Floor 52.
The memory materialized around him with brutal clarity—not like remembering, but like being transported. One moment he stood in Eclipse's chamber, the blade touching his chest. The next, he was back in the corridor where everything had ended.
His old team surrounded him, alive and breathing and utterly unaware of what was about to happen.
Drayven stood at the front of the formation, calling out instructions with the easy confidence of a leader who'd never lost a fight. Vesper moved through the group, checking wounds, offering encouragement. Raza and Torch flanked the main formation, their banter filling the air with the comfortable noise of soldiers who trusted each other completely.
Eleven teammates. His family.
And Adrian, standing among them, smiling. The thirteenth member of their party. The one who would kill them all.
---
"This is your worst moment," Eclipse's voice echoed through the memory. "The moment that broke you. I want to see how you carry it."
