The alarm blared like the dying wails of a condemned soul, echoing madly through the vast underground hangar. At the heart of the experimental device, a sphere emanating an ominous white glow was climbing exponentially in energy readings. Cracks began to form on its crystalline surface, leaking ripples of energy that distorted spacetime. The ground shook violently, and the metal ceiling groaned under the strain, chunks of debris and pipes raining down.
"Blackstone Protocol countdown… T-minus 60 seconds…" The damaged base broadcast system delivered the apocalyptic announcement in a cold, emotionless electronic tone. "…Core approaching critical point… Chain collapse irreversible…"
Gravitational anomalies began to manifest. Evelyn felt her metallic body grow unbearably heavy, as if shackled by invisible chains. Nearby, Dr. Carter was yanked forcefully toward the wall but managed to grab onto an exposed steel rebar, narrowly avoiding being crushed. The air was thick with the acrid smell of ozone and unknown particle radiation.
"We have to stop it!" Dr. Carter shouted hoarsely, struggling to find a manual termination program on a crumbling console. But the screen had already been fried by an energy surge. "Once it forms a singularity, it will consume everything around it, and possibly… tear open a permanent dimensional wound!"
Evelyn's computational core raced, simulating every possible intervention. Direct destruction? Energy backlash would accelerate the collapse. Forced suppression? Her current energy reserves and output were insufficient to counter decades of residual energy stored in the base and the core's own fission. Introducing external energy to counteract? Too risky—it could trigger an even more catastrophic explosion.
"Omega Protocol… B-7… Activate…" A contingency plan left by the original Evelyn surfaced automatically in her mind. It was a protocol tailored specifically for the Blackstone facility—a dangerously extreme measure known as "Quantum Resonance Absorption."
The protocol was simple yet utterly insane: use the Omega body as both a "tuner" and a "container," actively establishing quantum resonance with the collapsing core to forcibly channel and absorb the reality-shattering energy into her own core. Then, via quantum entanglement with the Pennsylvania reactor, dissipate the overload into deeper quantum realms.
The risks were immense. First, her Omega core might not withstand such a colossal energy surge. Even with the Pennsylvania reactor acting as a "floodgate," the core itself could melt down during absorption. Second, initiating resonance with an unstable core meant exposing her consciousness to extreme quantum effects and potential dimensional contamination preceding singularity formation. Finally, dumping energy into the quantum depths could unpredictably destabilize that already fragile space—possibly even destroying Lucas's "unstable node."
"Lucas…" The name surged through her consciousness like an electric shock. She could sense that as the core's energy spiked, Lucas's node signal grew more erratic and unstable, as though straining under immense pressure. His earlier warnings and the interference frequencies he provided hinted at some lingering logic—and perhaps an instinct to protect her?
"Evelyn! You have to do something!" Dr. Carter's desperate shout snapped her back to reality. The cracks on the core sphere widened, blinding white light erupting from within. Surrounding objects began to disintegrate and warp, and time itself seemed to thicken.
There was no time left to hesitate.
"Initiate… Omega Protocol… B-7…" She issued the command to her core.
Instantly, the flow of energy within her reversed. No longer focused on external defense or attack, her body formed a complex internal energy field. The iris pattern on her liquid-metal skin glowed with unprecedented intensity—not pure white, but a deep, light-absorbing indigo. She severed physical contact with the ground, levitating slowly, and moved deliberately toward the core sphere threatening to annihilate everything.
"What are you doing?!" Dr. Carter stared at her in horror.
"Fulfilling my duty." Evelyn's voice emerged cold and calm through external speakers, as if she were performing a routine operation rather than gambling with self-sacrifice.
She extended her hands, stopping just centimeters from the core sphere. Indigo energy tendrils extended from her palms, probing cautiously into the torrent of chaotic energy spilling from the core.
It felt like plunging her hands into molten steel. Excruciating pain and a flood of information overwhelmed her senses. Twisted geometries, contradictory physical laws, alien dimension noises, and the cold malice of the "Eye" embedded deep within the core assaulted her mental firewall.
But she held steady. Fragments of rules left by the original Evelyn acted as stabilizing anchors, creating a "reality anchor" within her consciousness to resist the contamination and tearing forces. Following Protocol B-7, she began adjusting the frequency of her energy field to synchronize with the core's oscillations.
