Chapter 84

The debate outside the medical pod intensified, but 237 remained quietly leaning against the translucent nutrient solution wall.

The call continued, not like a sound, but like a second rhythm beyond the heartbeat, one beat after another, tentatively trying to assimilate his presence.

Sprout 12 sat on the edge of the cabin, her gaze fixed on him. She could feel that "resonance" permeating the cabin, making the air so compressed that it was almost impossible to breathe.

“You heard that again, didn’t you?” she whispered.

237 slowly opened his eyes, and a light that did not belong to the base was reflected deep in his pupils.

He didn't answer directly, but only uttered, "It's watching... not just me, but all of us."

Sprout 12 clenched his fingertips into a fist.

"But you were the only one who responded."

The air between the two was like a taut string, ready to snap at any moment.

237 took a deep breath, as if struggling, or as if suppressing some kind of inner turmoil.

“I can’t tell them,” he said in a hoarse voice. “Once the outsiders find out that I’ve made contact with that being, they’ll immediately send me to the dissection table.”

Sprout 12's eyes flashed, and he raised his hand and pressed it against the bulkhead, his palm facing his chest through the transparent medium.

“Then just tell me,” she whispered, her tone like a contract.

"Whatever it is, whatever it wants you to do, let's share the burden together."

237 closed his eyes, as if he had grasped some kind of anchor point from the edge of a storm.

He finally nodded, answering almost inaudibly:

"Okay, I'll only tell you."

In that brief moment of response, the electrocardiogram on the monitoring screen suddenly spiked, and a strange interference wave instantly filled the entire screen.

The lights in the entire medical pod flickered, as if something had briefly "looked back" at reality through him.

Sprout 12 held his breath, a cold glint appearing on the mechanical lines on his forehead.

She knew that this was no ordinary abnormal signal.

That was the **"superior being" responding to their secret vow**.

—Beyond the battlefield, new entanglements have quietly begun to unfold.

The lights in the medical pod finally stabilized, but the air still carried a lingering tremor.

237 lay half-reclined in the liquid tank, his chest rising and falling slowly. His eyes remained vacant, as if drifting between two worlds.

Sprout 12 didn't say anything, but pressed his palms harder against the bulkhead.

The next instant, a ring of light appeared deep within the cabin, like a rune growing out of a transparent medium.

The mark was simultaneously reflected in Bean 12's palm and 237's chest, the two echoing each other and pulsating with a pulse that did not belong to any known technology.

“…It admitted it.” 237 murmured, his voice filled with fear and disbelief.

Sprout 12 simply stared at the light imprint, breathing slowly. She felt her heartbeat perfectly synchronized with his at that moment.

The probes in the medical pod recorded illogical data:

—The two hearts resonated.

—The frequency is consistent, and there is not even a microsecond error.

Sprout12 whispered, "That's a contract... not between us and the outside world, but between us."

237 looked at her, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

"Are you willing to pay this price? It's not just about witnessing, it could also... be taken back at any time."

Sprout12 chuckled softly, but with a resolute air: "Since we're already in the same abyss, I'd rather gamble my life on those who stand shoulder to shoulder with me than on those high-level arguments."

The light seal suddenly contracted at that moment, as if engraving their vow into their very bones.

The fluid in the capsule shimmered faintly, and a deep, resonant sound echoed throughout the medical pod, as if reality were stamping an endorsement on the two's "secret alliance."

237 slowly closed her eyes, and her breathing finally calmed down.

He knew that from this day forward, they were not only comrades-in-arms, but also accomplices bound to the same fate by some unspeakable being.

—And the outside world is completely unaware that all of this is happening in secret.

Outside the medical ward, a series of red alerts popped up on the high-rise monitoring screens:

[Abnormal energy level fluctuations - Source: Medical Cabin 237]

The signal is suspected to be outside the local spectrum.

[Severity Level: Unclassified / Potential Threat]

The technicians looked at each other in bewilderment. Some immediately called their superiors, while others hesitated about whether to cut off the monitoring signal directly.

Just as they were still undecided, the light inside the cabin suddenly contracted, as if it were extinguishing itself.

The abnormal curve on the screen was instantly smoothed out and returned to zero.

—It's as if nothing ever happened.

"...Interference signal?" someone whispered.

"It's probably just residual energy resonance from the war; there's no need to make a fuss about it," another manager waved his hand, trying to downplay the issue.

But a hint of unease lingered in their eyes.

Meanwhile, inside the cabin.

237 slowly opened its eyes, its gaze sweeping over the surveillance cameras on the bulkhead, its voice so low it was almost inaudible:

"It is watching."

Following his gaze, Sprout 12 pursed her lips slightly. She knew that 237 wasn't referring to the probing, but rather to "that existence."

The next second, she reached out and activated the inner shielding system of the medical pod. The black LCD panels descended layer by layer, completely blocking out the outside view.

Outside the medical ward, the surveillance footage was suddenly cut off, leaving only a black screen.

The technicians froze for a few seconds, then could only leave a vague line in the log:

[Abnormal signal, cause unknown, temporarily archived]

Inside the sealed cabin, 237 and Sprout 12 kept their conversation a secret.

They had just—under the watchful eyes of the outside world—completed a perfect double concealment.

But both of them knew in their hearts:

The ones who were truly deceived were not the high-ranking officials, but the entire world of that dimension.

—Because they have been marked with an indelible "mark" within their bodies.

The medical pod was deathly silent.

Only 237 and Sprout 12 sat side by side, their breaths mingling in this enclosed space.

Suddenly, a faint brand appeared on 237's palm.

It is not a wound, but rather like a talisman branded into the bones and blood, shimmering with veins of interwoven light and darkness.

Sprout 12 immediately reached out and grabbed his wrist, her expression tense: "...It left a mark."

