The Gate!

  Si focused. There was definitely an energy vortex detectable in the Gate.

  Interestingly, the Gate did not appear active, as if the attackers had managed to bypass the safeguards.

  “A lot,” Si said.

  “Correct, it is still neutral; prepare yourself,” Taj commented.

  The devices would register this weapon’s energy level. Si was glad they had prepared everything upfront.

  Taj was right; it looked like the energy was neutral. Not a natural one; it was artificial energy that flowed in ribbon-shaped swirls from the Gate and traveled toward the gathered Crystals.

  Thirteen and a half minutes after all the Crystals were transported, an energy comparable to what they had aggregated flew out of the Gate.

  Astonishing!

  Then it started.

  There was a slight blast out of the Gate, like a spark, and then the energy swirled as if ignited. The swirls changed almost immediately. A moment ago, without any particular color, now transformed. They were visibly in shades of black, then dark gray, and at the end, deep red. Jagged and torn, they looked like a combination of spiders moving over an invisible web, mixing with rounded, sleek shapes like eels and energy splinters that gave a slimy impression.

  “The attackers did not worry about aesthetics.”

  That was all Si had time to think. He had seen them before, and he did not fear them.

  Si had fought against them already.

  Yet, seeing it in action—the destructive power—made him feel a strange sense of admiration, fascination, and slight fear. His stomach tightened, but he also felt anger rising inside him for all the disasters from the past.

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  These forms reached the initial parts of the artificial Crystals and began to drain energy from them.

  Si looked at Lukai—he was visibly fascinated and didn’t move, as they established.

  Then Si looked at Taj. He was calmly watching. Si now had a thought: they were emptying energy from the Crystals—something that Shadows were aware had been developed and, later, hidden by the Sect. And Taj, didn’t he use it in the library? When to think?

  The weapon quickly consumed energy from Crystals on its way and soon was to be in the center of their spot. How fast it was acting—what a weapon!

  Fourteenth minute… it was the moment he needed to act.

  Si cut both his hands.

  Cutting the natural barrier that was his skin helped direct the energy flow. He connected two Shadows waves and concentrated them into a space the size of a tiny dot, a trace like an insect bite.

  He had it ready when the weapons’ energy started flowing out of the Gate. This was one of the inventions of the Sect, as Taj had mentioned. It was the version preferred by the former Sect Leader, a way of accumulating the energy around.

  He felt the energy flowing from him; he felt elevated, but at the same time, he understood Luna.

  So, yes, it was not pleasant when energies clashed like this—the way he did it. Indeed, unpleasant, how interesting…

  When his Shadows’ energy concentrated in this dot-like space, something similar to a ‘black hole’ had been created. The powerful energy vacuum Si had envisioned became visible.

  It worked! And it worked very effectively.

  Most of the weapon’s energy was sucked in; it took fifty-five seconds to catch it. Lukai measured the time; he said it later.

  Si used his Shadows’ energy and destroyed the part that was also Shadows, which changed the weapons’ energy into a vast amount of harmless energy, concentrated in a small space.

  A moment, a minute, without a sound, without any pomp or fanfare, Si neutralized what had been such a powerful weapon.

  How neat.

  It was terrifying. And exhausting, but it worked.

  Si was all sweaty.

  He looked around. Luna observed from afar; she was concentrated. Lukai was already moving closer; he wanted to see it in detail.

  The Gate looked inactive; no more energy was flowing from it; there was also nothing left from these swirls.

  “Now we have a way,” Si thought.

  Lukai arrived; they both exchanged looks and made a signal.

  Taj started to extract energy from this ‘black hole.’

  That was something he said he would do without explaining what he was exactly doing.

  From what Si had understood, Taj was supposed to charge himself with it and then release it somewhere else, to be sure it wouldn’t turn into a destructive weapon again.

  It all looked good, and Si started to smile.

  Before he could comment on it, he saw Lukai’s face dramatically change.

  The Gate activated suddenly, and then Si felt a sudden pain.