The chamber shuddered as the Root pulsed again, massive veins of red energy snaking along the walls. Sparks fell like rain. The hum of the Core was deafening, alive, aware, and eager.Raymond’s white light blades glowed brighter, cutting shadows from the chaos. His chest heaved, lungs burning, but his mind was a razor’s edge. XP available. Moral outcomes critical. Survival depends on precision.“Raymond! You need to move!” Lira shouted, dragging Jin behind a fractured column as tendrils whipped overhead.“I know!” he yelled back, swinging his blades, cutting through two tendrils before they could strike. The strikes sent showers of molten debris across the chamber. +30 XP for precise neutralization.Kai hovered a meter above the ground, crimson aura blazing. “You’ve learned fast… but fast isn’t enough.” His hands moved in fluid, mechanical motions, and more tendrils shot out, splitting and elongating like living wires.Raymond exhaled sharply, feeling the System hum along his nerves. L

The underground chamber was eerily silent. Red sparks had faded into smoldering embers, and the shattered walls of the Root Core’s lair were bathed in the faint white glow of Raymond’s residual energy.Dust hung in the air like static, thick enough to taste, and yet, for the first time in days, the three of them could breathe without anticipating an immediate attack.Raymond knelt beside Kai, who was strapped to a reinforced medical cradle. His hybrid form had regressed back to mostly human, though faint crimson sigils traced along his skin, pulsating lightly like a heartbeat he didn’t control.“Ray… you don’t have to do this,” Kai muttered weakly. His voice trembled, but there was an edge of defiance beneath the fear. “I’ve… I’ve survived worse.”Raymond shook his head, scanning his vitals and the residual nanofiber traces around him. The System confirms instability. Containment required. Moral directive: minimize harm while neutralizing threat.“You survived, yes,” Raymond replied,

The BioWaste Zone’s tunnels stretched like veins beneath Zenith, twisting and narrowing into impossible angles. Every wall was coated with bioluminescent mold, leaky pipes hissed corrosive steam, and the air vibrated with the hum of hidden energy networks.Raymond led the team, white light tracing along his arms, illuminating their path in the suffocating gloom.“Stay sharp,” he whispered, eyes scanning every shadow. “The secondary nodes aren’t just inert. Some pulse with residual energy. The Root will try to defend itself if it senses intrusion.”Lira nodded, tight-lipped. “And the rogue healers? Are they really trustworthy?”Corvin’s footsteps echoed beside them. “They follow skill and survival, not loyalty. Trust is temporary, but survival is permanent. Stick to your instincts.”Jin muttered under his breath, still clutching his makeshift stun baton. “Instincts? I’m still alive because Ray fought a walking root demon, and now I’m supposed to trust… everyone?”Raymond didn’t answer.

The BioWaste Network hummed like a living organism, its tunnels vibrating faintly under the weight of unseen currents.Each pulse of the conduits carried data, energy, and danger. Raymond moved ahead, white light tracing along his arms, illuminating the damp, fungal-coated walls.“Multiple nodes detected ahead,” the System whispered, a faint vibration in his skull. Aggressive potential: high. Operator presence: probable. XP opportunity: maximum.Lira tightened her grip on her rifle. “Ray, this isn’t going to be like before. There could be more than one Keeper. More than one operator controlling these nodes.”Raymond’s eyes narrowed, scanning shadows. “Exactly. We need strategy. Precision. And restraint. Every action counts.”Jin groaned from behind. “Strategy, precision, restraint… yeah, sure. And I suppose we’re supposed to have fun too?”Raymond ignored him. System advisory: ally positioning optimal. Tactical XP potential high.The tunnels opened into a wider chamber, thick with res

The BioWaste Network throbbed beneath Zenith like a living, breathing organism. Every tunnel, every conduit, every node pulsed with the residual energy of the Root.The air was thick, metallic, and suffused with the hum of countless hidden pulses. Raymond led the team forward, white light trailing along his veins, illuminating the shadows that moved with a life of their own.“Raymond,” Lira whispered, scanning the tunnels, “we’re reaching the main conduit junction. The energy readings here… it’s off the charts.”Raymond’s eyes narrowed. “Exactly. If Joren controlled nodes, this is where the network converges. And if we’re going to stabilize the city’s veins, this is the final test.”Jin muttered behind them, clutching his baton. “Final test, right… because everything else wasn’t stressful enough.”Raymond ignored him. System advisory: extreme nodes detected. Hidden operators possible. XP opportunity: critical. Moral directive: high.The tunnel widened into a massive chamber. Pipes and