The water of the digital ocean didn't feel wet; it felt like plunging into a pool of static electricity. As the massive, metallic tentacle dragged Nala beneath the surface, the air was replaced by a crushing pressure of data. Her lungs burned, but instead of drowning, her vision began to fill with scrolling lines of ancient code the "flesh code" of the original creators.
"Leo!" she screamed, though no sound escaped her lips, only a bubble of golden light.
Beside her, the shadow of Elisha was being pulled down by smaller, swarming drones. He was clawing at the water, his form flickering between the monk and the scavenger. In this deep partition of the system, the rules were different. Power wasn't found in light or shadow; it was found in the depth of one's legacy.
The tentacle pulled he
