The response was immediate and dramatic. The core flared with brilliant light, its violet hue deepening and expanding to fill the chamber. The concentric rings activated in sequence from outermost to innermost, each adding a layer to the complex energy pattern building around Alan.
"It's working!" Marcus called over the rising hum of power. "The reconfiguration is initiating!"
At that moment, Darkblade and his Containment Team burst into the chamber, with Grimble being forcibly restrained behind them.
"Stop this immediately!" Darkblade commanded, raising his staff. "You are interfering with a critical Guild resource without authorization!"
"We have authorization from a higher authority than yours, Enforcer," Marcus replied defiantly. "The stability of the boundary between worlds is at stake."
Darkblade signaled his team to advance, but they hesitated, clearly intimidated by the intensifying energy field surrounding Alan and the core.
"The boundary is collapsing because of his presence," Darkblade insisted, pointing accusingly at Alan. "Containment is the only solution!"
"You're wrong," Lyra stepped forward, her Academy credentials displayed prominently. "Dr. Chen is the key to stabilizing the boundary, not the cause of its disruption. My research confirms this."
Darkblade's cold eyes narrowed. "Your research is unauthorized, Starcrest. Shadowveil has declared this matter under Containment jurisdiction."
"Shadowveil doesn't have the final word on interdimensional research," she countered. "The full Academy Council has not reviewed the evidence."
Their argument became background noise to Alan, who was fully immersed in the complex energy manipulation required for the activation sequence. The core responded to his guidance, its patterns shifting and realigning according to the mathematical principles he visualized.
The data crystal's orbit accelerated, its path tracing complex geometric patterns around the core. Suddenly, it plunged directly into the larger formation, merging with it in a flash of light. The core's color shifted again, now pulsing with alternating violet and blue-white energy that spread outward through the concentric rings.
"The fragment has rejoined the whole," Marcus observed. "Completing the information transfer."
The chamber began to vibrate as power built within the Crystal. Above them, they could hear the distant sounds of activity from the refinery—alarms and shouted orders as the Guild workers responded to unexpected changes in the Great Crystal's behavior.
"What have you done?" Darkblade demanded, his composure finally breaking. "The entire mountain is responding!"
"Restoring balance," Alan replied, his voice strained with the effort of maintaining the activation pattern. "The Crystal is resuming its original function while preserving its current ones."
The energy field around Alan intensified, lifting him slightly off the ground as the core's power flowed through and around him. In his mind's eye, he could suddenly see beyond the chamber—the energy network extending throughout Ironhammer, the distant Rift pulsing in response to the Crystal's reconfiguration, and something else... a glimpse of his laboratory at MIT, as if viewed through a rapidly closing window.
"I can see the connection to Earth," he gasped. "It's still there, but narrowing!"
"The natural cycle is approaching its end," Marcus confirmed. "The boundary will soon strengthen regardless of our actions. The question is whether it stabilizes properly or collapses catastrophically."
The core suddenly projected a new image—a countdown sequence using symbols Alan didn't recognize but whose meaning was clear from their decreasing values.
"What is that?" Lyra asked, momentarily setting aside her confrontation with Darkblade.
"Time remaining before the boundary sealing completes," Torbin translated the Guild numerals. "Approximately twenty-two days."
"The window Nexus mentioned," Alan confirmed. "The time I have to decide whether to stay or return home."
Darkblade studied the projection with growing concern. "This confirms Shadowveil's predictions. The boundary cycle is reaching its critical phase."
"Then you understand why containment is the wrong approach," Lyra pressed. "Dr. Chen isn't causing the instability—he's the key to resolving it."
Before Darkblade could respond, the Crystal core pulsed with blinding intensity. A beam of concentrated energy shot upward, passing through the chamber ceiling toward the refinery above and presumably continuing to the mountain peak. Simultaneously, similar beams extended horizontally in all directions, passing through the chamber walls as if they weren't there.
"The Crystal is establishing a stabilization network," Marcus explained, watching in awe. "Extending energy tendrils to key points in the boundary structure."
One beam oriented itself precisely toward the distant Rift, its violet-blue energy visibly connecting the Crystal to the interdimensional tear. As they watched, the projected images showed the Rift's ragged edges beginning to smooth and stabilize.
"It's working," Alan said with relief, though maintaining the activation pattern was clearly taking a toll on him. His body trembled with the effort of channeling such enormous energy.
"You need to disconnect," Marcus warned, seeing his condition. "The initial activation is complete. The Crystal can maintain the process now."
Alan tried to step back from the core, but found himself unable to move—the energy field held him in place, continuing to flow through him as a necessary component of the stabilization process.
"I can't break the connection," he realized with growing alarm. "The Crystal is using me as a conduit to Earth's reality pattern."
Torbin studied the projected equations with concern. "The process requires a physical link to both realities involved in the boundary. You're providing the Earth connection."
"For how long?" Lyra asked, her scientific detachment giving way to genuine concern.
"Until the stabilization completes," Marcus answered grimly. "Or until..."
"Until I choose," Alan finished. "Stay or return. The Crystal needs to know which reality to prioritize in the final boundary configuration."
Darkblade had been watching these developments with calculating eyes. Now he stepped forward, his staff lowered but still ready. "This changes the assessment. If you are indeed integral to the boundary stabilization, containment may be counterproductive."
"How generous of you to realize that," Marcus said dryly.
"However," Darkblade continued, ignoring the sarcasm, "this process must be monitored and documented. The Academy must have full access to observe the stabilization procedure."
"Agreed," Lyra said before anyone else could object. "But as a cooperative research initiative, not a containment operation. Dr. Chen's autonomy must be respected."
Darkblade considered this, then nodded curtly. "Acceptable, provided Academy representatives remain present throughout the process." He turned to his team. "Stand down containment protocols. Establish observation positions."
As the immediate threat of conflict receded, attention returned to Alan, still suspended in the energy field connecting him to the Crystal core. The projected countdown continued its steady decrease, marking the time remaining before the boundary between worlds sealed permanently.
"Twenty-two days," Alan murmured, looking at the countdown. "To save two worlds and decide my own fate."
The Crystal pulsed in response, as if acknowledging the weight of the choice before him.