Chapter 40: The Garden of Everything

Hadrian and Valka step from a natural-stone passage into a vast underground meadow, dimly lit and seemingly self-contained beneath a white rock ceiling. At a solitary tree with a warm teapot and two cups, Hadrian glimpses bright eyes and gives chase, convinced someone was just there.

The pursuit leads them across a river to a metal bulkhead door that unlocks itself. Inside, they traverse hexagonal corridors into a menagerie of glass enclosures holding exotic creatures and microfauna, a strange private zoo hidden far below the City.

They continue into a domed rock garden where statues arranged around a broken obelisk appear disturbingly organic; one seems to move, and touching it leaves a red welt, unsettling both of them. Further doors reveal disparate scenes—a water garden, a feeding pen—heightening the sense of a curated but disjointed complex.

Deeper in, they find a dormant dormitory wing with child-sized rooms, faded name tags, and toys, aligning with Yume’s claim that the Garden was for clone children destined for Sagara’s clients. The area seems long abandoned, yet dust and silence suggest selective use.

Suddenly, Hadrian is overwhelmed by a non-auditory summons—the same telepathic voice from his earlier dreams—commanding him to come. He experiences a rapid inner vision of corridors and an ancient lift descending to a stony shore. Shaken but resolved, he admits the dreams to Valka and insists he now knows where to go.