Deadly silence enshrouded the drilling capsule cabin after Zulfa unveiled the bitter truth. The cosmic energy sphere outside the viewport pulsed wildly, radiating anomaly waves that made the surrounding air shimmering hot and heavy.

Naya stood stunned, her eyes blowing wide as she stared at Zulfa as though the youth had just lost his mind. "Wait... what do you mean, Zul? A living conductor? A direct sacrifice from within?!"

Zulfa stared straight ahead at the primary console screen, drawing a deep breath to steady the tremors in his chest. "The Aether-Tech automated system was engineered by the Arkian ancestors to read genetic frequency and pure consciousness. Our manufactured machines or modules lack the quantum adaptation capacity required to patch a dimensional fracture linked directly to an alien galaxy. It demands... someone to manually redesign the layout structure of that seal from scratch, using their own body as a physical energy-conducting bridge."

Captain Danu clenched his fists until his knuckles turned stark white, his jaw locking hard. "Don't talk nonsense, Engineer! If you act as a manual conductor without system shielding, that cosmic energy backcurrent will incinerate every nerve in your body in a matter of seconds!"

"It's the only way, Captain," Zulfa answered in a voice calm yet absolute. "I am the rightful descendant of the Architect. Every ounce of civil engineering and structural architecture I've studied all my life... this is the moment all that knowledge must be converted to redesign earth's ultimate seal."

Naya bolted from her seat instantly, lunging forward to clamp her hands tight around Zulfa's jacket collar as tears streamed down her cheeks. The girl's voice trembled violently, heavy with despair and profound fury.

"No! You can't do this, Zul!" Naya shrieked hysterically, locking her eyes straight into the youth's gaze. "You just saved the city from the corporate tower! We only just started our new dawn! Why... why must it always be you who has to sacrifice?!"

Zulfa turned, gazing at Naya with the softest smile he had ever given. He raised his left hand to brush away the tears on the face of the girl he loved. "Because I'm an engineer, Naya. And an engineer's primary duty isn't merely designing grand buildings to stand tall, but ensuring the foundations where the people they love stand remain safe from collapse."

"I don't care about the engineer title or the city's foundation!" Naya sobbed, swatting gently against Zulfa's chest with trembling hands. "If this city survives but you have to perish deep within the earth's core, what's the point of me living up on the surface?!"

"Hey... listen to me, Naya," Zulfa murmured softly, gripping both her shoulders tight to force her to lock eyes with him. "I'm not planning on dying here. I'll use my full understanding of the Ley-Lines' structural layout to lock the fractures with pinpoint precision. But I need you and Captain Danu to trust me... just this once."

Captain Danu looked away for a beat, gritting his teeth against the churning emotions storming his chest. As a veteran soldier, he understood the true weight of an absolute sacrifice, yet watching the young man before him shoulder a burden this heavy broke him.

"Engineer..." Captain Danu's voice hitched in his throat. "Is there genuinely no other loophole?"

"None, Captain. Our time's up," Zulfa replied resolutely.

He rose from the pilot seat, stepping out of the capsule's main cabin onto the open-air platform facing the cosmic energy sphere floating within the ancient cavern. The dimensional storm wind howled, whipping at the hem of his jacket.

Naya moved to follow Zulfa's steps, but Captain Danu held the girl's arm gently, shaking his head with tearful eyes. Naya sank to her knees on the capsule floor, burying her face in both hands as her sobs broke free amid the roar of the cosmic gales.

Outside the capsule, Zulfa stood tall upon the crystal stone platform. He stared down at his right arm—the limb temporarily paralyzed by the electrical shock in the corporate engine room not long ago. The arm still felt stiff, yet the resolve blazing in his chest burned far hotter than any pain.

Zulfa reached into his tactical pocket, pulling out the high-energy silver conductor cable typically used to link Aether-Tech modules.

He drew a long breath, shutting his eyes for a beat to anchor his soul.

Bzzzt—Click!

Without a shred of hesitation, Zulfa began splicing the silver conductor cable straight into the nervous system of his previously paralyzed right arm, winding those high-energy micro-cables deep through his skin and vein pathways.

Instantly, a brutally savage chemical and physical reaction detonated across his entire frame.

BARRR-GH!

Electric currents and searing cosmic energy surges lashed straight into Zulfa's right arm, blazing at lightning speed to incinerate every nerve system, blood vessel, and brain cell in his body.

Zulfa let out a stifled shriek, his neck veins bulging rigid as his body arched backward against excruciatingly intense pain—a pain tearing every cell of his mortal consciousness apart into dust before the earth's core nexus.