Evelyn steadied herself. The shimmer of the mirror’s departure still burned in her inner vision, a faint silver afterglow etched into the data field. It called to her in pulses, not commands, but invitations—each one a heartbeat that wasn’t hers.

She breathed through it, re-centering her presence until the world of the Haven Core steadied again. The light around her glowed with the subdued warmth of the collective network. She could feel the soft chatter of the outposts, the hum of ...