It was a concrete chamber, previously used as storage for electrical-water generators, about 13 meters high and 36 meters in diameter, with a newly assembled 16-meter circular platform in its center. The rest of the mechanisms were arranged around it, such as the energy regulation machinery, state-of-the-art monitors, hypergeometric scanning systems, the network of paratemporal antennas, as well as the vital quantum supercomputers remotely guided by artificial intelligence. All devices were being thoroughly reviewed by the large troop of engineers, scientists and maintenance personnel before being activated; people in overalls went around laying out connections, adjusting cables, panels, running software diagnostics, fitting the final parts and doing various touch-ups.
The engineers and physicists were now behind Raon, sitting around a desk discussing the models, corroborating one last time the equations and calculations made looking for unexpected mismatches, to which the director only heard such as to leave them to finish their discussion. Meanwhile, she continued looking behind the transparent plasteel window, crossing her arms, 6 of the 8 guards assigned having already arrived fully equipped and heavily armed, adamantine polymer-plate armor and sealed helmets with enclosed life support systems. Their weapons were a 30 mm automatic submachine gun as as primary and a gauss hand cannon as secondary, complemented by extra ammo, fire, frag and flash grenades, all thought as the first line of defense.
These were positioned in a hexagonal formation around the portal machine, a quadruple ring of silver metal 10 meters in diameter, to which the cables connected from below, and whose outline was interrupted by four equidistant structures, enlarged versions of the transmitter devices. Several meters behind the enormous ring, a strange apparatus had been installed, imitating a wide square pillar, on top of which was what looked like a half-length bust, cubist in appearance, with an empty cavity where the face should be found. The head part was in the floor, connected only by a segmented metal cord and topped by a solid halo with four structures similar to those on the ring.
- Director Kim? – a dry voice interrupted – We concluded our last theoretical revision.
- Will it work? – Raon asked.
- The model so indicates. We are ready.
- Good - she said - Sit back, professor, and enjoy the spectacle.
She grabbed a fixed microphone and spoke, just as S-1 entered the room and approached:
- Attention to all staff; Activate at T minus five, no ifs no buts, no excuses. All level 2 and 3 personnel who completed their assigned tasks must leave and sign the relevant documentation.
Turning off the micro, the twin managed to say:
- Are you sure we can rely on Elijah for this?
- I want this done now. The sooner we control this power, the greater our advantage will be, and the more chances we will have of surviving.
- You haven't answered me, Raon.
- For now, it's the only option. If everything goes well, very soon we'll get rid of him and our guests.
S-1 remained silent and turned towards the window. There, she saw those two, Ah Ra, her new student, and Goo Joon, once again very close to each other, talking in a low voice and laughing from time to time, while the director also began to notice it:
- S-9669 and S-0549, report to the observation room immediately - Raon ordered.
Both got alert, and feigning nothing was happening, Goo Joon replied:
- Yes, ma'am.
Ah Ra followed him, and they both went up, resting in front of S-1, who, pretending not to have seen the unprofessional gestures of his subordinates, told them:
- Doctor Yoo, Chief Hae, status report.
Ah Ra was the first to answer:
- The catalyst subject is prepared, but we had to apply high doses of painkillers so right now agent Chae Gun... I mean, Ark-6743, is bringing him here... on his back, ma'am.
Then Goo Joon gave his brief:
- The machine is calibrated, so the time synchronization of tunnel waves will be 99.998%. As for the stopwatch, it is ready for count down once Director Kim gives status clear.
- It's almost time, so get ready - Raon interrupted - What about my first probe? Is Kang Ma-ri ready to try her luck?
- She should be here by now, director - Ah Ra responded.
Raon looked out the window to make sure she was telling the truth, and she saw her counterpart from above, Seo Jin being behind her, arms crossed, and soon a guy in a gown with filtering mask grabbed her arm and injected something, while the bodyguard grabbed the actress's shoulders. Once done, the man provided her with water and some pills, which the actress only had to swallow when she saw the armed men; with a push she was forced to advance in a straight line, directly towards the platform, climbing onto it by the front steps, looking at all those people. She contemplated the magnitude of the work they had done, up to following the concrete ceiling's circumference with her gaze, a flat place except for the round white LEDs arranged in an X pattern.
Finally, her eyes stopped at the window above the entrance, and from a distance she could make out several people, managing to discern S-1 there but also Raon standing to the center, and realizing they put themselves at a safe distance, concern appeared on her face:
- Just look at her. Not so defiant or brave now – said Raon.
- It's not her fault to be afraid, this is completely outside her accepted reality - S-1 replied.
- Maybe you're right, but it's also my fault for overestimating her intelligence, otherwise she would've realized where she stood, thus avoiding being there instead of a drone.
- You never treated her well, and showed too much about what we had become. Which other reaction did you expect?
- No suprise she tried to escape from under your nose too, is it? - said a new voice.
