The silence that followed Silas’s disappearance was the loudest thing I had ever heard. It wasn't just the absence of sound; it was the absence of a soul. The air where he had stood was still warm, still vibrating with the ghost of his violet pixels, but the man himself was gone. Pulled into the static. Deleted.
I reached out, my fingers grasping at the empty air, but all I caught was the bitter smell of burnt circuits and fading shadows.
"Silas!" I screamed, the sound tearing from my throat until it turned into a raw, jagged sob. "You promised! You said you’d find me!"
But there was no answer. Only the wind howling through the skeletal remains of the Great Tower.
I collapsed to my knees, the white fire in my veins flickering like a dying candle. I had won. Aris Vance was dust. The Sta
