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More layers appear beneath those.

Then more.

The structures descend far deeper than they should physically exist beneath a rogue world this unstable.

I zoom inward, pulse hammering.

The deeper structures align according to mathematical spacing ratios so precise they border on obsession. Recursive geometric harmonics repeat across layers separated by kilometers of stone. Entire sections appear intentionally hidden beneath later construction phases.

Buried.

Not lost.

Buried.

A chill moves slowly across my skin.

Someone wanted these ruins hidden.

Not destroyed.

Concealed.

The realization detonates through my thoughts with terrifying clarity.

The Precursors—or whoever came before them—did not merely abandon Nareth-Kul.

They sealed it.

My hands tremble over the controls as fresh scans continue unfolding deeper beneath the crust. Energy signatures pulse faintly through the lower structures, impossibly old and somehow still active.

Something shifts on the scanner display.

A narrow harmonic spike appears far below the lowest mapped layer.

Then another.

The projection sphere flickers.

For one instant, the deep structures seem almost to rearrange themselves.

I freeze.

The scanners stabilize again immediately afterward.

Probably interference.

Probably.

But every instinct in my body suddenly screams the same thing:

There is something alive down there.

A sharp knock slams against the lab door behind me.

I nearly launch myself out of the chair.

“Occupied,” I snap instinctively.