The Extra's: Accidental Rebirth.-Chapter 90

[YOU-ARE: INSIDE-MY-BODY.]

[LEVEL-TWELVE: TESTS-WHETHER-YOU-CAN-NAVIGATE-LIVING-SYSTEM-WITHOUT-KILLING-HOST.]

[DAMAGE-ME: TRIAL-FAILS.]

[REACH-HEART-CHAMBER: TRIAL-SUCCEEDS.]

[MY-IMMUNE-SYSTEM: WILL-NOT-STOP-TRYING-TO-ELIMINATE-YOU.]

[THIS-IS: BY-DESIGN.]

"So we have to climb 147 meters," Yoo said aloud, "while being chased by immune cells, without damaging anything, in—" he checked his internal clock, "—43 minutes?"

[AFFIRMATIVE.]

"That’s—"

[IMPOSSIBLE-FOR-MOST. THAT-IS-WHY: FEW-REACH-LEVEL-THIRTEEN.]

Squelch-squelch-LUNGE.

A phagocyte attacked—SPLASH—trying to engulf Han.

She dodged—roll-TUMBLE—barely avoiding contact. The phagocyte’s pseudopod slammed into the wall—SPLAT—and immediately the wall reacted.

PULSE-PULSE-ALARM.

The entire chamber convulsed—SHAKE—and new sounds emerged:

WAIL-WAIL-WAIL.

An alarm. Biological alarm. The Spire’s pain response.

[WALL-DAMAGED: -1-POINT-FROM-TRIAL-SCORE]

[ACCUMULATED-DAMAGE-BEYOND-THRESHOLD: TRIAL-FAILS]

[CURRENT-THRESHOLD: 12-DAMAGE-POINTS]

"Twelve points," Corvus said. "We can damage twelve things before failing?"

[CORRECT. EACH-DAMAGE-SOURCE-COUNTS:]

[MINOR-DAMAGE: 1-POINT]

[MODERATE-DAMAGE: 3-POINTS]

[SEVERE-DAMAGE: 7-POINTS]

[FATAL-DAMAGE: INSTANT-FAILURE]

"So what do you count as fatal?" Han asked.

[SEVERING-MAJOR-ARTERY. PUNCTURING-HEART. DESTROYING-BRAIN-STRUCTURE. ANYTHING: THAT-WOULD-KILL-LIVING-BEING.]

So we have to treat this like—

—surgery.

Navigate through the body as if we’re doctors performing operation.

While being attacked.

By the body’s own defenses.

Yoo’s mind, enhanced by three thousand years of Entity-Six’s knowledge, raced through medical concepts he’d never studied but now understood:

The immune system attacks foreign entities.

However, it does have recognition protocols, ways to identify "self" versus "other.", if we could trick it—

"I have a plan," Yoo said. "But it’s insane."

"We’ve already established that’s your operating mode," Han replied. "What is it?"

"We make ourselves invisible to the immune system." Yoo’s Master Illusions activated—HUMMM—his right eye (silver, flowing script) glowing as he crafted the most complex deception he’d ever attempted.

Not visual illusion, biological illusion.

He reached out and touched Han’s shoulder—press—and spoke in Logos:

"RECOGNIZED-AS-SELF."

CRACK.

The conceptual framework settled over her like invisible coating—shimmer-flow-INTEGRATE—rewriting how the immune system perceived her.

Not as foreign invaders, but as a part of the body.

The nearest T-cell—which had been moving to attack—stopped.

Pause.

Its blade-appendage hovered centimeters from Han’s throat.

Then—retract—it pulled back and moved past her, searching for other threats.

"It—" Han’s eyes were wide. "—it ignored me."

"Because I convinced it you’re part of the Spire’s body." Yoo touched Corvus next—press—repeating the process. "RECOGNIZED-AS-SELF."

CRACK.

Then Kairos—press—"RECOGNIZED-AS-SELF."

CRACK.

Finally himself—concentrate-FOCUS—"I-AM-SELF."

CRACK.

The coating settled over all four of them—shimmer-fade-INVISIBLE—and immediately the immune response changed:

The phagocytes stopped pursuing.

The T-cells moved past them, searching for threats that no longer registered.

[CLEVER,] the Spire’s voice carried something like approval. [BIOLOGICAL-DISGUISE. UNPRECEDENTED-APPROACH. IMMUNE-SYSTEM: FOOLED.]

[HOWEVER: EFFECT-TEMPORARY. DURATION: 11-MINUTES. THEN-DETECTION-RESUMES.]

Eleven minutes.

147 meters vertical.

That’s— Yoo calculated quickly—13.4 meters per minute required climbing speed.

Doable if we move fast.

"We climb. Now." He moved to the shaft’s wall, examining the pulsing veins. "Use the veins as handholds. They’re sturdy enough to support weight."

He grabbed the nearest vein—SQUEEZE—and felt it pulse beneath his grip—throb-throb—warm and disturbingly alive. But it held his weight.

Start climbing.

Pull-reach-pull.

His asymmetric arms made it difficult—the seven-year-old right hand reached farther, creating unbalanced ascent that threatened to spin him off the wall. His seven-year-old left leg provided more push-strength than the two-year-old right, creating rotating torque with each movement.

