The quiet that came after the battle was a tightrope thing, a thin wire of unspoken terror. Kael stood amidst the wreckage of his command center, the glow of Croft's data slate looming above his head like a specter. The words on the screen seemed to pulse with malevolent intent: LYCAN-VRK//GLOBAL_THERAPEU-TICS//ACCESS_CODE: __ __ __ __ __ __
It was a lock. And one they'd had in mind for a key they possessed. The use of Lyra's name and their deepest corporate husk wasn't an accident; it was a targeted bullet, launched from the past into the heart of their present dilemma.
"Kael?" Lyra's voice was hesitant as she walked up, her boots crunching over shattered glass. "The injured are stable. The structural sensors are reporting…" She hesitated, feeling his tense posture, the complete focus h
