We were three days into the return journey when the system pinged me like it was apologizing.
[Sovereign Signal Drift: Peripheral Thread Conflict Detected]
[Node Authority Reading: Flameprint Match – Source Invalid]
[Recommendation: Manual Reassertion Suggested]
So. That was a fun message to get.
Relay tripped over a root at the exact moment the update hit my vision, which felt appropriate.
"You alright?" I asked him, not slowing down.
He groaned. "Physically? Yes. Emotionally? I'm starting to understand why you talk to the air so much."
"I talk to the system," I said. "Big difference."
I let it go. The others were just catching up—Glare mumbling something about cursed roots, Cinders muttering about ration timing, and Flick silently appearing next to me like a guilt-shaped shadow. The squad was tired, travel-worn, and starting to smell like a golem forge in mid-summer.
I was too.
But now the system was telling me someone else was using my name.
