground rift valley of unfathomable depth.
At this moment, above the rift, three distinct forces were being forcibly twisted together by the formation.
One was her own power of the Frost Moon, being drawn out in a steady stream.
Another came from a hidden and distant strange space. That space was too far from her, separated by layers of interference, making it difficult for her to see the specific situation inside.
The final one came from another direction within the experimental base. Its source was a sphere resembling a miniature moon, radiating a constant and bright white light. Columbina knew what that was: the core left behind by a Moon God who had died long ago.
The three massive forces collided and entangled with one another, twisted into a chaotic vortex under the forced guidance of the formation.
The vortex churned the Ley Lines and distorted the spatial structure. And at the very center of that whirlpool of power, a certain pitch-black energy was revealing its outline from the void, bit by bit, as if ready to break free from its shackles and descend upon this world at any moment.
The Abyss!
Columbina felt a chill run through her entire body instantly.
Before she could even think of a countermeasure, mere seconds later, the speed at which that pitch-black power manifested suddenly accelerated. Its edges began to churn violently, presenting a surging momentum. At the same time, the formation beneath her feet transmitted an even more violent suction force!
Her body sank abruptly, as if a weight ten times greater had appeared out of thin air, pinning her deadly tight against the cushion. She couldn't even straighten her back and was forced to maintain a posture leaning forward.
Finally, that pitch-black power rushed out with a boom like a bursting dam! It poured into the deep underground valley beneath the formation, swallowing all surrounding light, and in the blink of an eye, it filled the bottom of the valley to form a profound black "lake."
Even more terrifying was that this pitch-black power could actually pollute the Ley Lines. Wherever it went, the nearby Ley Line passages were savagely eroded, leaving not even a scrap of information behind.
Columbina felt cold sweat drenching her back. She could not wait any longer.
She focused her mind and instantly teleported the Moon Spirit locked in the cage, as well as the Moon Spirit wandering on the periphery of the base, to the room where Coppelia was located.
Next was herself. Lock coordinates, and then—activate!
However, whether due to the continuous effect of the formation beneath her feet or some mutation occurring in this area itself, she felt the surrounding space become incredibly viscous. It was as if she had fallen into an invisible swamp; the teleportation encountered immense resistance.
Teleporting the Moon Spirits was effortless; there is no reason I cannot go through! This thought supported her.
She did not give up. Condensing her entire will into a single point, she fought against that sticky sensation, desperately squeezing toward that determined coordinate. Her body's outline began to blur, fading away little by little.
*
Coppelia sat inside an empty underground chamber. The tattered black clothes she had stripped from Kelvin were thrown aside, replaced by a loose black robe she had taken off an unconscious researcher.
This was a building left behind by the Scarlet King's civilization. It looked long abandoned, with thick sand piled in the corners. From outside the room's only exit, the rhythmic sound of mechanical joints rotating could be faintly heard. A group of the Scarlet King's automated mechanisms were wandering about.
"The Moon Spirit really knows how to pick a place," Coppelia muttered to herself in a low voice. "Even if those people catch up, these Scarlet King technologies can hold them off for a while..."
Not far in front of her, the Moon Spirit that had initially powered her lay flat on the ground, motionless. Its round body showed no rise and fall; its two long braids and the pair of small wings on its head drooped softly onto the surface of the sand. It looked as if it had lost all will to live.
Currently, another Moon Spirit was providing her with that meager energy. But the power this Moon Spirit could transmit was too little, barely enough to maintain her basic conscious activity and extremely slow movements. Let alone fighting, she couldn't even run fast. she dared not imagine—if the Moon Spirits hadn't retrieved this storage bronze mirror, she would likely be unable to move a single inch right now.
Her gaze moved away from the listless Moon Spirit and looked toward a narrow crack in the room's wall. That was the passage the Moon Spirit had used to leave.
She had let the only Moon Spirit currently capable of movement take the bronze mirror and return along the original path to that base, to try and approach quietly, put Columbina inside the mirror, and bring her out.
"It's been gone for so long..." She stared at that crack. "Please, let there be no accidents."
She waited a while longer, though she could not measure exactly how long.
Suddenly, a white light flashed before her eyes.
She looked immediately. Two Moon Spirits appeared on the sandy ground in the center of the room. One of them had the old bronze mirror coiled in its braid. They seemed a bit bewildered after appearing, turning their bodies and looking around.
Coppelia went on alert instantly. These two little guys had appeared out of thin air! This could only be...
Sure enough. Right beside the two Moon Spirits, the air began to distort, and the outline of a translucent human figure was gradually sketched out. At first, the shadow was very faint, but soon, the outline became solid at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"Columbina!" Coppelia's voice burst out.
The solidifying phantom seemed to hear the call. She raised her head, looked in Coppelia's direction, and then extended her arms toward her.
Using all the strength she had at that moment, Coppelia pushed herself up violently from the ground and ran desperately toward that phantom. Her movements appeared clumsy due to the lack of energy.
The phantom also struggled, attempting to stand up completely from its semi-solid state, arms striving to reach forward, wanting to catch her.
Three steps, two steps, one step.
Coppelia threw herself forward.
She passed right through that patch of light and shadow, her forehead smashing solidly against the hard stone wall behind it, making a dull thud. The recoil caused her to fall backward, tumbling into the sand.
She looked up immediately, staring at the center of the room.
Only two bewildered Moon Spirits floated above the sand.
____
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