The city was dying.
I stood on the roof of the courthouse, watching the chaos spread below. Fires burned in the distance. People screamed in the streets. The lights flickered, dimmed, and died. The equation was consuming everything.
"Leon." Lena's voice came from behind me. "We need to go. The equation is spreading faster than we thought."
"I know." I turned to face her. "But we can't run. We have to stop it."
"How? Julian is dead. The Committee is gone. We have nothing."
"We have each other. We have the equation. We have the key."
"The key? You mean you?"
I nodded slowly. "Yes. Me. I'm the key to everything. The only one who can control it."
She stared at me. "Leon, that's suicide. The equation will destroy you."
"Maybe. But it's the only way."
---
The command center was buried
