The rainbow luminescence radiating from the giant cosmic energy sphere before them looked magnificent, yet beneath its beauty lay a terrifying menace. The small, jagged black fractures gaping across the surface of the Ley-Line core hissed incessantly, churning out anomaly shockwaves that slowly tore away at space and time.

Zulfa stared intently at the holographic scanner display inside the capsule cabin, while Naya and Captain Danu stood behind him with bated breath.

"The earth's core vein condition is far worse than we estimated," Zulfa said with a tense voice, his fingers flying fast across the control console to read diagnostic data. "This energy sphere isn't simply fracturing from age or standard geological pressure. Those cracks are triggered by an external frequency resonance from the edge of the galaxy attempting a... cosmic reconciliation."

"Cosmic reconciliation?" Captain Danu repeated, furrowing his brow as he crossed his arms over his chest to watch the pulsing energy sphere outside the glass viewport. "You mean the entity across the galaxy is trying to forcibly synchronize our earth's frequency with their planet?"

"Precisely, Captain," Zulfa answered grimly. "That signal acts like an invisible gravitational pull tugging at the earth's core structure. If we don't seal those fractures and lock the Ley-Lines immediately, that gravitational drag will ruin our planet's rotational equilibrium."

Before Naya could respond to the technical breakdown, the portable satellite comms unit inside the capsule cabin buzzed to life.

Bzzzt—Click!

The emergency communication screen flickered on automatically, displaying the face of Roni—head of the surface surveillance team left behind at the upper base—against a background of monitor screens choked with red warning markers.

"Engineer! Captain Danu! Do you copy?!" Roni's voice echoed through the comm channel, laced with panic, accompanied by the howl of heavy winds in the background.

Naya stepped forward instantly, snatching up the console microphone. "Roni! We copy you loud and clear! What's happening on the surface?! Why do you sound so panicked?"

"You guys need to get back up here right now!" Roni gasped, out of breath from the surface. "Conditions outside the city suddenly turned into a miniature apocalypse in under ten minutes! The sky over the city suddenly started roaring again, spawning a dark purple electromagnetic storm cloud spinning in circles right above the central district!"

"An electromagnetic storm cloud?" Zulfa cut in swiftly, snatching the mic from Naya's hands. "Are there any other extreme weather anomalies on the surface, Roni?"

"More than just extreme weather, Engineer!" Roni yelled half into the speaker at the other end. "Gravity at several intersections across the Northern District is shifting wildly! Cars are floating a few inches off the asphalt, and water in the harbor canals is pulling upward into vertical waves! The city government just declared a top-tier red emergency status!"

Naya blew her eyes wide in horror, clapping her left hand over her mouth. "Good God... the pull from the core vein down here is already altering gravity on earth's surface..."

"Thanks for the emergency report, Roni. Keep civilian safety locked down however you can, we're handling the source of the problem right here," Zulfa commanded firmly, cutting the comm channel.

Silence dropped over the capsule cabin, dense and suffocating. Three pairs of eyes locked back onto the cosmic energy sphere pulsing ever faster outside the glass. The black fractures across its surface now widened, spitting dimensional sparks with escalating fury.

Naya turned to look at Zulfa with eyes brimming with dread. "Zul... that surface report proves we have zero time left. If we delay repairing this seal by even an hour, every structural district above could be torn to shreds by gravity anomalies."

"We have to accelerate the seal repair sequence right now," Zulfa said without hesitation, spinning his control chair to face the primary Aether-Tech panel. "I'm activating the automated synchronization module to close the core fractures using backup energy from this cave's ancient crystals."

"Good! Do it before it's too late!" Captain Danu urged in agreement.

Zulfa punched a sequence of execution keys onto the main console, wiring the capsule's conductor cables straight toward the cosmic energy sphere before them.

Bzzzt—Zzzzt!

The main monitor screen flared to life, generating an automated synchronization process graph. Yet instead of the green indicator confirming a smooth process, the monitor abruptly plunged into a deep red, spitting out a string of wildly flashing bold warning text.

"CRITICAL WARNING! AUTOMATED PROCESS REJECTED."

"HUMAN ENERGY CAPACITY AND EXTERNAL MODULES INSUFFICIENT TO SEAL CORE. BIOLOGICAL CONDUCTOR MASS WITH ARCHITECT FREQUENCY REQUIRED."

Naya read the text on the display with a bated breath, her face bleaching bone-white. "Rejected...? What do you mean the Aether-Tech automated system is rejecting our command, Zul?"

Zulfa froze for a beat, rereading the diagnostic code lines flashing across the screen. The youth's face hardened abruptly, grasping the horrifying implication behind the system's warning.

"This sealing system can't be operated by standard automated machinery," Zulfa spoke with a raspy voice barely above a whisper. "The energy and mechanical capacity of external modules isn't enough to bridge the Ley-Line fracture gap linked directly to the edge of the galaxy."

"Then... what does this system need to close the seal, Engineer?" Captain Danu asked, his tone mounting with tension.

Zulfa swallowed hard, then turned to look back and forth between Naya and Captain Danu with a gaze betraying an unavoidable, crushing decision.

"This system needs a living conductor... Someone sharing the exact same genetic frequency as the Architect to act as a physical bridge sealing the energy current," Zulfa murmured softly. "In other words... human energy capacity from external modules falls short, and the system rejects it because it demands a direct sacrifice from within."