The vault opened into a massive, high-tech laboratory that stretched deep beneath the sea level.
In the center of the room, a giant spherical reactor floated inside a magnetic field. It was the Core. Inside the sphere, a swirl of liquid dark matter spun like a miniature black hole, casting a cold, purple light across the room.
The temperature in the laboratory was freezing, frost covering the rows of computers and research equipment.
Vikram stepped in, his boots clicking on the metal floor.
"Rhea, I'm inside," Vikram whispered. "The Core... it's huge. The energy output is off the scale."
"We see it," Rhea said, her tablet screen flickering under the electromagnetic field. "The Vow is using this node to channel the Rahu-Ketu alignment. If they stabilize it, they can control the entire city's power grid permanently."
Vikram's eyes scanned the room. On the far side of the reactor, a series of monitoring screens showed Mr. Desai's medical data.
"Desai!" Vikram ran toward the back of the laboratory.