Rhea snapped, "Cain! Talk to me. What's in there?"
He forced the words out. "Me."
Rhea whipped around instantly, but the moment she moved, the silhouette blurred — not vanishing, but folding back deeper into the tear like a man stepping behind a curtain. By the time she planted her feet and focused, she only saw the swirling void again.
She scowled. "You're telling me there's another you in there."
"Telling you what I saw," Cain said. "Interpret how you want."
"That's not helpful."
"No part of this is."
Rhea exhaled sharply, about to argue again, but the tear pulsed violently — an expanding shockwave of pressure that rattled every steel beam in the hangar. She staggered, catching herself on a railing, while Cain stayed standing without shifting an inch. The energy bent around him again, harmless but aware.
Rhea noticed.
Her stare sharpened.
