The snow had stopped.
Outside Node Zero, everything was still—too still. The air hung motionless, not even cold anymore, just silent. The trees didn't rustle. The wind didn't blow. Even the snow, which had been falling for hours, lay untouched like the whole world had taken a breath and then forgot how to exhale.
Inside the metal skeleton of the underground base, it felt like the opposite. The air buzzed with energy. Heat radiated from broken consoles. Wires sparked like tiny lightning bugs in the corners. The silence wasn't peaceful. It was pressure—coiled, waiting.
Orion was curled on the steel floor, her back pressed to the wall, arms wrapped around her knees. Her eyes were open, but vacant, like they were staring through reality. Her lips moved, but no sound came. She looked awake, but far away—like her body was here, but her mind had been pulled somewhere else.
