They followed the bridges of light deeper into the minds pace, their steps silent yet synchronized. Each path LUCENT generated was a ribbon of compressed logic—living, thinking code. It shifted beneath them like waves underfoot, reacting not to weight but to intent.
Orion walked ahead, her expression unreadable. Since the merge with Echo, something had changed in her—not just the sigils that now pulsed brighter across her arms, but the way she listened. She was hearing things now: whispers of systems long dead, protocols buried in digital tombs. Voices not of memory, but of legacy.
Cole stayed close, still connected through a partial neural thread. Though the intensity of their earlier sync had faded, remnants lingered. He could feel her unease before she even spoke.
"We're getting close," Orion said, voice tight. "I can feel the frequency. It's... not mechanical. It's older. Primal."
