The sterile white walls of the Oriel Institute's isolation wing swam into focus through a haze of static and pain. Sophia's ears were ringing, not with silence, but with the brutal, complex frequency of the Inverse Echo—the sound of the fundamental lie—that Ethan had just unleashed into the hospital's internal intercom system.
Her immediate reality was a jolt of sharp, intense pain as the security guards, momentarily stunned by the audio disruption, reacted violently. They dragged her down the corridor, their faces reflecting confusion and rage. She was being stripped of her control, her mission, and her freedom in a matter of seconds.
"Ethan!" she screamed, twisting to see the fate of her partner.
She saw him, still in handcuffs, being savagely beaten against a steel utility cart by the remaining guard. But Ethan, ever the trained operative, used the chaos to his advantage. He lunged, driving the cart into the guard, who collapsed in a stunned heap.
