Chapter 49: How Much Do You Know

"I know."

"Then why?"

Rhyder’s dark gaze remained fixed on hers without wavering. "Because protecting yourself and allowing someone to protect you aren’t mutually exclusive."

Raviah stood still, momentarily lost for words. For several seconds, the quiet between them remained unbroken as they searched each other’s faces.

Suddenly, the central laboratory terminal chimed loudly, flashing bright orange alerts across the screen.

[REMOTE ENERGY FLUCTUATION DETECTED]

Raviah turned sharply toward the console, her fingers moving instantly over the interface.

"The signal originated from the lower containment sector," she reported, reading the spatial coordinates rapidly. "The strange plant. Its energy signature is spiking."

Rhyder’s hand immediately reached down to the holster at his side, gripping the handle of his sidearm.

"What is that?"

"The plant."

Raviah stepped closer to the primary monitoring console to lock down the perimeter controls. As her concentration intensified, the translucent energy flared back to life around her fingers, swirling with active light.

Rhyder stood beside her, watching the energy trace across her palm with absolute clarity.

Raviah pushed her consciousness into the system, focusing her intent entirely on the subterranean containment vault. The scanner readings abruptly shifted from red warning flags to dynamic life-sign metrics.

[ROOT RESPONSE DETECTED]

[EXTERNAL BIOLOGICAL RESONANCE: INCREASING]

Rhyder stared at the data points shifting in sync with the subtle movements of her hand. "You can sense it."

"Yes."

"From here?"

"Yes."

Raviah’s face grew cold as she studied the surging biological output on the screen. Her Root was responding to the alien organism before she had even consciously attempted to interact with it.

The connection was far deeper, and far more dangerous, than she had anticipated.

Rhyder stepped right to her side, his shoulder nearly brushing hers as he surveyed the readings. "You’ve known this was possible."

Raviah kept her gaze fixed on the monitor, choosing not to answer.

He studied her profile, taking in the strange light around her fingers, the secured Core beneath the farm, the mutated beasts, and her endless preparations.

She had built a fortified empire long before anyone else realized the world was ending. She possessed medical knowledge, combat readiness, and foresight that defied simple explanation.

Piece by piece, the puzzle pieces were snapping into place in his mind. Rhyder’s voice dropped to a quiet register, stripped of all suspicion and filled instead with genuine concern. He turned his body toward her, looking down into her face. "Raviah."

She stopped her work on the console and looked up into his eyes.

His dark gaze was solemn, unreadable, and completely unwavering. "How long have you known this was coming?"

Raviah felt her heart hammer against her ribs under the intensity of his question. The secrets of her past life, her brutal death, and her return to the past lingered on the tip of her tongue. She looked at the General, the man who had once sacrificed his life to save her in a world reduced to ash.

"Long enough to know that we don’t have much time left," she murmured softly, her fingers tightening into a fist as the energy absorbed back into her body.

Rhyder watched her closely, accepting her answer without pushing further. He stepped closer to the monitoring desk, placing his broad hand over the edge of the console as he looked at the containment sector map.

"Then we prepare together," Rhyder said, his voice echoing with absolute finality. "Show me what this plant is doing."

Raviah tapped the interface, expanding the biological map across the glass monitor. The strange root systems were expanding rapidly through the lower subterranean soil, glowing with an unnatural crimson hue.

"It’s absorbing the ambient energy from the Core," Raviah explained, gesturing toward the structural blueprint. "If it continues at this rate, it will breach the secondary containment bulkhead before morning."

Rhyder examined the blue lines of the fortress’s underground map, evaluating the tactical layout with trained military precision.

"Can you suppress it using your Root?" he asked, turning his head back to her.

"I don’t know," Raviah admitted, her voice calm despite the rising threat. "My energy control is still in its infancy. If I attempt to force a resonance, it might trigger an aggressive evolutionary leap in the organism instead."

Rhyder shook his head slightly, his tone firm. "We don’t take uncalculated risks with your safety."

"The plant will break through the lower containment floor if we do nothing."

"Then we reinforce the containment bulkhead manually," Rhyder countered immediately. "My men can seal the lower level with heavy titanium plating before the energy spike reaches critical mass."

Raviah looked at him, surprised by how quickly he adapted to the surreal nature of the threat.

"Your soldiers aren’t equipped to deal with biological energy corruption," she reminded him. "If they touch the mutated vines directly, the infection could spread to their nervous systems."

Rhyder adjusted his military belt, his eyes cold and decisive. "They won’t touch it directly. I’ll lead the containment team myself."

"No," Raviah said instantly, placing her hand over his forearm to stop him.

The moment her skin touched the heavy fabric of his uniform, a faint spark of translucent energy jumped between them, crackling softly in the air. Rhyder looked down at her hand, but he didn’t pull away.

Raviah met his eyes, her voice steady and resolute. "If anyone goes down to the lower containment sector, it has to be me. My Root can neutralize the biological corruption before it spreads to the rest of the farm."

Rhyder stared at her hand on his arm, feeling the strange, thrumming warmth radiating from her palm.

"I promised to protect you," he said softly, his voice cutting through the quiet lab.

"And you will," Raviah replied, looking up at him with unyielding determination. "By standing at my back while I fix this."

Rhyder let out a slow, deliberate breath, his stern features settling into an expression of quiet acceptance. He reached up, covering her hand with his own broad, calloused palm. "Then I’m coming with you."

Raviah didn’t argue this time. She nodded slowly, turning back to the console to prepare the containment suppression gear.

She opened the spatial storage space linked to her mind, silently pulling out two high-grade bio-hazard tactical suits and heavy-duty energy suppressors she had stockpiled months ago. The gear materialized seamlessly onto the stainless steel table beside them.

Rhyder glanced at the advanced gear that had appeared without a sound, a faint, knowing smirk playing on his lips. He didn’t question where the equipment came from. By now, he accepted that Raviah Solomon was a woman full of impossible miracles.

"Put this on," she said, tossing one of the tactical suits toward him. "The energy output downstairs is rising."

Rhyder caught the suit effortlessly, his eyes locked onto her as she pulled her hair back into a tight, practical knot. "Lead the way, Doctor."

Raviah grabbed her energy suppression blade, turning toward the heavy vault doors leading down into the dark depths of her fortress. Together, side by side, they stepped out into the corridor to face the dangerous world unfolding beneath them.