Zer0grin's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

The tracks ended at a sealed door. Zer0grin stood in front of it, watching the metal surface for movement that wouldn't come. The boot prints stopped here. No scuff marks from turning back. No second set leading away. Whoever left those prints was inside. Waiting. A stone tablet leaned against the base of the door, placed deliberately where the tracks stopped. Three symbols carved into its surface. A compass star. Crossed blades. A wheel with too many spokes. Powder clung to the etchings, faint yellow against gray stone. Zer0grin knelt and touched the top symbol. The powder came away on its fingertips, and the door unsealed with a pneumatic hiss. Inside, past the threshold, a single lamp burned. Someone had left a clear message. They knew Zer0grin was coming. They knew what it would understand. The door stayed open. Zer0grin stepped through.