The Mazagaon warehouse was empty, filled with the smell of rusted iron and salt. A single battery-powered lamp lit the small circle where Mr. Desai lay on a pile of sleeping bags.
Rhea had set up her monitors, watching the city's security feeds. Rohan sat in the corner, cleaning his rifle, his face grim.
"Devendra's Core is a dark-matter collector," Mr. Desai said, his voice stronger now. "It draws energy from the surrounding space. But dark matter does not interact with normal matter easily. To control it, you need a bridge."
"A human bridge," Vikram said.
"Yes," Desai nodded. "Devendra discovered that human neurology, when stimulated by high-voltage Prana, can align with dark photons. But standard human nervous systems burn out in seconds. The energy output is too high. It literally fries the brain."
"But my father..." Vikram began.
"Amar was different," Desai said. "He possessed a rare genetic anomaly. We called it the Resonance Marker. His nerves had a unique myelin sheath that could conduct both bio-electricity and dark photons without burning. He was the only one who could stabilize the Core."
Desai looked at Vikram. "And you, Vikram. You have inherited that marker. Devendra doesn't want to destroy you. He wants to capture you and use your nervous system as the final circuit for the Core."