The road ended where the land seemed to forget itself.
Kael killed the engine and let the silence settle. No birds. No wind. Just an unnatural stillness that pressed against the chest like a held breath.
Aria stepped out of the vehicle slowly.
The structure before them barely looked realhalf-buried concrete, steel ribs exposed like broken bones, vines crawling over walls meant to be invisible. A place erased by time on purpose.
“This is it,” she said.
Kael scanned the horizon, fingers flexing near his weapon. “It looks dead.”
“It was designed to,” Aria replied. “Dead things don’t attract questions.”
She walked closer, every step stirring something sharp and heavy in her chest. The closer she came, the louder the pressure inside her skull grew, not pain, not just recognition.
You’ve
