Chapter 218: Echoes of the Rift and the Path of Choice

The revival of the leyline energy well was like a shot of adrenaline to the dying Ark behemoth. Though still far from its prime, the ever-present aura of death and decay had indeed been dispelled considerably. The stable energy supply allowed the surviving infrastructure to function again, and the faint light and fresh air brought a long-absent, fragile sense of safety to this dead zone.

The cocoon of light that Lin Mo had become still hung quietly beneath the energy heart, like a slumbering sovereign, absorbing the purest leyline energy for a reconstruction whose duration was unknown. Priestess Liyana had been carefully moved by Sister Ai Li and Xiang Lingna onto a relatively flat platform of energy crystals. Her breathing was steady, her complexion no longer ashen, but the dark-purple crystal riddled with cracks on her brow still pulsed with a faint, unsettling fluctuation, like a sleeping viper, reminding everyone that the hidden danger had not been eliminated.

Gerona roughly dealt with the heavy damage to her power armor, integrating the still-usable weapon modules together. Like a loyal door-god, she stood guard at the entrance to the leyline cavity, her crimson eyes vigilantly monitoring the situation in outer space through the breach. The Doctor's fleet had pulled back some distance, forming a tense standoff with her mixed fleet. Small-scale skirmishes and probing fire occurred from time to time, but large-scale attacks had temporarily ceased. This calm before the storm was, on the contrary, even more unsettling.

After absorbing some of the dispersed leyline energy, Zero's console recovered partial functionality. Though its glow was still dim, it no longer looked as if it might go dark at any moment. It continuously scanned the internal changes within the Ark's remains and tried to repair the communication link with Gerona's fleet, but progress was slow; the Ark's own energy shielding remained formidable.

The wound on Xiang Lingna's shoulder healed quickly in the pure-energy environment, and she was already able to move freely. She spent most of her time guarding beside Lin Mo's cocoon of light and Priestess Liyana, her eyes filled with worry and hope. Sister Ai Li's injuries were the most severe. Though the erosion had been purified, multiple fractures and internal injuries required time to mend. She sat leaning against the wall, eyes closed and focused, using the elves' breathing method to recover slowly, but the occasional furrow of her brow showed the process was not easy.

Time slipped slowly past in this oppressive calm.

Until a wave of extremely faint, yet distinctly different, tremors reached them.

These tremors did not come from external bombardment, nor from the pulsing of the energy well, but rather sounded like some kind of… snapping sound from deeper within the Ark, from its lower structural levels? Or perhaps, the sound of some kind of binding being broken free?

Wooo— mm——

Immediately after, a low, distorted howl filled with agony and madness, as if transmitted from the very depths of an extremely distant underground, faintly traveling up along the metal structures and energy conduits! The sound did not resemble any known creature at all, but rather a mixture of countless wailing vengeful spirits and some kind of mechanical malfunction noise, making one's scalp tingle and one's heart uneasy!

"What the hell is that sound?!" Gerona sprang to her feet, her battle-axe instantly gripped tight, warily looking down at the mirror-smooth floor, as if the sound came from the depths of hell.

Xiang Lingna and Sister Ai Li were also startled awake by this sudden, eerie sound, feeling a bout of inexplicable heart palpitations.

Zero's console flickered sharply: "Detected anomalous low-frequency tremors and energy fluctuations! Source: bottom-level structure of the Ark remains, depth exceeds current detection range. Fluctuation attribute analysis: highly chaotic, mixed with intense corruption energy, despair intent, and… spatial-tearing characteristics!"

Spatial tearing? Could it be…

"It's the Devouring Realm's Maw!" Zero's voice carried an unprecedented Heavy and Solemn tone. "The previous purification… did not completely eradicate its extension… but rather may have… destroyed its 'anchor point' in this region… causing its main body's power… through some already existing… spatial rift… to escape… toward the deeper levels of the Ark… or even… other connected planes…"

"And the tremors and sounds just now… are presumed to be the… echo… produced when it broke free of its bindings… or… completely tore apart some weak spatial node…"

This news made everyone's hearts sink again. Their previous fierce battle had only repelled a small portion of the Devouring Realm's Maw's power, and might have even indirectly helped it open a path to more dangerous areas? Or perhaps, this Ark's remains already contained cracks connecting to other dangerous planes within it, and they had now been activated?

