The Architect's words hung in the air like a dark fog, suffocating any hope Kaelen had left. He and Mira were trapped—no longer simply fighting to survive, but now a part of a larger, sinister design they couldn't even begin to comprehend.
Kaelen's mind raced as the Architect's presence loomed over them. The voice reverberated in his head, as if it were not coming from the figure itself, but from the walls, from the very ship around them.
"You're wrong," Kaelen muttered, trying to steady his breath. "We're not part of your plan. We're not your pawns."
The Architect's laugh was cold and hollow. "You always were, Kaelen. From the moment you boarded the Vigilant, you were marked. Every choice you made, every step you took, led you here. The Collective was watching. We knew you would resist, and that resistance only fueled our purpose."
Mira clenched her fists, her face pale, but the fire in her eyes was unmistakable. "We won't be part of this. We'll fight you every step of the way."
The Architect stepped closer, its form growing darker with every passing second. "You believe you can fight what is already within you? Your minds, your memories—they have been altered, shaped, and controlled. You are already part of the Collective. You always were."
The air crackled with an energy Kaelen could feel deep in his bones, vibrating through the very fabric of the space around them. Something inside him resisted, but another part of him felt the truth in the Architect's words. They were never meant to escape. The trap had been set from the beginning, and they had walked right into it.
"Escape is an illusion," the Architect continued, "and so is resistance. You have been shaped by us—by the Vigilant. You cannot undo what has already been done."