Harold perched on the skeletal remains of the old water tower, wings folded tight against the winter wind. From this height the merged city looked like a circuit board dipped in gothic fever: neon runes crawling across marble facades, maglev lines threading through stone arches that hadn’t existed a week ago. Below him, Garrett Automotive’s Factory 3 burned with Agnetha’s sickly green light, every window a watchful eye.

He shouldn’t be here.

The summons had come ...