At first, there was no sound—only pressure.

Then the world reassembled itself in fragments of memory and light.

Hale opened his eyes to a sky made of glass and static. Beneath him stretched a mirrored surface reflecting three figures instead of two. Gray was there, sprawled beside him—alive but dazed.

And Evelyn…

She stood a few meters away, half her form still flickering between solidity and code, the edges of her outline bleeding light into the air.

Her eyes met his. For the first ...