That night, the elder took them underground. Beneath the shrine lay a tunnel system powered by a dying generator. The walls pulsed with faint blue veins—conduits of old world energy.
"This is what your people built," the elder said. "We kept it alive."
Aria examined the control panels. Broken screens, but some still flickered with static. She inserted the chip from her boot into the slot.
A heartbeat passed.
Then a map blinked onto the screen. Network nodes. One still active. Far south, near the edge of the dead zone.
"This is what we needed," Aria whispered.
Kael stood behind her. "But getting there will kill us."
"Not if we move fast."
Rhea leaned against the wall, arms folded. "So we're running again?"
"We're surviving," Aria said. "And maybe... we're changing something."
Behind them, the elder watched silently. "You take our light with you. But know this—if the world does not accept her, it will fear her."
And Aria had already lived through both.