The precarious refuge increasingly became a trap. The food they had managed to get in the risky foray to the city limits was running out, clean water was a distant luxury, and the few medical supplies Kael possessed were insufficient to properly treat his own wounds, let alone Andrel's, who remained pale and unstable, struggling to keep his fragmented Code cohesive against the Purification's reverberations and the strain of recent battles.

  "I can't stabilize," he admitted one cold morning, his voice weak, sweat gleaming on his forehead despite the warehouse's damp chill. "The Purification resonance outside, the proximity of so many Codes in Lysendar... it's undoing my internal patches. I need stabilizers."

  He described what he needed: Runic Stabilization Cores, rare components used in ancient technologies to harmonize unstable energy fields, or, even better, Pre-System Crystal Fragments, pieces of matter imbued with the world's logic before the System's Staff, capable of creating Code silence zones. Materials almost impossible to find, especially in times of Purification.

  "Trying to find them now is suicide," Nox argued, pragmatic. "The city is teeming. The Tyrons know we're here, even if they don't know exactly where."

  "But if Andrel collapses..." Kael began, concerned. "We lose our Code expert, our best chance of understanding the Living Map or the Echoes, or even disabling Tyron Mansion's defenses, if it comes to that."

  It was then Lysa remembered the data Elara had given her. Besides schedules and routes, the servant had included notes on forgotten places in Lysendar, places the Tyrons avoided or considered cursed – information Elara might have gathered over the years out of curiosity or fear. One such location was the "Automaton Workshop," an abandoned industrial complex in the west sector, closed for decades after a runic disaster that, rumors said, left the area haunted by maddened machines and unstable Code echoes. Elara mentioned that, according to old servant stories, rare and dangerous components could be found there by those who dared look.

  "The Automaton Workshop," Lysa said, showing Elara's note to Andrel. "Do you think there could be something there? Stabilizers? Crystals?"

  Andrel's eyes lit up with a flash of desperate hope. "It's possible. Those old workshops used very pure materials, before the alloys and enchantments standardized by the System. But it's a dangerous place. Unstable by nature. And if the Tyrons know we need this..."

  "It's a risk we might have to take," Lysa said. "If you get weaker, we'll be even easier targets." The decision was made quickly. Andrel had to try. But he wouldn't go alone. "Selene, Rukk, you go with him. Rukk can handle debris or unexpected physical threats. Selene, your senses might perceive danger where we don't. Kael, Nox, we stay here. Keep watch. Any sign of trouble, fall back to the secondary rendezvous point in the lower tunnels."

  Splitting the group was risky, but necessary. Letting Andrel deteriorate wasn't an option.

  The journey to the Automaton Workshop was like walking through an industrial graveyard. Lysendar's west sector was a landscape of broken bricks, twisted metal, and heavy silence. Decapitated chimneys scratched the gray sky like skeletal fingers. The smell of old soot and forgotten chemicals hung in the air. No visible Guard or Tyron patrols there – the place exuded an aura of abandonment and danger that kept even the Purification at bay.

  The Workshop itself was a colossal, decrepit structure. Several buildings interconnected by rusty walkways, broken windows like empty sockets, and a main entrance blocked by a massive metal gate long jammed shut. They found a side entrance, a breach in the wall where the structure had given way, and entered a world of shadows and dead machines.

  The interior was a labyrinth of wide corridors, assembly rooms filled with unfinished or shattered automatons – constructs of metal and runes that might have once served the city – and silent conveyor belts covered in dust layers thick as shrouds. The air was cold, still, and the silence almost absolute, broken only by the echo of their own steps and Rukk's low, nervous growl, who seemed to sense something uncomfortable in the place's atmosphere.

  "The components I need would likely be in the prototyping wing or the runic calibration labs," Andrel whispered, consulting a mental diagram based on Elara's information. "Should be on the lower levels."

  Guided by Andrel's intuition and Rukk's strength, which cleared paths through blocked doors and fallen machinery, they descended dark ramps and corroded metal stairs. The feeling of being watched was constant, though they saw no one. Selene kept a hand on Rukk's carapace, eyes scanning the shadows, breathing silent.

  Finally, they reached a vast subterranean chamber that seemed to have been a main laboratory. Metal workbenches were covered in rusty tools, crystal fragments, runic copper wires, and illegible blueprints on moldy scrolls. In the center, a large runic containment pedestal was shattered, as if something powerful had escaped ages ago.

  "Here," Andrel said, eyes gleaming with nervous excitement. He began searching the tables, carefully pushing aside debris. "Yes! Look, Selene! Stabilization cores! And… is this... an Umbral Crystal fragment! Pre-System! With this I can..."

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The instant Andrel's hand touched the dark crystal fragment, the world around them changed.

  A sharp hum filled the air. Red runes, previously invisible, lit up on the walls, floor, ceiling, forming a complex containment web. The exits they'd entered through were sealed by solid energy barriers materializing from nowhere. Cold blue lights flared on overhead in strategic points, revealing figures positioned on metal walkways above them.

  Elite Tyron guards. At least eight. Armed with runic rifles and personal energy shields. And among them, one figure stood out: Marius, Vareth's security chief, face impassive under the bluish light.

  "Welcome to the Workshop, Anomalies," Marius's voice echoed through the lab, cold and emotionless. "Lady Vareth thanks you for taking the bait so predictably."

