The sound of alarms shattered the stillness of the safehouse.
Monitors flared crimson, displaying cascading lines of neural data — jagged, unstable, alive.Adrian stumbled to his feet, blinking away the afterimages of his vision. His heart hammered like thunder.
"Elena!"
She lay on the operating table, motionless, her pale skin illuminated by flickering blue light from the neural stabilizer.The synchronization chip in her neck pulsed violently — like it was trying to crawl out of her body.
Adrian rushed to the console. "Core—override all safety locks!"
[Override denied.]Warning: Subject synchronization breach detected.
"Damn it!" He slammed his fist against the terminal. "She's burning herself from the inside!"
Lydia appeared from the other room, half-dressed, eyes wide."What's happening?"
"She's waking up," Adrian said breathlessly. "But something's wrong. The Core's fighting back."
The lights dimmed. The room filled with a low hum — a vibration that seemed to come from inside their skulls.
Then Elena gasped.
Her eyes snapped open — glowing gold for a split second before fading to her natural hazel.
She sat upright violently, ripping off the neural cables. Her breathing came in ragged bursts, her gaze unfocused, terrified.
"Elena," Adrian said softly, hands raised. "It's me."
Her eyes locked on him.
"…Adrian?"
The word came out fractured, like it didn't belong to her tongue.Then, as if a wave of memories crashed through her mind, she clutched her head and screamed.
Fragments flooded in — her father's study, the fire at Vance Tower, the child with the yellow ribbon, and the boy who said he'd come back.
"Elena!" Adrian grabbed her shoulders. "Focus on my voice! You're safe now!"
Her trembling stopped — slowly, painfully.When she finally looked at him again, her eyes glistened with tears.
"You… were there," she whispered. "The project. The pairing."
Adrian froze.
She remembered.
"I saw it," she said, voice shaking. "The lab… our capsules. They used us. They linked our minds."
She pressed a hand to her temple, wincing as another flash of pain hit her."They said we were perfect. Compatible."
Adrian swallowed hard. "It wasn't supposed to happen. They lied to us both."
Elena's gaze hardened. "Then why can I still hear you— even when you're not speaking?"
He hesitated. "Because the link never broke."
Silence fell — heavy, suffocating.
Elena rose to her feet, staring at him with a mix of awe and fear. "You mean… we're still connected."
"Yes," he said quietly. "Even death didn't cut the signal."
She took a step closer. "Then you've seen what I've seen."
"I have," Adrian admitted. "Your father. Project Nadir. The Board."
Her jaw clenched. "Then you know they won't stop until they have the Core back."
He nodded grimly. "That's why we can't run anymore. We end this — together."
Before she could answer, the monitors flickered again.A message appeared across all screens simultaneously — written in their shared neural code:
"CONNECTION RESTORED. PROTOCOL AWAITS ACTIVATION."
Elena's breath hitched. "What protocol?"
Adrian's expression darkened.
"The Awakening Protocol," he whispered. "It's the final stage of Nadir."
Lydia looked between them, confused. "And what happens if it activates?"
Adrian glanced at the Core — its surface glowing with an ominous pulse.
He whispered, almost to himself:
"If we fail to stop it… the world won't remember either of us ever existed."