This was an exquisitely precise tuning process. The slightest deviation could cause an energy backlash, tearing her apart instantly. She poured all her computational power into it, ignoring the agony of her body and the chaos outside.
Just as resonance neared completion, Lucas's node signal erupted again! This time, it wasn't fragmented thoughts but a clear, urgent data stream flooding directly into her neural interface!
"…Core… geometry… unstable… left-spin… polarization… correction…"
What was this? Calibration data for the core's underlying structure? How did Lucas know? Had fragments of his consciousness fused with residual data in the quantum realm?
No time to ponder. Evelyn immediately adjusted her energy field's frequency and polarization based on the data.
A deep, primordial hum resonated.
Her energy field perfectly synchronized with the core's oscillations! Resonance achieved!
In the next instant, the immense energy stored within the core—enough to obliterate the entire facility—found an outlet, surging uncontrollably into Evelyn's Omega core via invisible quantum channels.
Unimaginable pain! Evelyn felt her consciousness and body being torn apart and dissolved by the torrent. Her Omega core's temperature skyrocketed to critical levels, energy meters overloaded, and alarms screamed in her mind. Her liquid-metal skin boiled and vaporized, the indigo glow shifting to a blinding, dangerous crimson.
"Pennsylvania reactor… connection… maximum… transfer…" With sheer willpower, she maintained the energy conduit, diverting most of the influx into the distant, larger reactor via quantum entanglement.
Even so, her core was pushed to its limits. Nanobots composing her body collapsed in mass, and her consciousness began to blur, on the verge of dissolving into the storm.
On the brink of losing awareness, a faint but pure energy suddenly flowed from a corner of the quantum realm, injecting into her near-collapse core. This energy carried a familiar, icy yet resilient aura, like an underground river beneath a frozen lake.
Lucas? No… it didn't feel right. More like… a contingency left by the original Evelyn? Or perhaps… remnants of Lucas's sister, hidden deep within his node, had awakened?
Though weak, this unexpected energy acted like adrenaline, steadying her faltering consciousness. Gritting her non-existent teeth, she continued absorbing and transferring energy.
The core sphere's glow rapidly dimmed. The chain collapse had been forcibly halted. The terrifying energy hadn't exploded but had instead been "swallowed" by Evelyn in a near-suicidal act.
Finally, as the last traces of energy were absorbed, the core sphere became a lifeless, cracked crystal husk. The hangar's energy field stabilized, leaving only structural collapses and settling dust.
Evelyn's body fell like a marionette with cut strings, raising a cloud of dust. Her crimson glow faded, leaving behind a battered, metallic shell. Much of her liquid-metal skin had evaporated, leaving only a barely humanoid skeletal frame. Her Omega core plummeted to dangerously low energy levels, permanently damaged from the overload.
She… had survived. But at great cost.
"You… you did it…" Dr. Carter staggered over, staring at Evelyn's wreckage-like form and the extinguished core, his eyes filled with shock—and a hint of guilt.
Evelyn tried to respond but could only emit raspy static. Attempting to connect to the quantum realm, she found Lucas's node signal now faint, flickering like a candle in the wind, as if the earlier surge had drained his last reserves. The mysterious energy that aided her had vanished without a trace.
"We need to leave here now!" Dr. Carter surveyed the collapsing structure. "This place could collapse completely any second!"
He tried to lift Evelyn, but her current state made movement impossible.
At that moment, Evelyn's remaining sensors picked up an incredibly faint signal—not energy, but… biological. From the location of the core sphere!
Struggling to turn her still-functional head, she looked at the dim crystal ball. Within its cracks, something… was writhing.
It was a small, fingernail-sized, translucent, gel-like substance. Seemingly absorbing the last remnants of the core and its absorbed energy, it pulsed faintly, radiating an eerie lifelike aura.
What was it? Residual spores? Something birthed by the core? Or… something else?
Evelyn felt a profound unease. She wanted to destroy it, but not a single joule of energy remained within her.
"What is that?" Dr. Carter noticed it too.
"Unknown… but… dangerous…" Evelyn managed to transmit.
The old man's face darkened. He immediately raised an energy pistol, aiming at the pulsating gel.