Silence is never empty.
It hums with residue—of systems that once spoke, of commands that once mattered, of violence that has not yet decided whether it is finished. In the aftermath of the core’s collapse, the Aeternum chamber exists in a vacuum that feels almost sacred in its stillness.
Ethan is the first to move.
Not away from Scarlett. Never that.
He shifts his position carefully, easing her weight against him so her head rests more securely against his shoulder. She is breathing—shallow, uneven, but present. The tremors wracking her body come in waves now rather than storms, each one leaving her a little more hollowed out than before.
“Scar,” he murmurs, low and steady. “Stay with me.”
Her fingers twitch weakly against his sleeve.
The chamber lights do not return. Emergency sys
