The chamber was older than Atlantis.
At least that was what Arcadia claimed.
Thalor wasn't entirely convinced.
The construct had a habit of describing anything older than ten thousand years as "recent."
The chamber before him felt ancient.
Truly ancient.
A circular room of silver-white metal stretched beneath the relay station.
Countless runes covered every surface.
Some glowed softly.
Others remained dark.
Waiting.
The room itself seemed alive.
Not in the way magical beasts were alive.
In the way Atlantis was alive.
Purposeful.
Designed.
Thinking.
At the center stood a crystal platform surrounded by concentric rings of floating runes.
The Gene-Refinement Chamber.
One of the few Atlantean facilities that had survived nearly intact.
Thalor immediately disliked it.
"It looks dangerous."
Arcadia examined the chamber.
"It is."
"Wonderful."
"The restoration process may cause discomfort."
"Define discomfort."
Arcadia consulted a projection.
"Historical records indicate descriptions such as:"
She paused.
"'Agonizing.'"
Thalor closed his eyes.
"Anything else?"
"'Excruciating.'"
"Of course."
"'Comparable to being repeatedly struck by lightning.'"
"Please stop."
Arcadia nodded.
"Those were the optimistic reports."
Thalor stared at her.
"Atlantis had a strange definition of optimism."
"It was considered a cultural trait."
Naturally.
Several minutes later, Thalor found himself standing on the central platform.
Against his better judgment.
The runes surrounding the chamber awakened.
One by one.
Then dozens.
Then hundreds.
World Energy from the geyser surged through the facility.
Ancient machinery hummed to life.
Arcadia watched carefully.
"The chamber will not alter your bloodline."
Thalor looked toward her.
"What will it do then?"
"It will restore what has been lost."
That answer somehow worried him more.
The runes intensified.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then pain exploded through his body.
Every muscle seized.
Every nerve ignited.
Every mana pathway felt as though molten metal had been poured through it.
Thalor screamed.
The sound echoed through the chamber.
He barely heard Arcadia's voice.
"The process is proceeding normally."
"THAT IS NOT NORMAL!"
"It is for Atlantis."
That wasn't reassuring.
Hours passed.
Or perhaps minutes.
Time lost meaning beneath the agony.
Something inside him was changing.
Not replacing.
Not transforming.
Awakening.
Dormant structures hidden within his body began functioning once more.
Atrophied mana organs.
Ancient biological pathways.
Forgotten adaptations.
Each pulse of World Energy strengthened them.
Each cycle restored a little more.
Eventually, the pain began fading.
The runes dimmed.
The chamber fell silent.
Thalor collapsed onto the floor.
Breathing heavily.
Every muscle trembled.
"I hate Atlantis."
Arcadia made another note.
"Statement recorded."
"I wasn't serious."
"Historical probability suggests otherwise."
Several moments passed before he noticed something strange.
A faint light glowed beneath his skin.
Directly above his heart.
Small.
Almost invisible.
A single symbol.
An intricate Atlantean rune.
Thalor stared.
"What is that?"
Arcadia immediately appeared beside him.
Her eyes widened.
For the first time since awakening, her expression showed genuine excitement.
"The first Worldborne Sigil."
The rune pulsed softly.
In rhythm with his heartbeat.
"The external manifestation of the Living Relay Network."
Thalor touched the marking.
It felt warm.
Alive.
"It doesn't look like much."
"It is not intended to."
The rune pulsed again.
Arcadia continued.
"Ancient Atlanteans developed biological relay structures throughout their bodies."
A projection appeared.
The image displayed a fully developed Atlantean.
Dozens of glowing markings covered their skin.
Connected by intricate pathways resembling rivers.
Or circuits.
Or both.
"The Worldborne Sigils act as conduits."
The projection shifted.
World Energy flowed through the markings.
Circulating throughout the body.
Strengthening.
Refining.
Connecting.
"The Living Relay Network allows an Atlantean to maintain a stronger relationship with the world around them."
Thalor studied the image.
"So they're magical tattoos."
Arcadia looked offended.
"They are not."
"They look like tattoos."
"They are biological mana organs."
"That's a tattoo with extra steps."
Arcadia refused to acknowledge the comment.
"The first sigil appears after Awakening stimulates dormant Atlantean structures."
She pointed toward the glowing rune above his heart.
"As your core develops, additional sigils will emerge."
"How many?"
"Unknown."
That wasn't the answer he wanted.
The projection expanded.
A complete Living Relay Network appeared.
The glowing pathways resembled something strangely familiar.
Thalor blinked.
Then blinked again.
The pattern wasn't random.
It looked like Atlantis.
The canals.
The mana routes.
The energy distribution networks.
Everything.
Arcadia noticed his realization.
"Correct."
"The Worldborne Sigils were modeled after Atlantis's mana infrastructure."
For a moment, neither spoke.
The symbolism struck harder than he expected.
Atlantis had once connected an entire civilization through flowing channels of mana.
Now those same principles existed within him.
The city lived.
Not just beneath the sea.
Not just within the relay stations.
Within its last heir.
Before Thalor could dwell on the thought, alarms suddenly echoed through the chamber.
Arcadia turned.
Several new projections appeared.
"Interesting."
Thalor immediately became suspicious.
"What now?"
"The Trident has recovered additional functionality."
Of course it had.
The silver weapon appeared from a nearby storage alcove.
Ancient runes glowed brighter than before.
A dimensional gateway unfolded beside it.
Far larger than the previous one.
The Omni Pocket.
Or at least a larger portion of it.
Arcadia reviewed the inventory.
"Mana crystal reserves remain critically depleted."
Expected.
"Several artifact vaults remain inaccessible."
Also expected.
Then her expression changed.
"Oh."
That never meant anything good.
"What?"
Arcadia turned toward him.
"The educational archives have expanded."
Thalor groaned.
Naturally.
Atlantis had survived ninety-eight thousand years.
And somehow the first thing it restored was homework.
Arcadia smiled.
"The next phase of your education begins tomorrow."
Thalor looked toward the ceiling.
Toward the ocean.
Toward freedom.
Then back toward the smiling construct.
"Can I go back to the chamber?"
"No."
The answer came entirely too quickly.
And somewhere deep within the hidden ruins of Atlantis...
Ancient systems continued awakening.
Waiting.
Watching.
Preparing for the day their heir would leave the island and begin reconnecting the forgotten world of Atlantis to Mogar once more