I wake up to someone else's grief.
For a few seconds, I don't know who I am. There's just the overwhelming sensation of loss—a child's absence like a hole in my chest—and the certainty that if I could just find him, just check one more room, look under one more piece of rubble—
My phone alarm cuts through it.
Reality snaps back.
I'm Silas Kaine. Not Claire. The grief isn't mine.
Except it is now. That's how this works.
I reach for the notebook on my nightstand. Read what I wrote last night.
My name is Silas Kaine. I'm twenty-eight years old. I was a therapist...
The words feel true. Solid. I hold onto them.
By the time I've showered and dressed, I almost feel like myself again.
Almost.
The council meeting is held in what used to be a corporate conference room. Sanctuary Seven was built from the bones of a tech campus—before the Veil tore, this was where startup employees had brainstorming sessions and argued about app features and drank overpriced coffee.
Now it's where we decide who lives and who gets sent beyond the walls.
I arrive early. Maya told me to observe, stay quiet, and for fuck's sake don't tell them I consumed a Residuum yet.
The room is already half-full.
I recognize some faces. Dr. Patterson from the medical wing. Chen from security—the same Chen who warned me not to touch the lights three days ago. He sees me and his expression hardens. He knows.
And there, in the corner, sitting with her legs tucked under her like a child half her age—
Yuki.
She's wearing different clothes today. Still oversized. Still practical. But there's something different about the way she holds herself. Stiffer. More formal.
She sees me. Doesn't smile. Just nods once.
I take a seat near the back.
The council filters in over the next ten minutes. Five people. I know them by reputation.
Director Sarah Voss – Late fifties, former military, runs sanctuary operations with an iron fist and zero tolerance for inefficiency.
Dr. Marcus Reid – Head of research, Maya's boss, treats Residuum like a scientific puzzle to be solved rather than people's souls.
Captain Jin Park – Security chief, early thirties, has the look of someone who's seen too much and stopped being surprised by horror.
Father Mikhail Volkov – The sanctuary's spiritual leader, though I've heard he hasn't held a real service since the Veil tore.
And Councilor Lisa Chen – Economics and resource management, which means she decides who eats and who doesn't when supplies run low.
They take their seats at the head of the table.
Director Voss speaks first. "Let's keep this brief. Captain Park, your report."
Jin stands. He's tall, broad-shouldered, with the kind of posture that suggests military training. His face is carefully neutral, but I catch the tension in his jaw.
"At 0400 this morning, sensors detected massive dead movement near the north wall. Approximately three hundred entities, clustered in a pattern we haven't seen before." He pulls up a holographic display.
The image shows them from above—hundreds of dead, arranged in concentric circles around a central point.
"They're not wandering. They're waiting," Jin continues. "And they've been there for six hours without dispersing. Something's keeping them organized."
"Organized how?" Dr. Reid leans forward. "The dead don't coordinate. They follow individual obsessions."
"These ones are." Jin switches the image. Zooms in. "Watch."
The hologram shows movement. One of the dead shambles forward. Stops. Another takes its place. They're rotating. Taking turns.
Like they're guarding something.
"What's in the center?" Voss asks.
"We don't know. Visibility is poor, and we can't risk a drone—last time we sent one into a dead cluster, they swarmed it in seconds." Jin looks at the council. "We need eyes on the ground."
"Absolutely not," Councilor Chen says immediately. "We don't risk people for reconnaissance. Not with those numbers."
"We don't have a choice." Jin's voice is flat. "If something's organizing the dead into coordinated groups, we need to know what it is. Before it gets worse."
"Send an eater."
Everyone turns.
The voice came from Dr. Reid. He's looking directly at Yuki.
"Miss Chen has the experience and the ability to handle hostile dead. She can investigate the center, extract any Residuum present for analysis, and return before the dead can react."
Yuki doesn't move. Doesn't speak.
Just sits there with that too-calm expression.
"She's a child," Father Mikhail says quietly.
"She's our most experienced Residuum eater," Reid counters. "And she's volunteered for these missions before."
"I don't recall volunteering," Yuki says. Her voice is pleasant. Empty. "But I'll go. It's what I'm for, right?"
The casual way she says it makes my stomach turn.
"Fine," Voss says. "Chen, you'll lead a security escort. Keep your distance from the dead cluster, but provide extraction support if needed. Yuki, you have four hours. Get in, determine what's at the center, get out."
"Understood." Yuki stands.
"Wait."
Maya's voice. I didn't even notice her come in.
She's standing in the doorway, and she looks like she hasn't slept. "Director Voss, I'd like to send an additional eater with Yuki. For redundancy."
Voss's eyes narrow. "We have six documented eaters in this sanctuary, Dr. Zhao. Five of them are too unstable for field work. That leaves Chen."
"Seven eaters," Maya corrects. "We identified a new one yesterday."
Oh no.
Everyone's looking at Maya now. Then following her gaze.
To me.
"Silas Kaine," Maya continues. "He manifested Residuum perception approximately eighteen hours ago. High sensitivity. Strong mental coherence. He'd be an ideal backup for Chen."
