This is part of an original serialized fiction project written and edited by the author. All story elements and characters are fictional.

new fragment of the enigma of the emerald building by e.black who has given us the pleasure of gradually publishing parts of the story.

“Trust the system!” Teodora called out, still working furiously over the inscriptions carved into the pedestal. “We just need to sync the third point!”

For the first time, Méndez’s expression faltered. His brows tightened, a flicker of alarm breaking through his cool demeanor.

“Synchronize?” he said, his voice sharp. “No. I won’t let you interfere.”

He bolted toward the third symbol, the only one left untouched. Lucía’s voice rang out behind him.

“No!”

But he was already there, raising his device to override it.

Before he could activate anything, Leo barreled into him, slamming into Méndez with all his strength. The device flew from his hand and skidded across the floor.

“Lucía, the third point—go!” Leo shouted as he grappled with Méndez.

Without hesitation, Lucía sprinted toward the final glowing symbol. As her hands made contact, a vibrant green light burst outward, stronger than the others, pulsing through the entire chamber.

Teodora, seeing all three points active, grabbed a metal ring on the pedestal and gave it a hard twist. The wall symbols began shifting inward, streams of light merging into a single beam that shot toward the ceiling.

“It’s working!” she shouted.

Méndez, still wrestling with Leo, snapped his head toward the beam, eyes wild.

“You don’t know what you’re doing!” he yelled, straining to break free.

“We don’t have to,” Leo said through clenched teeth, pressing him back against the wall. “We just know we’re stopping you.”

The room’s energy intensified, and even Méndez seemed affected now—his breath growing labored, his strength waning under the pressure in the air.

The beam in the center grew brighter, symbols swirling in orbit around it. The sound was deafening, like the chamber itself was vibrating on the edge of collapse.

“I can’t hold it!” Lucía cried, her arms trembling under the energy coursing through her.

“Just a few more seconds!” Teodora called back, adjusting the last mechanism on the pedestal.

The humming reached a crescendo—and then, suddenly, everything stopped.

The light vanished.

The sound died.

A hush settled over the chamber, broken only by a faint breath of air, like the room itself had just exhaled.

Leo and Lucía dropped to the floor, drained but still conscious. Teodora leaned against the pedestal, catching her breath.

“Did we... do it?” Leo asked, voice hoarse.

Teodora nodded, though her face remained solemn. “Yes. The room is neutralized—for now.”

Across the chamber, Méndez had slumped to the floor, eyes burning with something between rage and sorrow.

“You think you’ve won,” he said bitterly, “but you don’t understand what you’ve lost.”

Lucía, still catching her breath, stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

He pulled himself to his feet, steadying against the wall.

“This chamber had the power to change everything—to reveal truths buried deep in human history. Now it’s sealed again. And you’ve chosen ignorance over revelation.”

Leo clenched his fists. “What we did was stop you from destroying everything in the name of your so-called truth.”

Méndez gave a cold, joyless smile. “It’s easy to condemn something you don’t understand.”

Then, surprisingly, he raised his hands in surrender and stepped back.

“This isn’t over. We’ll meet again.”

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked out of the Echo Chamber, his footsteps slowly fading into the corridor.

For a long moment, no one spoke. The silence in the chamber felt heavier than ever—but not because of fear. Because of what it had taken to bring that silence back.

Finally, Lucía broke it.

“So... what now?”

Teodora glanced around at the darkened walls and the inert pedestal. “Now? We make sure this place stays buried. No one else can find it.”

Leo helped his sister to her feet, still watching the doorway where Méndez had disappeared.

“And what about him? He’s not the kind to give up.”

“No,” Teodora admitted. “But he knows now—we won’t either.”

Lucía looked down the corridor, jaw set.

“Then we’ll be ready.”

Though Méndez was gone, his presence still seemed to echo in the chamber. The energy was gone, but the weight of what had nearly happened lingered. Teodora, Leo, and Lucía stood quietly for a while, letting the stillness settle over them.

Lucía finally broke the silence again, eyes fixed on the cryptic carvings along the walls.

“What do we do with all this?

Teodora let out a deep, weary breath and placed her hand on one of the largest inscriptions.

“Sealing it isn’t enough anymore,” she said quietly. “We have to make sure no one—not even us—can ever turn it back on.”