The flames cast no heat; the intense cold persisted. The blaring alarms sounded subtly distorted, layered with that familiar, tearing static. The collapsing ceiling debris vanished into smoke just before hitting the floor, leaving no impact craters. “No,” she whispered, shaking her head, forcing herself to see through the sophisticated manipulation. “Another trick. A lie. Trying to make me afraid of the very thing that can stop you.” She walked forward, directly towards the phantom inferno, her heart pounding a heavy counterpoint to the phantom alarms, expecting pain, heat, impact… and walked right through it. The illusion dissolved instantly, leaving only the cold, empty, silent corridor ahead, the scent of cryo-mist clinging to her clothes. But the encounter left her trembling, shaken by
