The bond struck the void like lightning into water.
For an instant, the world glowed—blue fire rippling out, white erasure collapsing inward. Blanks screamed without mouths, the sound like pages tearing in a library too quiet. The hush shuddered.
Dominic felt his chest burn as if his heart itself was being typeset and rejected. Lena’s nails dug into his hand, anchoring him as words scrolled across the air.
RESET INITIATED.
OVERRIDE FINALIZING.
The Printer’s voice rattled through the steel belly of the press, thin and warping:
“All variance to be purged. Sequence realigned. Proof must be unique.”
“No!” Lena’s scream ripped from her throat. “We’re not unique—we’re chorus!”
Her ampersand surged brighter, sparks spilling across the jaws of the press. Every spark carried fragments: croo
