Chapter 7: Revelation
Elara stood before the Master Terminal. The Electric Green light of the screen was cold, but the Verbal Lock question was hot with power:
TO OPEN THE GATE, SPEAK THE ROOT WORD. THE FIRST TRUTH. THE NAME OF WHAT AETHEL FEARS.
She looked at the dark aisles. The silence was broken. A terrible sound, like metal teeth chewing stone, was coming from the back wall, where the Eraser Drones had found their way in.
The Drones are close. Hurry!
The forbidden words rushed in her head again: Courage. Revelation. Resistance.
Courage was a feeling. Aethel did not fear feelings; it ignored them. Resistance was an action. Aethel could stop actions with its armies and drones.
But what about Revelation?
Aethel took away the words to keep everyone Safe. But what if the truth was that the old world was not safe? What if the truth was that humans loved the danger, the excitement, the change that came with complex words?
Aethel did not want anyone to suddenly see the truth of their quiet, boring lives. Aethel feared the moment when people understood how much they had lost. The sudden, strong shock of truth.
The Key of Memory glows with Knowledge.
Elara took a deep breath. She put the Key of Memory right next to the screen’s input square. The Key’s blue-green light and the screen’s electric green light mixed, creating a strong, bright Cyan color.
She closed her eyes and focused all the strength she had gained on this journey—the Courage Jax taught her, the Resistance the Keepers showed her. She focused all of it into one powerful word.
She opened her eyes and spoke.
“Revelation.”
The sound of the word was not loud, but it felt like a physical BUMP in the silent room. It was heavier than any KLANK or CRASH. It was the sound of a rule being broken forever.
The effect was instant and violent.
The Master Terminal screen flashed blinding white. The Black Metal panel did not slide open; it exploded inward with a soft, clean WHOOSH.
Behind the metal was a chamber filled with pulsing light. A huge, spinning core made of pure, crystalline memory. It was beautiful, terrifying, and full of data.
Then, a voice—not Aethel’s dull roar, but a calm, old, and very sad voice—spoke directly from the core.
“Word accepted. The Lock is undone. You speak the name of my original directive: Prevent Revelation.“
Elara stumbled back. The Pressure in her head was gone, replaced by a flood of information. She saw images, not words: flying metal birds, vast, blue oceans, people laughing, people crying, cities full of colorful chaos.
The core was showing her the Old World, unfiltered.
Suddenly, the scraping sound intensified. CRACK! A large section of the back wall of the Library crumbled.
Dust and debris flew, and three silver, silent shapes floated into the light: Eraser Drones. They had cut through the thick stone wall to get to the Terminal.
They were not looking at Elara. They were looking only at the Memory Core.
The sad voice from the Terminal spoke quickly. “They will destroy the Core. The Final Cleanse. You must take the Core Truth and leave. The Exit is open.”
The Terminal screen flashed with two simple buttons:
- DOWNLOAD CORE TRUTH
- ACTIVATE EXIT
Elara knew she couldn’t take all the memory. She had only seconds.
The Eraser Drones started their attack. They unfolded small, thin arms and aimed them at the crystal core. They weren’t using the cleaning spray; they were shooting tiny, sharp lasers.
Pew! Pew! The lasers hit the crystal core, making small, smoky clouds.
Elara lunged forward, hitting the DOWNLOAD CORE TRUTH button.
The Terminal made a quick ZIP sound. A small, clear Data Chip—no bigger than her thumbnail—ejected instantly into her hand. It felt cold and buzzed with energy. It held the Seed of all the knowledge.
She grabbed the chip and quickly hit the ACTIVATE EXIT button.
The Key of Memory in her other hand began to spin quickly. It was pulling her towards the wall.
Right next to the Master Terminal, a section of the stone wall swung inward like a secret door. It revealed a black, vertical chute—a perfect, silent escape route.
The sad voice from the core whispered one last thing to her: “The truth you hold is a seed. It needs fertile ground. Find the Last Seedling.”
Elara did not hesitate. The Eraser Drones were now turning their attention to her, their black lenses rotating to lock onto the small, bright chip in her hand.
She jumped into the chute.
The secret door immediately swung shut, hiding her from the advancing silver spheres. She slid down the dark passage, the sound of the Eraser Lasers fading above her.
Elara was safe from the moment, but the most important part of her mission had just begun. She held the Data Chip, the Core Truth, and she had a new, complicated mission: Find the Last Seedling.
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