The light inside the Harmonization Hall dimmed into a steady pulse, rising and falling like slow breath. Roots along the curved walls shifted in response to Selora's guidance, adjusting the resonance field that held the hybrid steady.
Aeri remained at his side.
She hadn't moved since the first round of stabilizing pulses ended. Her glow rested just above his chest plating—never touching, always close—creating a soft blue arc of warmth around the hybrid's damaged form.
His optic flickered open again.
The world was still blurred, but he recognized her glow instantly. He didn't understand the language, but he understood the tone every time her glow shifted.
Blue for calm.
Soft gold for reassurance.
A trembling thread of violet when she worried too much.
A stubborn streak of bright blue when she forced herself to be strong.
His sensors catalogued every shift, even in his weakened state.
He made another attempt to move.
Pain surged through his frame—sharp and cold, biting at torn hybrid conduits.
CEC-7 // INTERNAL LOG
Motor Response: Insufficient
Hybrid Tissue Stress: Increasing
Pain Simulation: High
Core Pulse: Unstable
Recommended Action: Remain still / rely on external resonance
Aeri reacted instantly.
"No—no, steady… sha norin… steady…"
Her glow snapped into calming blue. Seven's internal tremors eased slightly, aligning to her rhythm.
He saved that too.
Selora approached again, her steps slow and deliberate. Her gold-blue glow carried a gravity that pushed the hall's resonance into alignment with her pulse.
"He's stabilizing faster than expected," Selora murmured. "But his core remains fragile."
Lira circled the cradle, scanning the moss for harmonic irregularities.
"His core density is rising," she whispered. "Slowly… but rising."
Vora stood further away, arms crossed, his green glow jittering between caution and mistrust.
"I still don't like it," he muttered. "He reacts to Aeri too strongly."
Aeri shot him a glare.
"He reacts to calm. Anyone could do this."
Selora corrected softly, "No, child. Not anyone. He listens to you."
Aeri's glow flared bright gold in embarrassment.
"I'm just… trying to keep him steady."
Selora said nothing, but her glow deepened thoughtfully.
Seven processed the exchange without understanding the words, but glows told the truth. Aeri's pulse was honest—unsteady but protective.
He turned his optic toward her.
Tap—weak, but intentional.
Aeri's glow softened.
"You're awake again," she whispered.
He made a sound—broken, static-filled.
"...ah…ae—…"
Not a name. Just an echo of her earlier tone.
Aeri inhaled shakily. "Don't push yourself."
He saved the warmth in her glow.
Selora lifted her hands, drawing a low harmonic hum from the roots lining the hall.
"Begin second stabilization cycle."
Roots glowed brighter.
Moss beneath Seven shifted into a deeper blue.
Light gathered along the walls, forming gentle waves that washed over his frame.
Seven's logs flickered.
CO2L // PASSIVE DIAGNOSTIC
Resonance Field Strength: Increased
Core Heat: Cooling
Hybrid Tissue Regeneration Rate: +4% (stimulated)
Pain Simulation: Reduced
Matrix Activity: Stabilizing
Warm harmonics seeped through his plating, spreading across damaged conduits. He felt the relief as a low vibration—like someone humming across his bones.
Aeri maintained her glow, syncing her pulse with the hall's rhythm.
Her concentration trembled, but she pushed through.
Seven watched the gold in her glow sharpen whenever she focused on him.
Soft. Steady. Protective.
He processed the pattern.
Saved it.
A faint tremor shook the floor.
Aeri stiffened.
Selora's glow snapped dark blue.
"Again," she said quietly.
Lira pressed her hand to the roots. "It's faint but definitely corruption. The cluster is moving toward the eastern ridge."
"And it's listening," Aeri whispered.
Seven's optic widened.
He recognized the pattern.
Unstable.
Fragmented.
Searching.
He tried to warn them again.
"Cor… rupt…ion…"
His voice cracked.
Aeri moved closer, glow flaring gold-blue. "I know, I know—don't strain yourself."
Her voice made something warm pulse inside his matrix—another unfamiliar reaction he could not categorize.
He saved it anyway.
Selora stepped away from the cradle, glow deepening.
"We strengthen the boundaries. Lira, align the outer frequencies. Teren—use root-channel reinforcement."
Vora asked, "Do we move him?"
