The chamber pulsed with a soft, rhythmic glow—like a heartbeat echoing through stone.
Mira stood before the ancient system tablet, her eyes darting rapidly over the cascading script that had just unlocked. Symbols shifted, reshaping themselves into words that made her breath catch in her throat.
"Elias… this isn't just a corrupted branch of the Lust System," she whispered. "You were never supposed to exist like this. You're running on legacy code—something predating the System itself."
Elias furrowed his brows. "Legacy code? You mean… I'm some kind of leftover?"
She turned to him, shaking her head. "Not leftover—foundational. The core. The 'First Flame.' That's what it's called."
The room stilled. A silence fell over the group—Silva, Nyla, Iris, and the others watching with growing unease.
"First Flame?" Silva repeated. "That sounds… apocalyptic."