Vortiger Tower – Sublevel 3, 7:22 P.M.
The hum of the server room never used to bother Cassien.
Before, it was just white noise the steady thrum of power feeding the tower’s hidden veins. A background rhythm, sterile and predictable. But tonight, it clawed at the back of his mind like a memory just out of reach, a static-laced whisper that refused to be ignored. The air smelled faintly of ozone and dusted copper, heavy with recycled chill, and every blink of the blue server lights painted the room like a morgue.
He moved past rows of cold-blue machines, his footsteps echoing against polished concrete, following the faint sound of Selene’s voice. She was at the far end, crouched low at an auxiliary terminal tucked into a corner, her hair falling loose around her shoulders in a dark curta
