Chapter 73 – The End of the Exit

When the explosion spread through the corridors, Rowan was thrown backward in the system room. The screens went dark for a moment, then the entire security map changed. Doors began opening and closing on their own. The red markers disappeared, and some corridors turned gray. Rowan got to his feet quickly. This was no longer a system that could be controlled. Elara had not broken the system. She had begun rewriting it.

When Kael reached the main floor through the stairs, he saw the orange light at the end of the corridor ahead of him. For a moment, the bond inside him pulled so hard it nearly dropped him to his knees. Elara was there. But half of what he felt did not belong to her. This time, he did not deny it. He clenched his fist and ran.

Rowan also left the system room. There was no point in staying at the screens anymore. The map had been corrupted, but Elara’s energy was showing him the way. As he ran through the corridors, he passed two officers. One tried to stop him, but Rowan slammed him into the wall with his shoulder and did not slow down. This war had moved beyond secrecy now. Everything had become tangled together. Officers, old guardians, doors sealing shut, passages opening, the smell of magic, blood, alarm, and Elara’s energy tearing through the system... The facility was no longer an order. It was like a creature being torn apart.

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