"Can you pinpoint the exact location of that rift?" Gerona spat. "This old lady will go plug it up!"

"The source of the fluctuation is too deep and chaotic to pinpoint precisely. But the energy flow shows… leyline energy is spontaneously converging toward that area, seemingly… attempting to repair or suppress it." Zero replied. "At the same time, another relatively stable leyline energy tributary has been detected, activating the passage we previously discovered, leading to what is suspected to be an 'Ancient Elven Emergency Shelter' or a 'Backup Bridge Entrance'."

Zero projected a new energy-vein map. One could see that the dark-red region representing the dangerous rift, constantly expanding, was located at the very bottom of the Ark, while a milky-white, relatively slender yet stable energy stream pointed in another direction, toward a certain area deeper within Unit B-7.

One path, leading to unknown danger and possibly greater threats (the rift). Another path, leading to a possible control center and new hope (the bridge).

But did they have the ability to handle both sides at once?

Lin Mo slumbered, high-end combat power absent. Sister Ai Li and Xiang Lingna were heavily wounded and not yet recovered. Gerona needed to defend the entrance against possible attacks from the Doctor's fleet. Zero was severely damaged.

Splitting forces meant scattered strength, and the possibility of being picked off one by one. A choice had to be made immediately.

"We must go to the bridge." Sister Ai Li suddenly spoke, her voice weak yet unusually firm. She opened her eyes, her ice-blue irises looking toward that stable energy tributary. "Only by gaining control of the Ark can we truly understand its condition, close any other rifts that may exist, and even… find a way to completely heal Priestess Liyana and deal with the Doctor. The bottom-level rift… can only be temporarily suppressed by relying on the leyline energy itself."

Her words were rational and calm, pointing out the most critical objective.

Though Gerona longed for battle, she also knew what mattered most, and nodded: "Exactly! Once we get control of this broken ship, this old lady can drive it straight into the Doctor's broken flagship!"

Xiang Lingna also expressed agreement, believing that finding the control center would surely help Lin Mo-gege and Priestess Liyana-Barrier.

"The passage leading to the target area has been initially activated by leyline energy, but the path is long and conditions unknown." Zero reminded them. "In our current state, this journey carries extremely high risk."

"No matter how high the risk, we have to go!" Gerona shouldered her battle-axe. "We can't just sit here waiting for that black mud to come up from underground again or for the Doctor to break in!"

Consensus reached. Objective: follow the leyline energy tributary, find and enter the area suspected to be the backup bridge entrance!

Just as they were organizing their equipment and preparing to depart, Priestess Liyana, who had been unconscious, suddenly let out another extremely faint moan. Her fingers moved unconsciously, and a faint, emerald-green glow of natural energy belonging to her own origin flickered at her fingertips like a candle in the wind, then extinguished again.

This subtle change did not escape Sister Ai Li's eyes. She looked deeply at Priestess Liyana, and the sense of urgency in her heart grew stronger. Priestess Liyana's own consciousness seemed to be struggling, but time was running out.

The team was soon prepared. Gerona left a few still-functioning automated defense robots to guard the entrance and Lin Mo's cocoon of light, though she knew they might not be of much use.

The group stepped into the passage illuminated by milky-white energy light, leading deeper into the Ark. Behind them were the slumbering Lin Mo, the unconscious Priestess Liyana, and the unsettling rift echoes that kept coming from deep underground.

Ahead lay the unknown passage and faint hope.

And what they did not know was that shortly after they left, among the remains of the World Tree seed suspended above Lin Mo's cocoon of light—which had already completely dimmed and shattered—the smallest fragment suddenly, extremely faintly, like a breath, flickered with an almost imperceptible green light.