Before everything spiraled, Elena Voss believed every system had a center.
A core you could find.
A weakness you could destroy.
---
Now—
She wasn’t so sure.
---
The wall exploded outward in a violent crack.
Light flooded in, sharp and blinding, as fragments of reinforced panels collapsed behind her.
---
Elena stepped through.
Not cautiously.
Not carefully.
---
Decisively.
---
The corridor beyond was different.
Dark metal walls.
Narrow pathways.
Faint red emergency lights flickering along the floor.
---
A facility.
Hidden.
Controlled.
---
Alarms screamed overhead.
---
“Containment breach! Primary host active!”
---
She didn’t slow.
Because this time—
She wasn’t reacting.
---
She was moving with purpose.
---
Footsteps echoed ahead.
Armed personnel rushing t
