Darkness.
Not empty.
Not silent.
But full—
Charged with something vast, unseen, and aware.
Isabella Vicks couldn’t tell if seconds or minutes had passed since the system spoke. Her grip on Damien Hayes’s hand tightened unconsciously, as though letting go would mean losing the last piece of reality she could still hold onto.
“Final evaluation begins.”
The words echoed again—not through sound, but through presence.
The room slowly came back into view.
But it wasn’t the same room.
The walls had shifted.
The core system was gone.
The screens—gone.
In their place…
A single, endless space.
White.
Boundless.
“What is this…?” Isabella whispered.
Damien’s voice came low, steady.
“A controlled environment.”
A pause.
“No,” he corrected himself.
“A simulation.”
The Separation
B
