That hum—he remembered it.
Spirit gems syncing to his shard. His pulse. That same rhythm thudding through his skull now.
He hadn't done enough there.
Hadn't stopped what was coming.
I failed then too.
The guilt didn't fade. It just shifted forms.
This time, the stakes were higher.
A voice snapped him back.
"You're telling me," Marcus said, tone sharp now, "that I got pulled out of my life for this?"
He didn't yell. But the bite was there.
"My parents were at my graduation, Elias. Watching me walk. I was supposed to be designing neural interfaces. Real work."
His words came tight, fists behind them even if his hands couldn't move.
"Now I'm playing spy? With people who kill Wardens and burn entire squads alive?"
Elias's chest tightened, a knot forming deep in his sternum.
