This time the giant machine moved in very slow, deliberate moves, withdrawing its energy from the spire itself. His hands could barely hold straight the aim of his own gun. His breath went sharp bursts: the symbols seemed to accelerate, brightening. Then the air surrounding them appeared like heated waves. In every ground beneath their footsteps was live. It shook: a thump, a grind. He felt the shock might well tear the very earth open.
"Everyone stay put," Kael's voice sliced through the communicator like a sharp blade. "Do not engage. Observe,"
Before they could move, the air seemed to cool down, and its eyes locked on them again. Ethan felt it like some deep vibration within his bones. It was studying them, sensing them. The old machine moved slow but deliberately and Ethan could feel tension, the weight of old power being used.
"What is it doing?" Amara whispered, voice taut, eyes staring into the glowing metal.
The hand of the machine covered the spire, touching at the fingers to ancient structure. Air hissed with connection, and a burst of light came from the tie-in. The spire pulsed once, twice, and returned quiet, as if yielding to machine command. Ethan's muscles were locked.
"I think it's trying to tell us something," he said.
Kael gritted his teeth. "But how? This is no tongue we can speak. Be careful."
The machine spoke again, its voice this time deep and sonorous, shaking the air like old machinery groaning under pressure. The voice was neither menacing nor anything else-it just *was*, vibrating with an antient, incomprehensible purpose.
Then, without warning, the spire blazed brighter. The earth shuddered more violently. Amara and Ethan stood with arms crossed, as if the air itself was coiled, tensed, with intent.
"This is it," Kael said, eyes narrowed. "It wants *something.* Pay attention."
The machine shifted its focus once more, this time closer to Ethan. His heartbeat echoed in his chest. Was this a threat? Or is it just curious about him? He tried keeping himself from quivering as the hands reached for him while he pushed himself farther into the ground.
"We have to let them know we don't mean to harm," Amara said, slowly moving her weapon back into itself, lowering it still. "Let's make contact. Maybe it's only waiting for some sort of offering."
Ethan's eyebrows shot down. "An offering? Like what? We don't even know if it wants *anything.*"
The spire burst bright again, its energy lighting up the space as it drenched them in its light and heat. The hand of the machine came closer. Ethan closed his eyes for a moment as fear began to well up from his chest. It couldn't get any tighter. Was this thing going to kill them?
"I think it hungers for *interaction,* not destruction," Amara said, moving slow toward the spire. "Perhaps we should give it some—something harmless."
She reached into her pack and pulled out a small crystal, one of the artifacts they had salvaged from the various ruins they'd been through earlier. Its glow pulsed weakly, its energy faintly resonating with the spire. Ethan and Kael exchanged glances.
"Amara, wait," Kael said, moving in front of her. His voice was firm, cold. "We don't know what this thing does. Don't make any moves unless we know the context."
Amara's eyes flashed with a mix of anger and determination as she hesitated. "Kael, listen to me. This crystal could resonate with it, just like that spire does. It might open up a conversation. We can't just *wait.*
She didn't have a chance to protest more as she took another step, raised the glowing crystal high, and placed it gently on the base of the spire. The air vibrated once more, this time more sharply, like a low hum from a far-off engine. Ethan could feel the vibrations through his bones as the crystal settled into its place.
All fell silent for a moment.
Then the spire blazed brighter, the machine's huge eyes blazing into light. Its voice boomed loud this time, so that the air was shaken. Symbols pulsed faster. It was alive, alive in ways that made Ethan's head spin.
"It's responding," he breathed.
The spire and energy of the machine seemed to twist together. The sound of the machine sounded like music—no, thought, impossible to understand but full of meaning. A low growl, a series of clicks, a rhythmic vibration. Ethan felt his knees go weak under pressure.
"This could be a breakthrough," Kael said, his voice calm but urgent. "Stay steady."
The machine began to shift again, its hand pulling slowly back from the spire. Ethan's body tensed, his eyes cutting to Kael and Amara. What was this? Did this mean they were in? Or was this some kind of recalibration, like when the machine touched the spire?
And before anyone could say anything, the air *exploded*.
A blinding pulse of light flared out from the spire, spilling over them like a tidal wave of energy. Ethan threw up his hands to cover his eyes, and Kael and Amara fell to the ground as the noise intensified. The earth groaned beneath them, and the machine itself seemed to expand in stature, its glowing limbs radiating power.
"What *is* that?!" Ethan yelled.
It's just a steady voice from across the communicator, though that which goes on around Kael makes it sound otherwise: "Stay low! Brace yourselves!"
The air flickered as if reality is folding in on itself. The force and pressure, temperature. Heart cramps in Ethan's chest, the energy surged about, pulsating. It's not destructive; it's actually almost alive.
Was this the signal? Was this where the machine was trying to convey its message?
As the energy dissipated, the machine's massive limbs just hung there, frozen. Ethan's breathing came in shallow gasps. His fingers gripped his weapon tightly, as if bracing for an attack, and yet nothing came. The machine's massive eyes glowed steady, and the air hummed once more.
Amara gasped beside him. "Is it waiting for us?"
Kael's voice didn't shake. "Maybe. But I don't think we can make it talk to us. We need answers, but we need to be careful. We don't know its design."
It watched them. Its movements froze, but the symbols of the spire pulsed steady and the machine felt as if something breathed, as if some mystery became flesh. And with that Ethan felt his heart ache to take it all in.
But then Kael had made up his mind. His voice again through the communicator, deliberate and calm came once more.
"We move forward. Slowly. Let's see if it will show us its intentions."
Ethan glanced at Amara. She was staring at the machine, expression unreadable.
"What if this is a mistake?" he whispered.
Kael's response was sharp. "It won't be a mistake if we're careful."
And yet, the tension hung in the air. The machine watched. The spire pulsed. Ethan felt his heart thudding in his chest. They were so tantalizingly close to their answers-but would they survive long enough to find them?
The spire pulsed once more. The machine's eyes sparkled. A decision had been made.
They would take the step into the unknown.
The question was whether they were ready for what happened next.