The Philosopher's Core glowed quietly in the darkness of the sealed meditation room. Rayen sat before it, surrounded by protective glyphs, harmonization sigils, and three layers of anti-surveillance arrays. But even here, deep in the heart of their pavilion, he felt it—something lurking.
:: Alert. Emotional resonance scan indicates elevated paranoia, residual from external intent traces. Probability of targeted interference: 74%. ::
Rayen opened his eyes. "We need to check the seed labs."
The smaller seed-core workshop, tucked behind the primary array chamber, was usually the quietest part of their lab network. When Rayen and Lin entered with Ji Rong, the lights flickered.
"Formation grid is misaligned," Ji Rong said immediately. "Someone inverted the outer flow lines."
Lin drew a ward blade and passed it over the air. Faint golden threads snapped.
"Soul spiders," she said. "They're using passive Qi-feeders to record our spiritual movements."
Rayen's mouth twisted. "Which means someone was inside the lab. And we didn't notice."
Tessa and Yao Min joined them minutes later, both visibly tense. "We checked the scent field—there's a residue of mistroot ash and blood lotus," Yao said. "That combination's used in long-range tracking."
"Someone wants to map our process," Lin muttered. "Not just steal it—replicate it."
Rayen didn't speak for several seconds. Then:
"Activate security protocol Theta."
Ji Rong stiffened. "That'll block even our own internal simulations."
Rayen nodded. "Exactly. From now on, nothing leaves the Core unless we hand-carry it."
By that evening, the news had spread—someone had tampered with the Azure Serpent Pavilion's inner sanctum. No proof, no culprits, but the rumor was enough.
Suddenly, Rayen wasn't just controversial. He was dangerous.
At the next symposium council meeting, representatives from the Obsidian Scholars, Ironroot Elders, and Verdant Eye Pavilion brought it up diplomatically.
"Security must be respected," said Master Huo of Ironroot. "What began as innovation must not become destabilization."
Rayen bowed respectfully. "And those who fear destabilization are often those who feared change to begin with."
The murmurs were louder this time. Sharp. Watching.
Lin Xue kept a hand near her robe's inner pocket, where a flash-bomb talisman rested.
Back in the pavilion, Tessa finally said what everyone was thinking.
"If they can't discredit us with arguments, they'll try poison. Or sabotage. Or assassination."
Yao Min added, "They won't just attack you. They'll go after the framework itself. Make the Spiral fail and call it unstable."
Rayen turned to Han Bo. "How soon can you finish the self-validating core prototype?"
Han looked up, soot on his face and fingers twitching. "Two days. Maybe one if you help me rewrite the reactive matrix."
"I'll give you twelve hours."
That night, as the team worked in silence, Lin finally looked at Rayen and said, "You knew this would happen."
Rayen didn't look up. "We're not just inventing a system, Lin. We're threatening an empire. And empires don't go quietly."