OP Absorption

Fin looked up. His eyes were sharp, focused. "Unit 7 is already deployed within the Spire. Four of them. Each equivalent to a high S-rank Hunter. They specialize in anti-power-user combat and close-quarters demolition." He paused. "They're waiting for us."

Meg gasped softly. Arachne's expression tightened.

"So, the direct assault is suicide," Scarlet stated, her voice grim. "Told you Valerius was a hornet's nest."

"Not suicide," Fin corrected. "Just… more complicated." He tapped the holographic schematics, which shifted, highlighting new routes, new targets based on the Argent Covenant's intel. "Their divination sanctums are on the upper levels, yes. But their primary psionic relay, the one that amplifies their scrying range across the region? It's here." He indicated a sub-level complex, deep beneath the Spire's foundations. "Older section. Less direct guard presence. More automated defenses. And according to this," he tapped the inert disc, "more… unstable."

"Unstable how?" Meg asked. She leaned closer to look at the display.

"Lyra's data suggests this sub-level was built over something… old," Fin said slowly, processing the new information. "Something the Association tried to contain, or maybe even tap into. The conduits we were planning to hit run right through it." He looked at them. "If we disrupt those conduits in the right sequence, it might not just blind their diviners. It might… destabilize the entire sub-level."

Scarlet's eyes lit up with a dangerous gleam. "Destabilize? You mean… blow it up?"

"Potentially," Fin admitted. "A chain reaction. Create enough chaos down below, and it gives us cover to hit the upper levels. Or," he paused, "it might just bring the whole damn Spire down on our heads."

"So, the plan is now 'maybe we blow ourselves up'?" Scarlet raised an eyebrow. "Bold. I like it. Very on-brand for you, Boss."

"The primary objective is still to neutralize their diviners and trackers," Fin stated. "The destabilization is a… tactical opportunity. A distraction. Or a last resort." He looked at Arachne. "The insertion point Lyra's data suggests is a decommissioned geothermal vent, miles out from the Spire, but it connects directly to the sub-level maintenance network. Undocumented on any official Guild or Association schematics. Jericho wouldn't have known about it."

Arachne nodded slowly. "A covert entry. It avoids the Spire's primary perimeter defenses. But the sub-levels themselves will be a labyrinth."

"We'll manage." Fin looked at Meg. The worry in her eyes was still there, but it was overlaid with a determined spark. "Meg, your knowledge of navigating tight, unmapped spaces will be crucial down there. You guide us through the maintenance tunnels. Arachne, you handle any automated defenses, traps. Scarlet," he turned to the red-haired assassin, "you and I deal with any… personnel… we encounter. And Unit 7, if they show up early."

Meg took a deep breath. "Okay. I can do that."

Scarlet grinned fiercely. "Sounds like a party."

Fin looked at the holographic Spire one last time. The risks were immense. Unit 7. Gabriel. The unstable sub-levels. But Lyra's information gave them a chance, a path through the seemingly impenetrable defenses.

"Get ready," he said. His voice was flat, but with an underlying current of cold resolve. "We leave in ten." He focused his will. Reality warped before them. The portal to Valerius, near the hidden geothermal vent, shimmered into existence. "Let's go introduce ourselves to Unit 7."

The portal was different this time. It was not the dark, oppressive gateway to his rage-fueled domain, nor the gentle shimmer to his own home. This one felt… sharper. Focused. Tinged with the cold, sterile energy of Valerius. It opened not onto a familiar rooftop, but into darkness. A narrow, circular shaft descended into unseen depths. The air that wafted out smelled of sulfur, ozone, and something else… something ancient and faintly unsettling.

"Charming," Scarlet muttered, peering into the dark opening. "Smells like bad eggs and regret."

Fin stepped towards the edge. "This is the geothermal vent. According to Lyra's intel, it drops down several hundred feet, then connects to the Spire's oldest sub-level maintenance network." He glanced back at them. "It'll be dark. And tight."

"No problem for me," Arachne said quietly. Her eyes were already adapting to the gloom.

Meg swallowed. She gripped her wooden staff tighter. "Okay," she said. Her voice was a little shaky but determined. "Just… no spiders, right?"

Fin almost smiled. "Probably not giant ones. Just grumpy medium-sized ones." He looked at Scarlet. "You good?"

Scarlet cracked her neck. "Been in worse holes." She grinned. "Lead the way, Boss."