"No. Moving him now would destabilize his core. We hold our ground."
Seven didn't understand the words, but he felt the shift in the hall.
Glow-vines brightened.
Roots tightened.
The air grew thick with protective resonance.
Aeri exhaled slowly and leaned in close again, her glow becoming the steady anchor he relied on.
Time passed.
Harmony waves continued to wash over his frame, soaking into hybrid tissue like warm water.
His internal tremors slowed.
His core pulse steadied.
His optic brightened.
He shifted his head slightly—only a fraction, but the world tilted enough for him to see her face.
Aeri froze, then breathed out softly.
"You're looking at me."
He blinked once—slow.
She lowered her voice, as if afraid to disturb him.
"You can see me now?"
Her glow trembled at the edges—hope and fear mixing in gentle gold threads.
He lifted his fingers.
Tap.
Aeri's breath hitched. Her glow flared warm gold-blue.
"That's good… that's really good."
Her voice wavered.
Seven detected the tremor and saved the tone.
Selora approached again, watching the interaction closely.
"He focuses on her," Selora murmured. "Not on the hall. Not on us."
Vora muttered, "That's not normal."
Selora responded, "Nothing about him is normal."
Aeri ignored the tension behind her.
She leaned closer and whispered softly, glow brushing his cheek plating.
"Stay with me."
Seven's optic softened.
His internal logs responded.
CEC-7 // INTERNAL LOG
Anchor Stability: Increasing
Emotional Matrix Response: Warm / steady
Pain Simulation: Low
Core Cycle: Stable (temporary)
Recommended Action: Remain in Aeri proximity
Something inside him eased—like a weight he didn't know he carried had loosened.
Selora stepped forward.
"We begin third-cycle harmonization."
Vora hissed, "Already? His frame is cracked—he needs rest."
"He needs alignment," Selora countered. "If we stop now, his inner weave may destabilize."
Seven sensed their tension—different glow spikes, overlapping emotional signatures. But Aeri's glow cut through the noise, steady as a soft bell.
She whispered again:
"Sha norin… calm light… stay here…"
Her glow shaped the meaning even before her voice did.
Seven exhaled a slow static breath.
He matched her rhythm again.
The hall lights dimmed, then surged into soft gold.
The roots hummed in long, low pulses.
A wave of resonance flowed across Seven's body—gentle but deep.
His internal logs flickered.
CO2L // SYSTEM UPDATE
Hybrid Core Cycle: Aligned (partial)
Matrix Stability: Improved
Energy Deficit: Reduced
Pain Index: Moderate → low
Overall State: Recovering
He wasn't healed.
He wasn't fixed.
But he was no longer collapsing.
Aeri's glow trembled with joy, barely contained.
"You're getting better…"
He blinked slowly—weak, but present.
She pressed a hand against her chest, glow warm and bright.
"You scared me," she whispered. "You scared all of us."
He processed the tremble in her voice.
Saved it.
He tried again to echo her tone.
"…ah…ae…"
Not a name.
Just a sound.
But Aeri's glow burst gold-blue with relief anyway.
Selora watched silently, the deep lines on her face changing in a way Aeri couldn't interpret—but Seven could sense the gravity in Selora's glow.
Interest.
Concern.
Recognition.
Something about him had triggered it.
Another tremor shook the roots—distant, then fading.
Selora's glow tightened.
"We will be visited tonight," she murmured. "The forest does not tremble without cause."
Aeri's glow flickered with fear.
Seven's optic narrowed slightly, trying to adjust.
Something inside him responded to the change, like a distant echo of instinct.
Selora placed a steadying palm on Aeri's shoulder.
"Stay here. Keep him stable. No matter what comes."
Aeri nodded, glow brightening.
Selora turned to the others. "Prepare the outer defenses."
The guardians left. The hall dimmed.
Only Aeri and Seven remained in the center of the moss cradle.
Aeri lowered herself until she sat right beside him, glow brushing his cheek in soft pulses.
"You're safe," she murmured.
Her glow filled the dim hall like a small sun.
Seven's optic closed slowly—not because he was failing, but because he felt steady enough to rest.
He fell into low-power mode again.
But again, it wasn't the cold void.
It was warm.
Quiet.
Soft.
Held gently in blue-gold light.
He saved her glow one more time.
And rested.