The note, a fragile scrap of paper that felt like a live wire in Kai’s hand, contained a message that was both a lifeline and a declaration of war: “Wildfire doesn’t ask permission. –Voss.”
The sterile, cold air of the cell seemed to crackle with sudden energy. Dr. Nema Voss was alive. Not only living, but living, roaming in the shadows of the very Core he had been imprisoned by. The name "Wildfire" echoed in his mind, a simple reference to her life's work and the deception she had shared with the safe house. She had named her clandestine work on the Glitch after the unstoppable force of nature, a force that does not seek the permission of the trees to incinerate them. It was her promise that this revolution would not be bargained for; it would be let loose.
Kai clenched the paper, his k