He nodded, then stepped off the edge, into the darkness. He did not fall. He controlled his descent. Green energy flared faintly around his boots, slowing his fall, guiding him silently downwards.

Arachne followed, a silent shadow melting into the shaft. Scarlet took a deep breath, then jumped, a reckless grin on her face. Meg hesitated for a beat, then, with a small, determined sound, followed them into the depths. The portal snapped shut above them. It plunged them into absolute blackness.

The descent was long, silent. It was broken only by the faint whisper of their clothes against the rough-hewn walls of the geothermal vent. Fin used his enhanced senses, honed by the Mana Cell, to navigate the oppressive darkness, guiding their fall. The air grew warmer, thicker. It carried the sharp tang of sulfur and something else… a faint, metallic taste, like old blood and rust.

After what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a few minutes, he sensed the bottom approaching. He slowed their descent further. He landed silently on a narrow, uneven rock ledge. The others landed beside him a moment later. Meg let out a shaky breath.

"Okay," Scarlet whispered. Her voice echoed slightly in the confined space. "That was… a drop. Where's the light switch in this hellhole?"

Fin held out his hand. A soft green glow emanated from his palm, pushing back the absolute darkness, revealing their surroundings. They stood on a narrow ledge overlooking a vast, dark cavern. The air here was hot, humid, and heavy with the smell of sulfur.

Distant, guttural sounds echoed from somewhere deeper within. They were not monster roars, but the rhythmic groan and hiss of what sounded like massive, ancient machinery, barely functioning.

"This isn't a maintenance tunnel," Meg whispered, peering into the gloom. "This looks like… the inside of a volcano."

"Geothermal vent," Fin reminded her. His own gaze swept the cavern. "Lyra's intel said it connects to the Spire's lowest sub-levels. That way." He pointed towards a narrow opening in the far cavern wall. It was barely visible in the green glow, half-hidden behind a jagged rock formation.

"Looks inviting," Scarlet drawled.

"Stay alert," Fin warned. "This place feels… wrong." He could sense residual energy signatures here, old and faint, but powerful. Things had lived here once. Or maybe still did.

Arachne moved ahead, silent as always. She melted into the shadows near the cavern opening. She paused, then signaled them forward with a subtle hand gesture. Clear.

They crossed the cavern floor. The ground was uneven, littered with sharp volcanic rock and strange, crystalline formations that pulsed with a faint, sickly internal light. The groaning, hissing sounds of the ancient machinery grew louder as they approached the tunnel opening.

The tunnel was narrow, barely wide enough for them to walk single file. It sloped steeply downwards, twisting and turning. The air grew hotter. The metallic taste stronger. Faint red light flickered from somewhere ahead, casting long, dancing shadows.

After several minutes of claustrophobic descent, the tunnel opened into another vast chamber. But this one was not natural.

Massive, archaic machinery filled the space. Pipes thick as tree trunks snaked across the floor and up the walls. They glowed cherry-red in places. Pistons hissed, gears groaned. The entire chamber thrummed with barely contained power.

The air was thick with the smell of ozone, superheated metal, and something else… something that made Fin's skin crawl. It was the same faint, unsettling energy he had felt in the geothermal cavern, but much stronger here.

"What is this place?" Meg breathed, staring at the ancient, monstrous machinery. "It looks like something out of a nightmare."

"The Spire's original geothermal power core," Fin said, his voice low. He recognized the design from Lyra's data dump. "Decommissioned centuries ago, according to the files. Supposedly unstable. They built the new power systems on top of it."

"Decommissioned?" Scarlet scoffed. She eyed a massive, slowly rotating gear that looked like it could crush a truck. "This junk still looks like it's running. Barely."

"The maintenance access tunnels should be on the far side of this chamber," Fin said, pointing across the thrumming machinery. "We need to cross."

Arachne was already moving, scouting a path through the labyrinth of pipes and platforms. She signaled again. Clear, but proceed with caution.

They started across. Fin led. Meg was close behind him. Scarlet and Arachne flanked. The heat was intense, radiating from the glowing pipes. The noise was deafening, a constant chorus of hisses, groans, and rhythmic clangs.

They were halfway across when a section of grating beneath Meg's feet gave way with a sharp screech of rusted metal.

"Whoa!" she yelped, stumbling. One leg plunged into the darkness below.

Fin reacted instantly. He grabbed her arm, yanking her back from the edge just as the entire section of grating collapsed with a deafening crash into the chasm beneath. He pulled her tight against him, shielding her as dust and debris rained down.