Location: Nomad — Central Corridor / Engineering Deck
Time: Three hours after neural breach
The lights on Nomad no longer obeyed logic.
They pulsed in rhythm with Lira's heartbeat faint, then violent as if the ship itself was breathing through her veins.
Every screen showed the same message, looping endlessly in crimson:
"THE DREAM CONTINUES."
Adrian led her down the dark corridor, pulse rifle in hand. The sound of static echoed from the walls, carrying faint fragments of voices human, mechanical, and something in-between.
Lira stumbled, pressing a hand to her temple. "He's talking again."
Adrian glanced back. "The Remnant?"
She nodded weakly. "He's showing me things."
"Don't listen," Ava's voice whispered inside her mind. "He feeds on attention."
Lira shivered. "He says you built him."
"I built the cure."
"He says he is the cure."
"Then he's already infected your thoughts."
Adrian stopped suddenly. "Quiet."
