{Earth}

Lynn and Kyle called everyone they knew outside of the Ecology.

“Find shelter. Be alert. Imminent is planning something big.”

“Celindria planted it in that guy’s nacre. She meant for us to find it. It’s a trigger of some kind.”

“Check on Bones and Para. Make sure Rayne is all right.”

“Where’s Tumu?”

“The Brethren haven’t answered.”

Smith ran into the comms room. “Come see this. Now.”

Lynn and Kyle exchanged a glance, holding their breath. They burst into the lobby and stared out of the surrounding glass.

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Oh, no.

The sky. In the sky…

“No…” Kyle rushed outside.

She shouted after him, “Get back here! It’s not safe out there.”

The ancient Seamswalker’s image spread across Earth’s Sphere. Deep skin. Solid violet eyes. And so very sad. Her voice quaked with the sorrow of it, “Beware the black fire and all the calamity it brings. Let the sleeper sleep. Elden waits.”

The imagery shifted and spanned the horizon. Lynn frequented the beautiful chateau while establishing the Iona facilities. She met Tempest there several times to work on the Arsenal’s design.

It exploded into a ball of red fire.

Lynn cried out and gaped.

Next image. The Hoover Dam and the brand new facility beside it. The building sank into the ground as if the Earth opened and swallowed it. All the Dwarves’ work on quantum communication washed away into the dirt.

Kyle sank to his knees and cried out to the sky, “Why?! Why would T.a.o. do this?!”

A vacuous roar boomed outside the Ecology. The facility shuddered with it. Was that from the—

“NO!” Lynn howled.

Flames engulfed Kyle through the conduit, always split open between the Ecology and the Arsenal. A fire erupted in the cylinder, spiraling to the entrance at the bottom.

“Kyle! No!”

Familiar, powerful arms encircled Lynn as she shrieked, kicked, and clawed. Her people. All of her people. In danger.

Or worse.