The elevator did not stop.
It resisted stopping.
Galathea Brooks felt it in the subtle drag beneath her feet-- the way descent stretched one second too long, as if the system needed time to decide whether to let them arrive.
Beside her, Cael stood still.
Too still.
Control held tight around him like a second skin.
"You feel that," she said.
"Yes." He said, whispering low.
"Say it." She said.
He sighed, "It doesn't want us here."
Galathea exhaled slowly. "Too late."
The doors opened.
And the chamber reacted, not after they stepped out of the elevator-- Immediately.
The lights didn't flicker. They dropped.
Half the chamber dimmed in a cascading wave, plunging entire rows of containment vaults into shadow.
A low vibration rolled through the floor.
Not mechanical, structural.
Galathea stepped forward. "That's new."
Behind them-- The elevator doors shut. Hard.
No soft seal, no delay, just… locked.
Cael's gaze flicked back once.
Galathea said, "that's also new."
