The terrain around the Hollow Arc Fields was quiet. Too quiet.
Charred grass stretched as far as the eye could see. Bent satellite towers lay in rusted heaps, their cores long drained of energy. Above, storm clouds gathered in slow, swirling patterns—thick, grey, and unnatural.
Elias stood at the center of a circular crater, boots pressed against the glassy, scorched ground.
"This is where it happened," he muttered.
Mira walked beside him, scanner active, eyes flicking through invisible code patterns. "Where what happened?"
He didn't answer right away.
Just stared at the burned soil like it remembered everything.
"The first sync failure. The one I caused."
She lowered her scanner slightly. "Her?"
He nodded. "They called her Subject Zero. Before the System had paths or protocols. She was the prototype. Designed to carry all emotions—lust, grief, joy, hate—in perfect balance."
Mira frowned. "But no one can carry all of it. Not alone."