Atlas stood in the central command chamber, arms crossed, staring at the wall of live feeds. The Weave had always been a patchwork, but this was different.
Mirror shards were no longer staying in their wild zones. They were punching through, embedding into stable districts like tumors that grew beautiful and deadly overnight.
"Report," he said.
The duty officer didn't hesitate. "Sector 14 edge is gone. Hybrid now. Buildings are singing—literally. Residents report bursts of perfect recall or sudden flight. Three deaths from emotion overload.
Two more from time loops that didn't spit them back out. But production in the area tripled in the last hour. Healing tech advanced by years."
Atlas didn't blink. The numbers were clear: opportunity wrapped in a bomb. He tapped the comm. "All vector leads. Virtual now."
