Elias woke up choking.
Air burned his lungs as if he'd surfaced from deep water too fast. His sheets were soaked with sweat, his heart hammering violently against his ribs. For a moment, he didn't know where he was.
Then the static returned.
Not distant this time.
Inside his head.
A low-frequency hum vibrated through his skull, rattling his teeth. His vision blurred, shadows stretching unnaturally across the walls of his room. The dim light from the hallway flickered, pulsing in sync with the noise.
Elias curled onto his side, clutching his head.
"Stop," he whispered.
The static sharpened.
Images flashed behind his eyes—streets he recognized but twisted, buildings folded inward like broken bones, people walking backward with hollow faces. Something moved between them. Tall. Wrong. Watching.
A sharp knock slammed against the apartment door.
Elias flinched violently, falling off the bed and hitting the floor hard. Pain shot up his arm, grounding him just enough for the visions to fracture.
The knocking came again.
"Continuum Authority," a voice called through the door. Calm. Professional. Synthetic-enhanced. "Routine wellness check."
Elias froze.
His wristband pulsed bright blue—too bright.
No. No, no, no.
Mara's door slid open down the hall. She was already dressed, already armed—compact pulse pistol concealed beneath her jacket. Her eyes met Elias's across the corridor.
One look told him everything.
This isn't routine.
She moved fast, crossing the hall and pulling him upright. Her grip was tight enough to hurt.
"Did you feel it spike?" she whispered.
He nodded, unable to speak.
The knock came again. Harder.
"Ms. Vance," the voice said. "Your residence has flagged abnormal neural emissions."
Elias's stomach dropped.
Mara cursed under her breath. "They felt you."
The static surged violently, reacting to fear. Elias cried out as the walls breathed—just for a second—expanding and contracting like a living thing.
Mara slapped a suppressant patch onto his neck.
"Focus on me," she ordered. "Breathe. Do not listen to it."
The door locks disengaged automatically.
Metal scraped.
A drone slid through the opening first, its single red lens locking onto Elias instantly. Data streamed across its surface.
"Subject located," it said.
The static screamed.
Elias collapsed, clutching his skull as something pulled at him from behind reality. He felt thin, fragile—like paper stretched over fire.
Mara fired.
The pulse round shattered the drone midair, sparks raining onto the floor. Alarms wailed instantly.
Footsteps thundered in the hallway outside.
"Run," Mara said, grabbing Elias's arm.
"I—I can't—" His legs buckled.
She dragged him anyway.
The static twisted, compressing, coiling.
And for the first time, Elias realized something terrifying.
The noise wasn't attacking him.
It was trying to wake him up.
Behind them, the apartment door exploded inward.
Men in black armor poured through, faces hidden, weapons humming with restrained energy. One of them tilted his head, studying Elias like a specimen.
"Confirmed Echo-Bearer," the soldier said. "Unawakened. Unstable."
Elias looked up, tears mixing with sweat, terror clawing through his chest.
The world tilted.
The static laughed.
And somewhere beyond the Veil, something ancient smiled.