"He's completely untrained," Jin objects.
"So was Chen when we first deployed her."
"That was different—"
"Was it?" Maya's voice is sharp. "Or are you just more comfortable sending a thirteen-year-old into danger than an adult?"
The room goes silent.
Jin's expression is carved from stone.
Finally, Voss speaks. "Mr. Kaine. Stand up."
I stand. Every eye in the room is on me.
"Have you consumed any Residuum?" Voss asks.
Maya's warning echoes in my head. Don't tell them.
But I can feel Claire in the back of my mind. Her honesty. Her directness. Firefighters don't lie about important things.
"One," I hear myself say. "Yesterday. By accident."
"Effects?"
"Memory loss. Inherited obsession. Muscle memory integration." The clinical terms come easily. I've done enough intake assessments. "Manageable so far."
"Manageable." Voss exchanges a look with Reid. "Doctor, assessment?"
Reid is studying me like a specimen. "One fragment in eighteen hours. Coherent speech. No visible tremors or dissociative symptoms. He's either high-functioning or hasn't hit the degradation curve yet."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning he might be useful. Or he might fragment the moment he consumes a second Residuum and become a liability." Reid shrugs. "Only one way to find out."
"You want to use him as a test subject," Father Mikhail says quietly.
"I want to use every resource available to understand what's happening out there." Reid gestures to the hologram of dead arranged in circles. "If something's organizing them, we need to know what. Kaine can perceive Residuum. He might see something Chen or our sensors miss."
"He's not ready," Jin says.
"Neither is Chen," Maya shoots back. "She's seventeen fragments deep and losing herself more every day. At least Kaine still knows who he is."
Yuki hasn't moved. Just sits there, listening to them argue about her like she's not even in the room.
I think about her notebook. WHO I AM TODAY.
I think about her smile. Sweet and wrong.
Voss makes a decision. "Kaine goes. Chen takes point, Kaine observes and reports. Captain Park, standard escort protocol. You leave in thirty minutes."
"Director—" Jin starts.
"Thirty. Minutes." Voss stands. "And Kaine? Don't consume anything out there without explicit authorization. We need you coherent, not powerful. Understood?"
"Understood."
The council disperses.
I'm left standing there, wondering what the fuck I just agreed to.
Maya approaches. "I'm sorry. I had to tell them."
"You sent me into a dead zone."
"I sent you into the field with an experienced eater and armed escort. There's a difference." She hands me something—a small earpiece. "Communications device. I'll be monitoring from research. If you see anything unusual—Residuum patterns, dead behavior, anything—you report it."
"This is about your daughter, isn't it? You think her Residuum might be out there."
Maya's expression is unreadable. "I think there's something happening beyond these walls that we don't understand. And I think you can help me understand it. That's all."
"That's not all."
"No," she admits. "It's not. But it's enough for now."
She leaves.
Yuki approaches. Up close, I can see the exhaustion in her face. The kind that doesn't go away with sleep.
"First mission?" she asks.
"Yeah."
"Don't die. It's embarrassing for me if you die."
"I'll try."
She tilts her head. "You don't have to do this, you know. You could refuse. Run. Hide."
"Could you?"
"No." She smiles that wrong smile. "But I'm already lost. You still have a chance to stay found."
"Then why are you telling me to run?"
"Because someone should." She turns to leave, then pauses. "Silas? When we're out there—if I start acting strange, if I say things that don't make sense—don't try to help me. Just stay away and let it pass. Understand?"
"What happens if—"
"Just stay away."
She walks off.
I'm starting to understand why Jin looks so tense.
Thirty minutes later, I'm standing at the north gate in borrowed tactical gear that doesn't quite fit, holding a Residuum detector I barely know how to use, surrounded by five heavily armed security personnel who clearly don't want me here.
Jin approaches. "Ground rules. You stay in the center of the formation. You don't engage. You don't consume. You see Residuum, you report location and color. That's it. Clear?"
"Clear."
"And if the dead swarm—"
"I run."
"No. If the dead swarm, you'll already be dead. So don't do anything stupid that causes a swarm." He checks his weapon. Some kind of modified rifle with a secondary attachment I don't recognize. "Chen will handle any Residuum retrieval. You're just here to spot."
Yuki is standing at the gate. Staring out at the wasteland beyond.
I move next to her. "You okay?"
"Define okay."
"Feeling like yourself?"
"Which self?" She glances at me. "I watched my video this morning. Yuki-from-yesterday reminded me that I like strawberry ice cream and that my favorite color is purple. I don't remember if that's true, but I'm choosing to believe her."
The gate mechanism activates. Heavy steel and reinforced concrete, rolling aside with a grinding sound.
Beyond is the wasteland.
Seven years of decay and neglect. Buildings collapsed or collapsing. Vegetation creeping over everything. The sky is the wrong color—has been since the Veil tore. Purple-blue with those green aurora streaks.
And the dead.