The thin girl was smiling maliciously, her hands behind her back and approaching step by step slowly, rhythmically, stabbing Raon with her gaze of crystalline eyes and bright yellow irises.
- So there you are, Gong Wu, almost didn't notice - the director lied - Who told you you could come here? You didn't even report your return to base.
- I'm sorry but I have nothing to report. The clue to the informant dissapeared with him. No hair, nails, footprints, nothing, as if never existed.
- I,'d love to believe you. Come on, I know you're not that incompetent...
Meanwhile, Goo Joon looked at his watch, and dialed the chief operator below:
- Engineer Ye – he said through the communicator – start the activation procedure, it's time.
The guy, sitting at a terminal all the way back, put on his goggles and gave the warning with a hand signal to those on both sides of him, who in turn transmitted the same password, and this way each one of those at the consoles began turning cranks, pressing buttons, moving their fingers on the touch screens and running decibels from bottom to top. A subtle purring filled the room, and as the seconds passed, an electrical hum became present, while the last elements of non-essential personnel left the place before the emergency lights pulsated and the experts approached the window with recording devices or notebooks at hand. Behind the ring, the "helmet" already placed on Elijah, pulsed with arcs of greenish plasma, while he, shackled, shook and grunted clumsily on the floor, too doped to make sudden movements; Soo Young had gotten to his side and helped him sit down, leaning against the pillar.
The ring separated into its four components, and began to rotate, first slowly, then accelerating more and more until the two smallest ones were seen as blurs in the air, even though the Awoken Ones were able to follow their movement due to to heightened senses. Mari was beginning to hyperventilate, almost terrified, and she fell on her legs out of fear; Soo Young placed hands on Elijah's temples to get into his mind and guide him to the place he originally came from, while, looking at the actress's stress, she managed to communicate telepathically with her as well:
- "Stand firm, Kang Ma-ri."
"Who? Who speaks? I'm really going crazy..."
- "In front of you…"
Mari looked ahead, and was able to notice the Soo Young:
"Soo Young, is it you? Are you ok…?"
- "I'm still in one piece, it seems. Thanks." - she replied.
"Why are you... talking to me?"
- "I won't defend what Raon has done. I never did. If we obey, is because the alternative was death. Not only by her hand, but by theirs, the Board, the Division; so we made our decision."
"That's no life. It's hell…"
- "Doesn't matter what we dream or wish, it usually doesn't come true. Here we are, after all."
"I'm scared, Soo Young, I don't know what I should do."
- "Point is I you've always proven your bravery, so don't falter, your night will soon end. Look just ahead, you still have hope."
Mari remained silent, and after thinking about it she only managed to say:
"Thank you."
Then a flash came from between the rings, blinding everyone for a moment until it stabilized into a brilliant bluish-white flash, a tiny sphere which soon quadrupled its size into a pulsating ball of subatomic particles isolated from the space-time fabric, all rings instantly slowing down frequency. The hums diminished until they were heard like the tide on a distant beach, and the static in the air disappeared leaving behind only a scent of ozone; the plasma arcs shot out of Elijah's helmet soon dissipated, and Soo Young was able to relax, resting the dizzy prisoner's head gently on her tights.
- Engineer Ye, report – Goo Joon requested.
- Wormhole has reached stability point, portal is active and ready to use.
At these words all the operators stood up and celebrated, applauding profusely as did the table of experts in the observation room and Ah Ra. Goo Joon and Gong Wu clapped slowly, while Raon and S-1 remained impassive; Mari, now calmer and more curious, stood up, turning to look at them:
- Soo Young – the director asked – did you find the locations?
- Locations? – S-1 asked, without receiving an answer.
- The entity inside Wood "knows" the coordinates – she responded – Soo Yong went to the memories where he arrived at those places of interest.
S-1 responded, feeling that something didn't fit.
- I see, but…
- That's what you told us, right, Dr. Yoo?
- Technically, yes – Ah Ra replied.
– For our first stop, we needed a location identical to the Shanghai lab, you got it Mr. Ye?
- Yes, I found what you asked for, director – he responded.
- Do it.
Elijah, or what dwelt within, was stirred from its lethargy; the man's body began to shake violently in response groaning in pain, breaking out for moments that seemed like hours as the portal began to grow even more, and the rings gradually stopped their movement. Only then the man stopped convulsing; now the portal was a large sphere, light blue and luminous edge and transparent like a bubble on the inside. There one could see the place where everything had started, sort of.
- That one... that one is...the filming set... - Mari said, almost out of breath.
The actress wanted to grab hold of what seemed to be the now-visible reality of her home timeline, but from above, S-1 began to realize what was really happening there and she felt pity, kept hidden under a cold gaze fixed on whatever that dark place. She knew it; that was the place where Raon really wanted to go and unravel a mystery haunting her for months; Mari started moving forward, almost crying with joy, taking quick strides directly to a place she saw as familiar as her house was.