237 remained silent for a long while, then answered in a low voice: "It's not that, it's—something higher up."

They looked at each other, the unspoken words conveyed through their eyes.

When the imprint pulsates, it's as if an irresistible call echoes deep within the heart—

That wasn't a sound, but a command, a "binding" from a hyperplane.

“This power… can awaken resonance,” Sprout12 whispered, placing her fingers on her collarbone. There, a faint line also appeared, echoing the mark on 237’s palm.

The two closed their eyes and briefly tried to make the mark pulsate.

In an instant, the air in the medical pod suddenly solidified, as if the space itself was being compressed by an invisible force.

Their auras instantly connected, and light and darkness were forcibly merged again, unleashing a surge powerful enough to tear apart walls.

In an instant, they simultaneously released their grip, and the radiance of the mark dimmed.

237's chest heaved, cold sweat dripping from his brow: "It can give us power... but the price is—devouring."

Sprout 12 gritted her teeth, a flicker of unease crossing her eyes: "Devour what?"

237 slowly uttered two words: "Memory. And lifespan."

A long silence fell over the cabin.

Both of them understood that this power was the only weapon capable of confronting the other side of the rift, yet it was also the most terrifying shackle.

Sprout12 suddenly chuckled softly: "Then remember the most important part, and don't let it swallow it."

When she said this, her eyes were resolute, as if she had already made up her mind about the choices she would make in the future.

237 turned his head to look at her, a glint of light flickering in his eyes, and finally whispered a single word:

"Um."

They decided to bury the secret of this mark for the time being, even if they were forced to confront it in the future.

Under the cover of night, an explosion suddenly rang out from the cordon of the ruins at the front line.

The horde of alien beasts formed from the remnants of black flames attacked again. Although their numbers were far fewer than in the battle of transformations, they were still ferocious and swift.

237 and Sprout 12 were forced to temporarily join the battle.

Their bodies had not fully recovered, and their movements were slightly slow, but the blades and light in their hands still cut a bloody path.

However, when a massive alien beast tore through its companions' defenses and pounced on them with a piercing scream—

A violent pulse suddenly erupted from 237's palm.

The brand mark ignited on its own.

Blinding light and dark flames exploded simultaneously, like a silent roar that shook the entire battlefield.

Sprout 12’s pupils suddenly contracted, and almost simultaneously felt the lines under her collarbone resonate in unison.

She didn't have time to think and could only subconsciously reach out and grab 237's wrist.

--boom!

Their auras intertwined instantly, the imprints swirling wildly, forcefully tearing apart the boundaries of their consciousness.

All the sounds of the battlefield faded from their ears, leaving only that deep, resonant voice from above:

"...Respond to me...burn you...cut down all obstacles..."

The next second, 237 and Sprout 12 were simultaneously enveloped in flames of both light and darkness.

The long blade in his hand extended into a giant blade with cracks all over its body, while his 12 sprout-like arms transformed into light-root chains, binding the beast horde tightly.

"cut--!"

The giant blade fell, and a storm of fire erupted.

The entire horde of alien beasts on the front line was reduced to ashes in an instant, leaving not even a trace.

But this was followed by severe side effects.

237's blood was drawn out as if burned, blurring his vision into a black and white blur.

The crack on Sprout 12's chest reopened, unleashing a torrent of light that nearly made him faint on the spot.

They stood side by side, staggering, panting as if on the edge of an abyss.

But the enemy was gone, and the battlefield fell silent for a brief moment.

The friendly forces around them witnessed the attack, their expressions complex; some were shocked, others were terrified.

Because that wasn't purely "one's own strength"—

Rather, it is a taboo resonance bearing the mark of foreign influence.

237 lowered his gaze, the brand on his palm slowly fading, but still burning.

He whispered something to Sprout 12, something only the two of them could hear:

"It... has already begun to forcibly seize it."

As the alarms gradually faded, the conference room of the frontline command post felt even more oppressive than the battlefield.

After the heavy alloy door closed, what filled the air was not the smoke of battle, but doubt and suspicion.

On one side of the long table, several high-ranking military officers and scholars, their faces solemn, were repeatedly playing battlefield projections.

In the video, 237 and Sprout 12 were almost engulfed by the dual flames of light and darkness. The scene of that attack destroying the beast horde was both a miracle and a curse.

“You all saw it.”

The older commander tapped the table with his knuckles, his voice cold and stern.

"This is not a normal force. This is... the forced intervention of some external will."

Someone immediately chimed in: "It's the 'Third Force'! Whether it's the Old Gods or the so-called 'Order,' we can't deny that they're already manipulating our warriors!"

The other person sneered and retorted: "Control? If it weren't for that attack, we would have been torn to shreds by the horde long ago! Would you rather die than accept their power?"

"But what's the price?!"

"That's not resonance, that's enslavement!"

How do you know it's not a new salvation?

The debate gradually spiraled out of control, with voices rising and falling. Some suggested a complete surrender to a "third force" in exchange for protection; others vehemently opposed this, arguing that it would mean abandoning autonomy and becoming a puppet.

Amid the chaos, 237 and Sprout 12 sat silently in the corner.

The spotlight didn't fall on them, but countless eyes were watching them from the shadows, filled with questions, doubts, and even fear.

Sprout 12 tilted her head slightly and asked in a low voice, "...Do you want an explanation?"

237 paused for a moment, his fingertips tracing the brand on his palm, but his gaze fell on the image on the table.

He uttered a single sentence calmly:

"Explanations will only scare them more."

Sprout 12 understood.

They chose to keep it a secret.

Only they knew that the whisper at that moment was not a simple exchange of power, but a summons from a higher being.

Unconsciously, 237 had already given a "response".