Chapter 40 – Waking the Forgotten

The chamber pulsed with energy, a strange rhythm that seemed to match the faint beat of the shard in Yin Yue's trembling grasp. The air hung thick, charged, and alive. The glowing runes carved into the towering obelisks flickered, their light seeming to ripple outward in response to their arrival. Every whisper of movement felt significant, as if the chamber was waiting for something—or someone.

Li Tian stepped forward cautiously, his system overlay highlighting the intricate patterns in the glowing carvings. He raised a hand, fingers tracing a rune without touching the stone. Lines of data streamed across his vision, the system analyzing the script. It was ancient, fragmented, but oddly familiar.

"This isn't just a structure," he murmured, more to himself than to Yin Yue. "It's an interface… a conduit. The obelisks were meant to channel something—energy, knowledge, maybe both. And the shard… it's the key." His system flagged a faint resonance between the shard and the runes, and he narrowed his focus.

Yin Yue, standing behind him, found her attention drawn irresistibly to the shard. Its gentle pulse quickened in her hands the longer she held it, and for a brief moment, she swore she felt something—a whisper of thought, not her own. It tugged at her, not unkindly, but firmly, pulling her attention toward the center of the room where the obelisks stood tallest in their spiraling formation.

"I can feel it," she said quietly, her voice trembling with both fear and awe. "It's… like it's calling me."

Li Tian turned, his sharp gaze softened slightly by concern. "The shard reacts to you," he said. "Maybe it's because you're attuned to its energy, or maybe… maybe it chose you."

"Chose me?" she echoed, her eyes wide. "That's not comforting, Li Tian."

"It's not meant to be," he said, turning back to the obelisks. "But it might mean you're the only one who can activate this."

Before she could reply, the shard pulsed suddenly, its light momentarily flaring so brightly she gasped, clutching it tighter. The room responded in kind. The light from the obelisks flared brighter, the runes shifting as if alive. The rhythmic hum in the chamber grew louder, a low thrumming sound that rattled her bones.

Li Tian worked quickly, his system parsing the shifting symbols. "The patterns—these aren't just decorative. They're fragments of code, written into stone. Some of this… it matches the system's directives." His system highlighted repeating sequences that glowed faintly with residual energy. "If I can align these fields…"

He reached for Yin Yue. "Hold the shard up. I need to map its resonance."

She hesitated for a breath before lifting it cautiously. The shard's light danced across the chamber, refracting against the runes. Data flooded Li Tian's interface, the system's algorithms scrambling to piece together long-lost sequences. His fingers hovered in the air, executing commands as the system highlighted pathways of energy that connected the obelisks.

The chamber responded with a deep vibration, and Yin Yue staggered slightly. The shard began to grow hotter in her hand, its pulse consuming her senses. Her breath came in short gasps as she felt something blooming within her chest—a sensation foreign yet familiar, like the shard's energy was coursing through her veins.

"I don't think I'm controlling it," she said through gritted teeth. "It's… it's controlling me."

"Listen to it," Li Tian urged, his voice calm despite the rising tension. "It's feeding you power—you can redirect it. You did it before, remember?"

Yin Yue clenched her jaw, focusing as the shard's energy surged. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the rhythmic pulse, letting it guide her. Slowly, the erratic bursts of light steadied, the shard's power pulsing in harmony with the obelisks.

And then it happened.

A cascade of runic symbols erupted into the air, dozens upon dozens of glowing sigils spinning around the chamber like constellations. Li Tian's system overloaded with data streams, every pathway and connection lighting up in his vision.

"This isn't just a chamber," he said, his voice low with awe. "It's a repository. A vault of knowledge about the Fragments."

Yin Yue opened her eyes, which now glowed faintly with the shard's light. Her connection to the artifact deepened with every breath, and she swore she could feel the obelisks, not as objects, but as entities—ancient and aware.

"They're trying to tell us something," she said, her voice filled with wonder.

Before they could explore further, a deep rumble echoed through the tunnels behind them. The faction had breached the collapsed passage. The faint hum of tracker drones and the rough clanging of boots on stone grew louder with each passing moment.

"They're close," Li Tian said, his system already mapping an exit. "We need to move."

"No," Yin Yue said firmly. She stepped toward the obelisks, the shard's light intensifying in her hands. "If we leave now, we may never get another chance to understand this. The shard brought us here for a reason."

"Yin Yue," Li Tian started, but she turned to him, her expression resolute.

"You said the shard chose me," she said. "Then I need to see this through."

Before he could protest, the runes on the obelisks shifted dramatically, their light converging toward the shard. The chamber trembled violently as energy flowed between the obelisks, the shard, and Yin Yue herself.

Li Tian's system screamed warnings in his vision. "Resonance levels rising. Risk of critical overload." His hands flexed, itching to intervene, but Yin Yue's unwavering focus kept him rooted.

The sound of the faction closing in sharpened. The drones emitted a high-pitched whine, signaling their imminent arrival. Li Tian made his decision in an instant.

"If you're doing this, we're going to need time," he said. He sprinted to the far side of the chamber, planting a series of small disruption charges along the tunnel walls. His movements were swift, precise, a product of years of training now fully realized. The charges would create localized shockwaves to delay their enemies—not enough to collapse the chamber, but enough to buy precious seconds.

The obelisks glowed brighter still, their combined luminescence spilling into the center of the chamber, where Yin Yue stood with the shard. Her body trembled as power coursed through her, and her feet left the ground for half a second, as though the energy itself was lifting her.

And then the obelisks reacted.

A barrier of radiant energy erupted around the chamber's perimeter just as the first of the rival faction's forces appeared in the tunnels. The shimmering wall pulsed like a living thing, and the moment an enemy stray drone touched it, the machine shattered into molten fragments.

Li Tian stepped back, shielded from the barrier by the shard's energy. He turned back to Yin Yue, whose eyes radiated a soft but intense brilliance.

"What just happened?" he asked, keeping his voice steady.

"The obelisks… they've sealed us in," she replied, her voice layered with something not entirely her own. "But this isn't just a barrier. It's activating… something else."

The chamber shuddered again, this time echoing with a low, resonant sound that seemed to come from the very earth itself. Beneath their feet, a circular pattern of runes began to glow, radiating outward from where Yin Yue stood.

Something ancient had awoken.

And as the obelisks hummed with growing intensity, Li Tian realized with a shiver that they weren't just protecting the shard—they were opening a door. To what, he couldn't yet say.

But they were about to find out.