The twin would not allow such an end to befall her, and brought her out of the trance:
- Mari, listen! Don't go in there!
- "Kang Ma-ri, wait! That's not" – Soo Young shouted in his mind.
The actress suffered nausea and staggered, blinking hard several times, as if she had just woken up from a drunken state of several days. She looked at the subordinate, and shouted:
- Why?!
And she turned towards the observation room:
– You promised! I'm tired of being here, I'll go there whether you like it or not...!
Mari turned and prepared to advance, while the guards around raised their weapons, ready to shoot him as protocol dictated, but in the end no shot was necessary since, when she looked at the portal again, the actress had a completely different vision of that place; it was clearly not her home. The warehouse she was gazing at turned out not to be the set she knew before being dragged to all this tragedy, but instead a completely dark gallery with two of its walls half-crumbled; yes, the walls were partially turned down, so how come could that place be in such an absolute darkness?
Promptly, a very subtle shade of crimson saturated the landscape outside, accompanied by a drip:
- What is this place? Where you want to send me to? - she muttered, shaking her head.
S-1 was now fully aware of what her sister had actually ordered; she never thought about leaving the actress in her world, but would instead use her as a bait to attract this extremely powerful and, until now unsubstantiated, parallel version of Kim Ra-on this Elijah Wood supposedly encountered. She assumed that this counterpart, if it was as similar and mistakeable as the prisoners claimed on their accounts, would also read Mari's aura like Raon herself did, and try some illusion to draw her into her trap, tricking the actress's mind as it seemingly just happened, but fortunately to no avail.
As the twin reflected on this, no alternate Raon made herself present at the other side, but, much to the director's disappointment, what appeared in the sight of everyone present were distorted and barely humanoid shapes, entities walking on all fours whose pestilence soon filled Mari's nostrils. The stench of death caused quite a few to vomit or faint, while S-1 covered her nose and Raon felt a pang invade her head. The monsters appearing before them were reminiscent of lycanthropes with hairless, moist skin and vermilion veins running through their muscles, pulsing like esophagi. Repulsive musculature writhed excitedly like worms eating the dead, darkening the very room where the portal was with their mere presence; the actress backed away desperately, pushing herself off with hands and heels, trying to stand up, but failing in each attempt, softened by horror.
- Of the eight... one, for one... the eight, so the Thrice-Horned mandates. Come… fulfill your destiny.
The voice that had spoken was like a bark drowning in a pool of rotting flesh, the largest monster of the group, which was now on two legs, bent over, wearing a broken horn on its head like a twisted crown, and on its back a soaked cloak, giving off a senatorial, yet shadowy stature to his dried form. It took an aggressive stance, and suddenly rushed forward at great speed, extending its already elongated talons to unnatural limits through the portal, curving and bending at impossible angles to burst violently from the portal and grabbing the actress by the ankles to drag her forever in. The guards had explicit orders not to shoot at the machine, as it could have disastrous side effects, but didn't lack the desire to do so at the moment, given the threat that loomed over them, but before they could agree what to do, the loudspeaker and alarms went on:
- Intrusion! Close portal immediately! – S-1 shouted.
The operators obeyed, while Raon watched Mari being dragged towards the vortex by the entity, which began to poke its repugnant snout through the opening, and with its other arm coupled by the help of its companions tried to hold the portal open, pushing at its edges as if they were solid. Such feat should've been impossible, the director thought, but she remained calm despite her inner urge for the operators to enact the order immediatly, before something much worse happened, the outbreak of a highly uncomfortable raid which would put all eyes on her neck in the case of failure.
The staff desperately pushed buttons and put commands on the consoles until one of them hit the red emergency shutdown button one last time; the rings, which were stuck for several seconds, began to spin again, cutting the creature's hand in a rapid oscillation, accelerating more and more. Soon the largest ring was followed by the two inner rings. while the support ring shook and squeaked between its sturdy side handles as Mari fell about 3 feet onto the platform, the impact to her back knocking the air out for an instant, and once recovered, coughed and started to run out. One guard raised the left hand so the others wouldn't shoot, then rushed and caught her putting handcuffs over her wrists:
- I'm sorry double, but I can't let you leave.
Mari recognized the voice, though barely saw the outline of his face behind the visor, it was the sergeant she met months ago during Soo Young's incident; he was going to speak, but soon a spark from the outer ring interrupted him, and they turned to look like the rest of the personnel. Contemplating the sparks, one could see how the vortex regained, with apparent difficulty, its original pulsating shape, and after a few more seconds, the adjustment made by the operators was successful, returning the atmosphere to calm, causing several of those present to sigh with relief. Once again, the rings came to life and began to spin, with their bluish-white heart serenely illuminating the room, while the emergency lights went off as upstairs, Goo Joon looked at his digital bracelet, his eyes widened as he checked how the portal's readings were going off-charts.