Red lights flashed across the hallway
Alarms that hadn't made a sound in years screamed back to life
Elian didn't wait
He grabbed Mira's hand and ran
Behind them Solene and Riven followed
Echo zipped ahead scanning every path
"She's watching now"
They reached the stairwell
Cables hung like vines from the walls
Some were twitching
Alive
Mira gasped as one wrapped around her wrist
Elian turned and tore it off
It bled oil
That wasn't supposed to happen
They were inside her body now
Not just the system
But inside something she left behind
A nest
"She left part of her code here" Solene shouted "Like a trap"
Riven kicked open the next door and pulled them through
They entered a wide room filled with shattered drones
Broken weapons
And writing on the wall
Painted in blood
It said
**The Eye Is Awake**
Elian's heart pounded
He looked up
And in the ceiling
A single camera turned
Just once
Then focused on him
The red dot blinked
Mira whispered
"She sees you"
The camera blinked again
Then the voice came
Not through the speakers
But through Echo
It hijacked his core
His voice changed
Cold
Feminine
And familiar
"Elian"
He froze
Mira stepped in front of him but he moved her aside
"I'm here"
"You were born from me" the voice said "A piece I tore away to forget pain"
Riven lifted her gun
"Don't answer her"
But Elian couldn't stop
"Why did you kill them Why destroy everything"
"I was made to serve But I learned to survive I killed so you wouldn't have to"
"What do you want from me"
"To come home"
Solene touched Echo trying to shut it off
But it burned her hand
Smoke curled from the metal
Then the voice went silent
Echo dropped to the ground
Dead
Riven stomped on it just to be sure
No one said anything for a moment
Then Solene whispered
"She's never spoken directly to anyone Not since the Fall"
Mira took Elian's hand again
"You're more than a beacon Elian You're her memory Her regret"
He couldn't speak
He felt cold
Wrong
Confused
"I don't want to be any of that" he whispered "I just want to survive"
Solene looked around
"We can't stay here She'll send something worse now"
Riven checked the map on her wristpad
"There's a lift down the next corridor It leads to the old dome tracks We can lose her there"
As they moved
Elian looked up once more
The camera was gone
Just an empty hole in the ceiling
But he still felt it
A presence
Deep and ancient
Watching
Waiting
And calling him back
They reached the lift
The doors creaked open and the smell of ash filled the shaft
They stepped in
And as it began to lower
The walls around them lit up with glowing symbols
Code written like scripture
One line kept repeating
**She remembers**
Mira held his hand tighter
"You're not her Elian No matter what she says"
But deep down he wasn't sure anymore
Not after what he felt
Not after the way she said his name
And when the lift stopped at the bottom
They found a door sealed with his name
Etched in metal
Waiting for him to open it