A tower-wide network schematic lit up—webbed across dozens of floors. At the center sat a node marked:
Refrain – Phase II Initiation Approved
Target Floor: 353
Pulse Weaponization Channel: ACTIVE
Delivery Vector: Strain-Class Choir Echo
The Second Voice glanced at the node and spoke with disdain. "So we burn the rhythm now? Scorch it out and rewrite from ashes?"
The First Voice finally descended into the circle. The pressure in the chamber deepened.
All the others fell silent.
Then came the words—cold, sharp, and precise.
"They have passed the first echo.
Now we show them the shape of silence.
Phase II proceeds.
Floor 353 shall not be broken.
It shall be converted."
The glyphs changed again.
A new figure appeared.
Not a Choir soldier. Not a Voice.
But something in between.
No mask.
Only red eyes.
Breathing rhythm.
And absorbing it at the same time.
Codename: Hollow Refrain
Deployment Status: Pre-Launch
Target Directive: Aris Vale – Assimilation or Termination
