The world smelled of metal and smoke.
When Leon woke, the light filtering through the broken ceiling of the bunker was gray and cold. His muscles ached like someone had poured molten steel through his veins. For a moment, he couldn’t remember who or where he was.
Then the voice came.
[System Recovery: 47% Complete.]
[Core Link: Stabilized.]
[Warning: Neural Damage Detected.]
He blinked, pain sharpening into memory — the flash of blue light, Erebus’s hand crushing his blade, the city screaming.
Then, Kiera’s voice cut through the silence. “Don’t move. You’re not healed yet.”
He turned his head slightly. She sat beside him, eyes shadowed from exhaustion but steady as ever. The bunker walls flickered with the dim gold of backup power. A generator hummed somewhere behind her.
“How lon
