The wind outside the Blood Terminal had changed.
It carried the scent of ozone and burnt circuitry—unmistakable signs that something in the grid had awakened. Kade stood at the edge of the ravine overlooking the valley below, eyes narrowed, hand resting on the now-glowing stabilizer strapped to his back.
"We're being watched," Marei said softly, stepping beside him.
"I know." His voice was lower now. Sharper.
The Sovereign Core hadn't just restored memories—it had carved open instincts he didn't recognize, but felt second nature. His pulse beat in sync with the Catalyst's rhythm. The system's voice no longer startled him. It whispered to him now, like an old companion.
[Target Range Shrinking: 82km → 71km → 63km]
The Final Carrier was moving—toward them.
"They're not hiding," Marei murmured. "That's a bad sign."
Kade adjusted the emitter frequency on his wrist module and pinged the local airspace. Three nodes lit up in the distance, all broadcasting low-level interference. It was subtle, like background static, but intentional.
"Decoys?" he asked.
"Or breadcrumbs," she replied. "Leading us in."
He gave a grim smile. "Then let's follow."
They traveled fast through the system-blasted canyons, their path lit only by pale blue markers from Marei's nav rig. Ruins stretched on either side—remnants of a city consumed in the first Collapse, where the Catalyst's influence had bled into machine and flesh alike.
"System's routing us through the old flux grid," Marei noted, scanning ahead. "Not a straight path. It wants us tired before we get there."
"Or tested."
[Final Carrier Signal Located: 51km]
[Warning: Elevated System Activity Detected]
[Signal Tagged: OMEGA-ECHO]
Kade halted.
"Omega-Echo?" he repeated. "What kind of tag is that?"
Marei didn't answer at first. Then—"I've only seen it once. It means a shard was lost. Not corrupted. Not stored. Just… completely untracked. System usually assumes it was destroyed."
"But it wasn't."
"No," she said. "It was reborn."
Night fell fast in the broken valley.
They camped inside the shattered remains of an old signal tower. Kade sat by the cold embers of a synthetic fire, gaze distant.
"Do you think this carrier knows?" he asked. "What they are?"
Marei shrugged, arms wrapped around her knees. "If they survived with a shard buried in them this long? They're either completely unaware or… completely consumed."
"Like you?"
She met his eyes. "No. Worse."
A silence settled between them—tense but not hostile. They both knew what was coming. Another trial. Another relic of the past. Another mirror Kade would be forced to look into.
Suddenly, the system chimed.
[Proximity Alert: 11km]
[Carrier Approaching at Speed. Identity: Unknown. Signal: Distorted.]
Marei's eyes widened. "They're coming here?"
Kade stood instantly, reaching for his blade.
"No," he said. "They're hunting us."
The wind outside died.
Then, a sound—like static torn open—ripped through the canyon.