Henry wiped the last trace of blood from his blade as the final guard's body fell. Around him, Arcee adjusted her grip, Cagaro checked the corridor.
The passage was silent now. Every obstacle between them and the Altar had been removed with ruthless efficiency.
The chamber beyond was circular, carved with sigils that pulsed faintly against the stone.
The ocuments found scattered across it, some burned at the edges as if someone had tried to erase the truth.
Henry gathered the remaining pages and read quickly. The confirmation was there in precise, coded language; as it said before that kidnapped civilians were not being held in the Arcology at all. They were sealed inside a Pocket Dimension, tethered to a spatial anchor hidden within the structure.
Arcee exhaled slowly. "So it's real."
"We already know that." Blyke replied, though the weight in his voice betrayed him. Knowing and seeing proof were different things.
Cagaro examined the sigils. "The anchor isn't here. This is only a relay. Whoever built this wanted redundancy."
Henry folded the document. "Then the exit is not physical." His eyes moved across the chamber walls, noting the alignment of symbols.
At the far end, beneath a fractured arch of suspended stone, a lone figure knelt.
Caius.
His head was lowered, hands resting limp against his thighs, shoulders trembling faintly. The air around him felt distorted, unstable, as if power had been forced into him without mercy. He did not look up when they approached.
Henry stepped forward first.
"Caius."
Arcee shifted uneasily. Blyke and Cagaro remained alert, sensing the coiled tension in the space.
Henry stopped within arm's reach. "You don't have to kneel."
Slowly, Caius lifted his head. His eyes were hollow, distant. "I was built to obey..." he said quietly.
There was no self-pity in his voice. Only emptiness. Henry did not hesitate. He extended his hand.
"Just come on, you are not a weapon to me."
The words were simple.
For a moment, Caius stared at the offered hand as if it were something foreign. Then, cautiously, as though expecting it to vanish, he reached up.
Henry pulled him to his feet but instead he fell on the ground.
Arcee gave a small nod. Blyke exhaled.
Now they were five now.
Ahead stood a massive door of interlocked metallic plates.
Arcee stepped forward, examining the patterns. "It's alignment-based." she murmured. "The symbols correspond to coordinates."
She placed her palm against the surface. The engravings flared faintly.
Carefully, she rotated three outer rings, then shifted the inner sigils into a precise configuration. The air vibrated in response, resonance building in controlled waves.
A deep click resounded.
The plates separated with mechanical grace, sliding apart to reveal a descending chamber bathed in pale blue light.
Henry looked ahead, grip firm on his blade.
"Here we come, hell." he said.
Together, the five stepped through the opened threshold.
The chamber descended in spiraled tiers, walls etched with luminous veins that pulsed like a living nervous system. Henry moved at the front, every step measured.
Arcee scanned the architecture. Cagaro walked beside Caius, who remained unnaturally silent.
Caius's gaze stayed forward but there was distance in it, as if he were still somewhere else.
Cagaro nudged him lightly. "You are not shutting down again, are you?"
Henry noticed the subtle fluctuations in the ambient energy. The dimensional pressure here was different from the Altar chamber. This place was not built recently. It had roots to different chambers.
"The wolves from earlier," Henry said calmly. "They were not separate entities."
Cagaro nodded slowly. "Grandior? You mentioned that before."
Henry adjusted the strap across his shoulder. "Grandior are not beasts in the simple sense. They are a species very ancient like us. Records say they arrived with a comet centuries ago. Not invaders exactly. More like survivors of something larger. However, it's still unknown."
Arcee frowned. "So that Grandior species can split into three apex predators."
"Not sure. A Grandior can diversify its physiology. They are like us human beings. Having different diversities and races. Their races developed adaptive bodies based on environment and threat exposure."
Henry pieced it together. "So the three wolves were expressions of a single consciousness."
"I see." Cagaro said. "A combat configuration."
The memory was vivid. Three synchronized predators moving with unnatural coordination.
"And when they merged," Cagaro added quietly, "that thing we saw…"
"It was the original body." Blyke finished. "It was its true Grandior form."
Henry's expression hardened. "If that old man had not intervened, we would have faced it at full stability."
They all remembered the moment. The arrival of the grizzled figure they had dismissed as harmless.
His strike had disrupted the merging process, destabilizing the Grandior before it reached peak potential.
Caius finally spoke, voice low.
"That was not mercy. That was all luck that the grandpa came to saved us."
Henry glanced at him. "Either way, we survived."
The chamber widened ahead, revealing carvings of comet trails striking a primitive world.
Blyke finally broke the silence. "Alright, strategist." he said, glancing at Henry. "What is the grand plan now? Please tell me it does not involve fighting another three-headed cosmic wolf."
Henry did not slow his pace. "We head to their central base."
Blyke blinked. "That sounds exactly like the beginning of another terrible situation."
Arcee smirked. "Relax. You survived the last terrible situation."
"Barely." Blyke muttered massaging his bruised shoulder.
Henry continued calmly. "Their base will contain the primary research archive. We retrieve the experimental data connected to the kidnappings and the dimensional anchor. Whatever is happening here is larger than a simple trafficking operation."
Cagaro nodded. "You think the civilians are test subjects."
"Possibly," Henry replied. "Or catalysts."
Blyke groaned dramatically. "Fantastic. We are stealing classified data from a secret facility that experiments with space monsters and pocket dimensions."
Arcee glanced sideways at him. "You could stay behind."
Blyke stopped walking. "Oh yes, brilliant plan. I will sit here alone in the creepy dungeon while the rest of you fight cosmic horrors."
Arcee shrugged with a teasing smile. "You would have peace and quiet."
"I would have nightmares and a nervous breakdown." Blyke shot back.
Cagaro chuckled under his breath.
Arcee leaned closer to Blyke while walking. "Besides, you are the one who said you wanted adventure."
"I meant treasure hunting." Blyke replied. "Not existential horror."
"Too late to make an accusation." Arcee said cheerfully.
Henry listened to their exchange without interrupting. Despite the banter, both of them stayed alert, scanning the surroundings with trained instinct.
Caius walked quietly beside them, absorbing every word.
Blyke sighed. "So we sneak into their base, steal the data and hopefully avoid becoming new experiments."
"That is correct," Henry said.
Arcee nudged Blyke with her elbow. "See? Simple."
Blyke looked at her with disbelief. "If I die during this plan, I am haunting you specifically."
Arcee grinned. "You would not survive haunting me."
Four of them chuckled in a light relief. Watching them, Caius joined them letting out a loud chuckle.