Observation
The room they gave her was too white.
Walls of pale stone reflected ghostlight from recessed orbs above, casting no shadows—no place for her eyes to rest. It was meant to be peaceful, a place of clarity and recovery. But to Avery, it felt like being buried alive in light.
A glass barrier divided the chamber from the outer corridor. Beyond it, she could see indistinct figures moving occasionally—technicians, sentinels, observers—never coming close enough to make out their faces. They were silhouettes behind frost.
Every hour, a spectral rune pulsed above the doorframe. The hum would crawl beneath her skin, synchronizing with the tether that still coiled deep in her chest. At first, it was faint. By the third pulse, it felt like a second heartbeat.
She wasn’t sure how long s
