At 02:16 AM, an old recording activated without authorization from any crew member.
A file appeared on the screen with the following digital signature:
> *k-72.03_NORM/undesignated_audio_fragment.log*
Everyone in the control room froze. No one had logged into the system. No automated protocol had been triggered.
Yet the file began playing on its own.
❖
The voice was faint, distorted, yet carried a strange, human rhythm:
> *"Kyle... if you're hearing this, it means I... or you... still exist."*
> *"I know it's strange. I don't know which version of me is speaking now, but... you have to trust me."*
Eiliana's face went pale. The words were familiar. The tone... resembled something she'd been hearing in her dreams lately.
She whispered, *"Is that... Kyle's voice?"*
The technician beside her replied, *"No. It's not him... but it's terrifyingly similar."*
The voice continued:
> *"If they start asking you about the word... don't answer. The word isn't yours. It isn't ours. It's what remains when everyone forgets who spoke first."*
❖
Kyle, at that moment, was completely awake—but he wasn't in his bed.
He found himself standing in a narrow hallway, lit by a faint blue glow. The walls were *alive*, as if breathing.
He could feel his body moving... but not entirely under his control.
Then he saw a shadow standing at the end of the corridor.
Faceless. Yet its voice was familiar:
> *"I... used to be called Khattab. But they erased the name, just as they erased everything."*
❖
Reality and perception blurred.
Outside, all monitoring devices briefly stalled.
A single word appeared on the surveillance screens:
[The speaker is not alone.]
❖
In the final moments of the audio fragment, the voice whispered again:
"Kyle... when you forget who you are, don't search for answers... search for who asked first.
❖
At that moment, Kyle opened his eyes—and he was back in his bed.
But the ceiling was now inscribed with glowing gray letters:
"Welcome back.