The air was thick with static tension as the sky over Neo-Lagos shifted from amber twilight to a storm of fractured pulses. From the Biotech Haven's highest vantage point, Jaden stood watching the trembling silhouette of the Memory Forge rise in the distance—its alloy spires stretching like the ribs of a beast yearning to breathe. But beneath the triumph of steel and synthetics, an unease clawed at the seams of his thoughts.
The Echo Mirrors had stabilized some boroughs. The Harmony Layers buffered dreams from corruption. Yet something felt off—as if a deeper logic, buried in the subroutines of the Tech Architect System, had begun whispering secrets even Jaden couldn't hear clearly.
Behind him, Zhenari approached. "You feel it too, don't you?" she asked.
Jaden didn't respond immediately. The wind carried no scent. The Harmony Grid's hum had a new tone—a low thrum beneath the familiar resonance. Not hostile. Not quite. But ancient.
