The awakening hurt.
Not like pain—but like being rewritten.
Elias screamed as his spine arched violently, muscles locking as invisible pressure crushed inward from every direction. His heartbeat thundered, each pulse sending waves of distortion through the air.
The static collapsed into a single, deafening note.
Then—silence.
Absolute silence.
Elias gasped.
For the first time since the static had entered his life, it wasn't overwhelming. It was contained. Coiled tightly inside him like a restrained weapon.
Rook exhaled slowly. "There it is," he murmured. "Resonance achieved."
Elias lay shaking, sweat-soaked, veins faintly glowing beneath his skin in shifting patterns that didn't match human anatomy. His bones felt denser. Heavier. Real.
Mara lunged toward him. "Elias—"
"Don't," he said.
His voice was different.
Calmer. Deeper. Not louder—but heavier.
She froze.
Footsteps echoed from the tunnel entrance.
Wardens.
Three of them emerged from the shadows, armored and expressionless, weapons humming with Veil-tuned energy.
"Elias Vance," one announced. "By authority of the Continuum, you are to be detained or terminated."
Mara turned toward Elias, desperation flooding her face. "I can fix this. I'll talk to them—"
"No," Elias said quietly.
He stood.
His body protested—but obeyed.
Rook watched closely, saying nothing.
The Wardens raised their weapons.
Elias closed his eyes.
This time, he didn't react.
He reached.
The Veil answered.
The air compressed around the lead Warden, not violently—precisely. His armor shrieked as it folded inward, locking him immobile without crushing him.
Controlled.
The second Warden fired.
Elias twisted his wrist.
The energy bolt bent, curving away unnaturally before slamming into the ceiling.
The third hesitated.
Fear.
Elias felt it ripple through the Veil.
He opened his eyes.
"Leave," Elias said.
The pressure intensified just enough to make the message clear.
The Wardens retreated.
Silence returned.
Mara stared at him, trembling. "Elias… I didn't want this."
He looked at her—not with hatred, but with something colder.
"I know," he said. "That's why it hurts."
Rook nodded slowly. "You didn't just survive," he said. "You chose."
Elias felt the static stir again—but this time, it waited.
The Veil had acknowledged him.
And it would never let him go.