"Extinction is such a dramatic word," Lin remarked, her lips curving into what might have been a smile if it had reached her eyes. "I prefer 'transformation.'"
Atlas's golden energy flickered beneath his skin despite the dampening bracelet. "Call it whatever you want. The result is the same—we cease to exist as we are."
The jet engine hummed steadily as they soared over the Pacific. Outside the window, darkness stretched infinitely, the boundary between sky and ocean indiscernible. Inside, tension thickened the air.
"Your individual consciousness wouldn't necessarily end," Lin said, scrolling through more equations on her tablet. "The Wudang texts suggest a merged awareness—two minds becoming one greater consciousness."
"That's not comforting," Sarah muttered, examining her bracelet. T
