The dwarves insisted Evan stay for the night in a stone guest chamber carved directly from obsidian. Runes lit the walls with soft red glow. Brumdir arranged food roasted mushrooms spiced roots glowing ale brewed from mana moss.

Evan sat with him eating gratefully. Brumdir raised a mug. “To the crystals that saved lives.”

Evan raised his water cup. “To the dwarves who ran fast enough to not get crushed.”

Brumdir roared with laughter shaking the entire table.

But as the night deepened a sudden tremor passed through the floor. A runner burst into the room panting. “Chief Brumdir urgent message from the scouts.”

Brumdir frowned. “Speak.”

“The mana pressure in the lower west tunnel has risen again. Stronger than expected.”

Evan stood quickly. “That is impossible. The pulses should be stabilizing.”

The runner shook his head. “And more news. A beast cluster is moving near the surface entrance. And the forest mana pulse from the east drifted here unnaturally.”

Brumdir’s face darkened. “Three anomalies at once.”

Evan said quietly, “Three data crises.”

Brumdir blinked. “Data what”

“Never mind. Show me.”

They rushed to the main cavern where dwarves gathered around the early prototype dashboard Evan built earlier. The crystals pulsed erratically showing three separate pattern disruptions.

Evan crouched beside the board. “This should not be happening at the same time. The patterns do not correlate.”

Brumdir growled, “The mountain has never behaved like this.”

Evan touched each crystal. The glow flared revealing deeper instability in the mana layers. He realized something terrifying.

“The disturbances are not random. They are echoing each other. Something external is affecting all of them.”

Brumdir froze. “What external thing controls underground pulses beasts and forest mana”

Evan shook his head. “Not controls. Amplifies.”

Suddenly a roar echoed through the tunnels. Dwarves raised their axes. The ground shook violently.

A second runner arrived shouting, “A mana fissure is opening in the southern shaft”

Brumdir cursed. “If that breaks open it could release a quake that levels our lower cities.”

Evan stared at the crystals. The pulses aligned perfectly. The forest pulse entered the underground cycle at the exact wrong moment.

“I can stop it,” Evan said. “Or at least delay it.”

Brumdir grabbed his shoulders. “How”

“By redirecting the mana path. The pulses follow structure. If we place the crystals in a different pattern we can change how the mountain resonates.”

Brumdir growled. “You want to bend the mountain”

“No. I want to guide it,” Evan said. “Like redirecting traffic.”

Brumdir had no idea what traffic meant but nodded. “Do it.”

Evan grabbed the crystals and arranged them into a long curve following the natural vein lines he had noticed earlier. He carved emergency runes as dwarves cleared the area. The crystals activated radiating strong light.

The pulse direction shifted. For a moment it looked like the wave would break but instead it curved away from the southern shaft.

Dwarves held their breath as the mountain trembled. Then the pulse faded. The stones settled. Silence returned.

Brumdir turned slowly to Evan. “Human… you stopped a fissure with dashboard crystals.”

Evan sank to the ground exhausted. “It was not perfect. It only delays the quake. But now we log this pattern. And once we log it we can predict it every time.”

Brumdir shouted to the dwarves, “He saved the shafts. Again. Twice in one day.”

The cavern erupted in cheers. Dwarves raised their hammers. Some chanted Evan’s name in their deep rhythmic voices.

Evan wiped sweat from his forehead. “Brumdir we need a full pressure grid. If these cycles connect to forest pulses it means magic across regions interacts far more strongly than elves believe.”

Brumdir nodded. “And if the pulses connect across regions then your dashboards must connect too.”

Evan stared at the glowing crystals.
“One day they will. Every region. Every race. One synchronized system.”

Brumdir folded his arms. “A Data Empire.”

Evan smiled faintly. “Yes. And today the dwarves helped build it.”

Brumdir grinned. “Human. You are one of us now.”

The mountain rumbled softly as if approving.
The Night of Three Data Crises had ended in success.
And Evan’s vision grew clearer than ever.