The lines of light slowly faded, but the message remained—looping silently above the pillar.
"You build. I watch."
"Do you understand the Pattern?"
Cael stared, arms crossed, jaw clenched.
The chamber was still. Nothing moved. No breathing but his own. No sound but the distant hum of active systems buried in the stone.
[ECHO CORE INTERFACE STABLE]Status: Passive Observation Node
Architect Identity: MaskedSignature Correlation: 52% (Althis, Subnet A)
Threat Level: IndeterminateSuggested Action: Engage cautiously
"Cautiously," he muttered, "as if I had any other gear to shift into."
He approached the core again. The map projection remained unchanged, but new icons had appeared—blinking beacons labeled with simple glyphs:
⚙️ : Industrial Output
🛡️ : Defensive Architecture
🔗 : System Integration
👁️ : Observation Node
The last one—👁️—was placed inside his own shelter.
He hadn't built any surveillance devices. Not even passive sensors. So either this entity had somehow piggybacked on his blueprint data... or had injected a watcher into his system.
The thought made his skin crawl.
[INCOMING PULSE: QUERY]
"Echo confirmed. You are seen. Are you willing to be measured?"
Cael hesitated.
There were no buttons. No keyboards. Only thought.
He projected a simple word into the interface: "Why?"
[RESPONSE DELAYED...]
"Because the Deep forgot its shape. You are the Pattern's last chance."
The lights dimmed.
A new file loaded. A blueprint—but not like the ones Cael had used before. It wasn't a building. It wasn't a trap. It was something else entirely.
A circuit. Woven into stone and steel. Built into the layout of entire cities.
[UNLOCKED: Architect Relic Blueprint – "Signal Grid Anchor"]Function: Creates stable network between separated Architect Cores
Resource Requirements: UnlistedSystem Level Required: Unknown
"Phase 1 of 5"
It wasn't just a structure. It was a network—the first piece of something far larger. Something meant to connect.
Maybe even revive.
Cael's fingers trembled as he closed the projection. His heart raced—not from fear, but from the slow, dawning understanding:
He wasn't just building to survive.
He was being tested. Graded. Watched from somewhere far deeper, by an Architect who had never left the system at all.
And that Architect?
They had plans for him.
The tunnel lights shifted again.
Down the next corridor, a set of runes pulsed to life. Not hostile. Not aggressive.
But unmistakably a summons.