The silence after Hollis's sacrifice was unbearable.The cathedral of iron was collapsing around them, sparks raining from the ceiling, but to Elric it sounded as though the world had been muffled beneath a shroud. He staggered forward, cane tapping against brass tiles, every breath shallow and hollow.
Hollis was gone.
The soldier had been their shield, the immovable wall against the Engineer's monstrosities. And now, there was only an echo where his laughter had been. Selene moved like a storm at his side, knives slick with black oil, her shadows writhing as though they too grieved. Evangeline stumbled, soot streaking her cheeks, her clockwork bird dead in her trembling hands.
Upon the dais, the Phantom Engineer loomed in his shifting cage of gears. His mask rearranged with every breath, lips widening into something obscene."Your soldier was efficient," the metallic voice purred, echoing through the vaulted chamber. "Flesh is fleeting, but courage is quantifiable. Do not mourn. His bravery has been… integrated."
Selene's voice broke into a snarl. "You dare—"
"I dare everything," the Engineer interrupted. The cathedral's walls shuddered. Vast pistons struck in unison. "Hollis lives on. His essence surges within these arteries. Every beat of the city is his sacrifice made eternal."
Evangeline clutched her temples, screaming. The machines sang to her in a chorus of agony, as though a fragment of Hollis's gift had truly been bound within them. She fell to her knees, tears smearing oil across her face.
Elric forced himself to speak, his words calm despite the storm inside. "You speak of inevitability, Engineer, but inevitability is not destiny. Even the most perfect equation can be broken by the flaw no one accounts for."
The Phantom Engineer tilted his head. "And you believe you are that flaw, Detective? I calculated you long ago. You are not the paradox. You are the proof of my design."
The cathedral groaned again, and for the first time, Elric felt a deep, gnawing fear: the enemy was not lying. The Engineer truly believed every outcome was already his.