  The trap was sprung. And they had walked right into it.

  "Andrel! Behind me!" Selene yelled, pushing the shocked mage behind her as Rukk roared, assuming a massive defensive stance.

  But before the guards on the walkways could open fire, something else emerged from the shadows of the large machines flanking the lab. Modified enslaved beasts. Two of them. They resembled immense wolves, but skin was replaced by interconnected dark metal plates, eyes were glowing red lenses, and tubes and wires pulsed with Tyron energy from their backs. Metallic claws replaced paws, and a low snarl emanated from their throats. Moved with unnatural speed, a sinister combination of biological agility and technological enhancement.

  "Neutralize the stone titan first!" Marius ordered from the walkways. "The mage is the primary target, capture if possible. The Zero is secondary."

  The wolf-beasts charged Rukk like shadowy missiles. The impact was brutal. Stone against enhanced metal. Rukk used its raw strength and natural resistance to parry claw attacks and steel jaw bites, but the beasts were incredibly fast and agile. One fired a sonic pulse from its metallic throat that made Rukk stagger, disoriented, while the other took advantage to dig claws into its rock 'skin,' tearing off chips and sparks.

  Selene screamed, the connection with Rukk transmitting his pain and confusion. She tried commanding him, but the sonic interference seemed to affect the link. Meanwhile, the guards on the walkways opened fire on Andrel and Selene. Beams of paralyzing energy and solid light projectiles rained down.

  Andrel, recovering from the initial shock, desperately tried raising runic barriers. But his Code's instability made casting slow and erratic. Some barriers formed too weak, others failed completely. He managed an improvised earth shield using the lab floor itself, absorbing some shots, but it wouldn't last. He clutched the components he'd found – the cores and crystal fragment – hiding them under his tunic as if his last hope.

  Selene fought to protect Andrel and maintain the connection with Rukk simultaneously. She had no offensive magic but used the environment intelligently. Kicked tables for cover, threw metal fragments at guards to distract, yelled short commands to Rukk in brief moments the link re-established. Rukk, responding to her urgency, managed to grab one beast and hurl it against a wall with tremendous force, severely damaging it. But the other beast seized the opening and sank claws deep into Rukk's stone shoulder, making the titan roar in genuine pain.

  Seeing Rukk wounded and Andrel nearly defenseless, Selene made a desperate decision. Remembered Aion's words, the connection to the Root Lysa seemed to touch. Closed her eyes, focused on the earth beneath her feet, the stone walls, the silent essence Rukk shared. And called. Not with words, but feeling. Need.

  The ground around the guards on the walkways trembled. Unstable rock stalactites on the artificial cave ceiling broke loose, falling dangerously close, forcing them to retreat and divide fire. One walkway groaned, threatening to collapse. Not controlled magic like Andrel's, but a raw, instinctive disturbance, a response from the place's forgotten structure to her and Rukk's presence.

  Marius observed from above, expression still impassive, but perhaps a flicker of interest in his cold eyes. "The Zero also has potential. Interesting. Gamma Unit, advance. Focus on the mage. Ignore the Zero for now. Retrieve the components he took."

  A new team of four guards rappelled quickly from the shadows, landing on the lab floor, forming a semicircle and advancing methodically on Andrel, cornered behind his crumbling earth barrier.

  "No!" Selene screamed, trying to reach him, but blocked by the remaining beast, which now saw her as the primary target. Rukk struggled to free itself from the other damaged beast, clinging like a metallic parasite.

  Andrel saw the four guards approaching, weapons aimed. Knew there was no escape. Clutched the cores and crystal fragment in one hand. In the other, his tattered, patched-up grimoire – or what was left of it. With a final effort, he channeled his unstable energy into a pulse of pure disruption, aimed at the approaching guards.

  The wave of runic chaos hit them, making their weapons fail for a second, shields flicker. But one managed to fire a containment beam hitting Andrel's arm, making him drop the grimoire. The book fell open, pages scattering. Another guard advanced and, with a swift shock baton strike, hit Andrel on the head. He fell, unconscious, components still clutched in his closed fist.

  "Retreat! Secondary objective compromised! Get the book!" Marius ordered from above.

  One guard snatched Andrel's fallen grimoire. The others retreated quickly, as Rukk finally managed to shake off the damaged beast and charged roaring. The other beast, receiving a retreat command, disengaged from Selene and leaped into the shadows, disappearing. The runic barriers at the exits dissipated.

  The fight ended as abruptly as it began.

  Selene ran to Andrel, checking his vitals. Alive, but unconscious, bleeding from a head wound. Rukk approached, limping, stone shoulder cracked and leaking faint blue luminescence. Looked around. Lab silent again, except for dripping water and the crackle of the now-fading blue lights. Tyron guards gone.

  But Andrel's grimoire was gone. The notes, patched spells, perhaps even fragments of his own coded memory stored there were in Vareth Tyron's hands.

  Selene helped Andrel lean against Rukk. They had survived. Had the components they came for still in Andrel's unconscious hand. But the price was high. And the message, clear. Vareth Tyron wasn't just hunting; she was playing with them. Testing them. And now, she had something belonging to Andrel. The threat never seemed so real, so personal, so dangerously close. They needed to get out. Needed to return to Lysa and Kael. And needed a new plan, urgently.