But he climbed.

15 meters.

30 meters.

50 meters.

Behind him—below him—Han and Corvus climbed with better coordination. Kairos used his claws—CRUNCH-CRUNCH—to grip the walls directly, creating small punctures that immediately sealed—close-heal—the Spire’s flesh regenerating instantly.

[MINOR-DAMAGE: 1-POINT]

[ACCUMULATED: 2/12]

Kairos’s claws count as damage.

Need to be more careful.

They climbed faster.

70 meters.

90 meters.

110 meters.

The heartbeat grew LOUDER—THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP.—until Yoo could feel it in his teeth, his bones, his asymmetrically-aged body parts vibrating at different frequencies—rattle-shake-discord.

And then—

WHAM.

Something hit the shaft’s wall from the other side—massive impact—hard enough to create shockwave that nearly dislodged all four climbers.

Hold-GRIP-hang.

Yoo’s fingers went white-knuckled around the vein—SQUEEZE—barely maintaining purchase.

[WARNING: EXTERNAL-COMBAT-DETECTED]

[ENTITY-ENGAGING-SPIRE-EXTERIOR]

[IMPACT-FORCE: EXTREME]

"What’s attacking?" Corvus shouted up the shaft.

[UNKNOWN-ENTITY. POWER-SIGNATURE: CATASTROPHE-CLASS-PLUS.]

[IT-APPEARS-TO-BE: TRYING-TO-BREACH-MY-EXTERIOR.]

WHAM. WHAM. WHAM.

Three more impacts—SHAKE-SHAKE-SHAKE—each one creating seismic event inside the arterial shaft.

Something is attacking the Spire.

From outside.

While we’re inside.

If it breaches—

—we’re directly in the path of whatever comes through.

"CLIMB FASTER!" Yoo shouted.

They did.

125 meters.

135 meters.

142 meters.

WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM.

The impacts intensified—RELENTLESS—whatever was attacking had found weak point and was exploiting it.

[EXTERIOR-BREACH: IMMINENT]

[ESTIMATE: 37-SECONDS-UNTIL-PENETRATION]

37 seconds.

5 meters to go.

Come on—

PULL-REACH-PULL-REACH—

Yoo’s muscles screamed—BURN-ache-STRAIN—the seven-year-old parts of his body handling the load better but creating dangerous imbalance that threatened to tear him apart internally.

Don’t think about it.

Just CLIMB.

THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP.

The heartbeat was deafening now—so loud Yoo couldn’t hear his own breathing.

145 meters.

146 meters.

147—

The shaft opened into chamber—MASSIVE—and Yoo pulled himself over the edge—SCRAMBLE—collapsing onto floor that pulsed with the heartbeat.

Made it.

Han emerged next—SCRAMBLE—then Corvus—wheeze-gasp—then Kairos—CRASH-THUMP.

And before them—

The Heart Chamber.

It was—

Beautiful.

Terrifying.

Impossible.

The Spire’s heart wasn’t biological organ. It was conceptual engine. A sphere of condensed reality the size of a building, floating in the chamber’s center, connected to hundreds of arteries and veins that pulsed with energy-blood.

And with each beat—THUMP-THUMP—the sphere compressed—SQUEEZE—then expanded—SWELL—pumping power throughout the entire Spire’s structure.

This is what keeps the trials running.

This is what maintains reality here.

This is—

CRASH.

The exterior wall exploded—SHATTER-BOOM—as something massive broke through.

Debris rained down—tinkle-CRASH-scatter—and through the breach—

A claw.

Enormous.

Scaled.

Radiating power that made Yoo’s Omniscient Observer scream warnings.

[BREACH-SUCCESSFUL]

[EXTERNAL-ENTITY: ENTERING]

[CLASSIFICATION: PRIMORDIAL-BEAST]

[DESIGNATION: THE-DEVOURER]

[THREAT-LEVEL: CATASTROPHIC]

The claw withdrew—SCRAPE—and something looked through the breach.

An eye.

Reptilian.

Slitted pupil that focused directly on—

Yoo.

And a voice—ancient, hungry, AMUSED—spoke directly into his consciousness:

[FOUND-YOU: LITTLE-HYBRID.]

[THE-ARCHITECT: SENDS-GREETINGS.]

[AND-ORDERS-ME: TO-TEST-YOUR-WORTH.]

What—

The breach exploded wider—CRASH-BOOM-SHATTER—and The Devourer entered the Heart Chamber.

It was—

Dragon.

But wrong.

Corrupted.

Ancient beyond measure.

Primordial-Beast-class that made Kairos look like a housecat.

And it was here to—

[KILL-YOU,] it finished. [OR-BE-IMPRESSED. ARCHITECT: IS-CURIOUS-WHICH.]

ROOOOOAAAAAR.

The Devourer lunged—CRASH-CRASH-CRASH—directly at Yoo’s position.

43 minutes remaining.

Enemy: Primordial-Beast.

Location: Heart Chamber (damage here = instant trial failure).

Objective: Survive and complete trial without destroying the heart.

Yoo’s asymmetric body tensed.

This is going to be bad.