The Body Room locks are opening.
After the sentence burned above the fourth path, the Record Core held its breath for an instant. Then all the darkness collapsed downward.
At first, Elara thought the ground was shifting. But it was not the ground that moved. It was the Record Core itself. The writings on the walls pulled back, the cracks in the name column closed, and Arven's distant voice hid itself inside the stones. The fourth path was still open, but it was no longer calling them inward.
Something outside was waking.
Rowan immediately turned to Elara. "We need to go back."
Elara nodded. "The Body Room."
The first body stood a few steps behind them. The new record writings on its chest were glowing faintly. It did not look like a completed existence yet. But it was no longer a shadow ready to be erased either.
"If they wake," the first body said, "Arven will think they are empty."
Elara looked at it. "But are they really empty?"
