Ethan walked calmly along the edge of the central hall, his boots clicking against the stone. Beside him, Anne moved with grace, her eyes never leaving the pulsing golden matrix that dominated the cavern.
"Ethan," she started, her voice low and filled with a rare curiosity. "Where does this confidence come from? You act as if you've walked these halls a thousand times. How can you be so certain of what lies behind those seals?"
Ethan glanced at her. He had no intention of revealing the true nature of Crul—that the "AI" was a living, sentient entity bound to his soul. To the world, Crul was merely a masterpiece of Royal programming, and he intended to keep it that way.
"I can read these matrices, Anne," Ethan replied simply. "I look at the flow of energy, the geometry of the carvings, and I understand them. We've spent a great deal of time investigating the syntax of these ancient systems."
