Hale fell through silence.

Not space, not gravity — just absence.

Then came the light.

It rose around him like a tide, spilling upward through the void. Not gold or violet now, but a new, impossible hue — something between warmth and static, the color of rebirth seen through a storm. His body flickered as he descended, first human, then fractal, then data. The network was absorbing him, translating his presence into form.

When he hit the bottom — or what felt like it — the world ...