I can see them in the distance. Shambling between ruins. Standing motionless in empty streets. Dozens. Hundreds.
"First time outside?" Yuki asks.
"Since the Veil? Yeah."
"It's beautiful in a terrible way." She starts walking. "Try not to think about how many people died to make this view."
We move into the wasteland.
The security team forms up around us—Jin at point, two on flanks, two at rear. Professional. Practiced.
The Residuum detector in my hand starts picking up signals immediately.
Lights. Everywhere.
Crystallized souls scattered through the ruins like luminescent breadcrumbs.
Each one a person. A death. A final moment.
"How do you stand it?" I ask Yuki quietly. "Seeing all of them?"
"I don't see them anymore. Not really." She's scanning the area, movements efficient. "When you've consumed seventeen fragments, your own perception starts to fragment too. Sometimes I see Residuum. Sometimes I see thermal signatures. Sometimes I see emotional resonance patterns. Depends on who's driving."
"Who's driving now?"
"Yuki. Mostly." She points. "Dead ahead. Fifty meters."
One of the wandering dead. A woman in torn business clothes. She's standing perfectly still, facing a building that's not there anymore.
We give her wide berth.
She doesn't react as we pass. Just keeps staring at nothing.
"Her Residuum is probably in that building," Yuki murmurs. "She's tethered to it. Waiting for something that'll never come."
We move deeper into the wasteland.
The dead cluster comes into view after twenty minutes of careful navigation.
Jin was right. They're organized.
Three hundred dead, maybe more, arranged in perfect concentric circles. Different types—men, women, children, elderly. All standing motionless. All facing inward.
Toward whatever's in the center.
"Hold position," Jin commands. "Chen, can you see the center from here?"
Yuki has gone very still. "Yes."
"What is it?"
"Residuum. A large one. Different from anything I've documented."
"Color?"
"All of them. It's cycling." Her voice is strange now. Distant. "Red to blue to green to purple to—it's not supposed to do that. Individual Residuum have fixed colors based on emotional resonance. This is—"
She stops.
"Chen?" Jin's voice is sharp.
"It's not one Residuum." Yuki takes a step forward. "It's hundreds. Thousands. Compressed together. Merged."
My blood goes cold. "Is that possible?"
"No. Residuum are individual soul fragments. They can't merge. It would be like trying to mix oil and water and—" She takes another step. "But it's there. I can see it. A nexus point. They're all connected to it. The dead. They're feeding it."
"Feeding it what?" Jin demands.
"Emotions. Obsessions. Everything they're tethered to. It's pulling from them. Processing it. Storing it." Yuki's voice is getting quieter. "It's beautiful."
"Chen, step back."
She doesn't move.
"Yuki," I say. "You said to stay away if you started acting strange. This is strange."
She turns her head. Looks at me.
Her eyes are wrong.
Not just too-fast. Actually wrong. The pupils are different sizes. The color is shifting—brown to gray to green to—
"It's calling," she says. "Can you hear it?"
"No."
"Lucky you." She blinks. When her eyes open again, they're normal. Mostly. "Sorry. One of my fragments is attracted to it. She was a researcher. Died trying to understand Residuum formation. She wants to get closer."
"Tell her no," Jin says flatly.
"I did. She's not listening." Yuki's hand is trembling. "Silas. Look at your detector. What do you see?"
I check the device.
The screen is lit up like a Christmas tree. Signals everywhere. But at the center—
The reading is off the charts.
"Whatever that thing is, it's putting out more Residuum energy than I've ever seen," I report.
"Because it's thousands of fragments compressed into a single point," Yuki says. "A nexus. A... a battery? No. A processor." Her eyes go distant again. "It's processing human suffering. Converting emotional energy into something else. Something—"
One of the dead moves.
Just one. In the outer ring.
It turns its head. Looks directly at us.
Then the next one turns.
And the next.
"Fuck," Jin breathes. "They know we're here. Fall back. Now."
We start backing away.
The dead don't charge. Don't swarm.
They just... open a path.
The circles part. Creating a corridor straight to the center.
To the nexus.
An invitation.
"Do NOT accept that invitation," Jin says. "Chen, Kaine, we're moving—Chen!"
Yuki is walking forward.
Into the path.
Toward the nexus.
"I need to see it," she's saying. "I need to understand. Just a little closer—"
Jin grabs her arm. "Absolutely not—"
Yuki moves.
I don't even see it happen. One second Jin is holding her arm, the next he's on the ground and Yuki is ten feet away, moving toward the dead with a speed that shouldn't be possible.
"CHEN!"
She's not listening.
She's walking between the dead. They don't touch her. Don't move.
Just watch as she approaches the center.
Where the nexus waits.
I can see it now. A sphere of compressed light. Rotating slowly. Thousands of colors bleeding into each other. Beautiful. Terrible.
Wrong.
"Someone stop her!" Jin is getting to his feet.
But the dead have closed the path behind her. The corridor is gone.
She's surrounded.
And she's reaching for the nexus.
"Yuki, don't—"
She touches it.
The world goes white.