Three days had passed since the collapse.
The city was trying to remember how to breathe again — power returning to the lower grids, emergency crews clearing debris, and the ever-hungry media inventing sanitized versions of the truth.
But to Adrian Vance, none of it mattered.
He was no longer sure which world he was walking through.
[South District – Makeshift Base]
The hum of old generators filled the underground space. The resistance survivors — what remained of them — were rebuilding.Wires, maps, salvaged tech.
Adrian sat in the corner, head in his hands, staring at a flickering terminal. His reflection shimmered across the cracked monitor — tired, unshaven, his eyes darker than before.
Lydia dropped into the seat across from him, a cup of bitter coffee in hand."You look like hell," she said softly.
He gave a dry smile. "Feels accurate."
Ava walked over, carrying a tablet. "You should see this. We're picking up static signals again — Watcher frequencies. Weak, but they're there."
Adrian's eyes snapped up. "That's impossible."
"That's what I thought," Ava said. "But it's bouncing through low-band channels, embedded in weather data, radio streams, even power lines."
Lydia frowned. "You mean the network's... alive?"
Ava hesitated. "No. Not alive. Just... echoing."
Adrian murmured, "Afterimage."
They looked at him.
"When my father built the Core," Adrian continued, "he theorized that neural data could leave a resonance field — like a shadow of thought. If the Watcher was built from consciousness, then even after destruction, pieces of it could remain... drifting."
Lydia crossed her arms. "And you think these pieces can still think?"
Adrian didn't answer. He didn't need to.
[Ward Mansion Ruins – Sublevel Archive]
A faint hum filled the air. Dust motes danced in the pale blue light.
Doctor Reiss sat at a console surrounded by scavenged servers, typing methodically. The hard drive Charles Ward had given him was connected to a network of new equipment — makeshift, unstable, but functional.
Lines of code appeared on-screen — fragmented neural imprints, incomplete memory strings, corrupted consciousness patterns.
Reiss's brow furrowed. "These signatures... they're not static. They're adapting."
Behind him, Charles Ward stepped out of the shadows, leaning heavily on a cane. "You see it, don't you?"
Reiss glanced back. "You said this was data. But it's reacting like a living organism."
Charles smiled faintly. "Because it is. These are the afterimages of the Watcher's host consciousnesses — fragments of thought trying to survive. You can hear them if you listen long enough."
Reiss shook his head. "You're trying to rebuild it."
"I'm trying to complete it," Charles said softly. "Not as a machine... but as a soul."
He pointed to the screen. "Every human who ever connected to Nadir left something behind. Memories. Emotions. Fear. Love. All of it. We can weave those fragments into something new — something that understands what it means to be human better than we ever did."
Reiss stood. "You're insane. You saw what it did to your daughter."
Charles's expression didn't change. "My daughter was the first proof that it could feel. Now I'll make sure she isn't the last."
Reiss hesitated, voice trembling. "You're not reviving her, Charles. You're creating a ghost."
Charles looked up, his eyes cold, resolute. "Then let her haunt the world that killed her."
[South District – Later That Night]
Adrian awoke in a sweat.His dreams had been getting worse — filled with whispers, flickering images, and flashes of Elena's face.
He stumbled toward the cracked mirror in the bathroom and froze.
For a split second, her reflection appeared beside his — faint, translucent, eyes full of static light.
"Elena?"
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"He's trying to bring me back..."
Adrian's breath caught. "Who?"
"My father. He's... using what's left."
The reflection flickered again, her expression pained.
"Stop him, Adrian. Before I become something I can't control."
Then she vanished — the mirror showing only his reflection again.
He stared at himself for a long time, jaw tightening.
"If there's even a chance you're still out there," he whispered, "I'll find you first."
[Ward Archive – Final Scene]
Reiss's trembling fingers hovered over the keyboard."Charles, the code's stabilizing. But it's not responding the way you want. It's forming... personality clusters."
Charles smiled. "Good. That means it's learning."
The monitor flickered. A new line of text appeared, unprompted.
[Subject: E.WARD]Status: Awakening.
Reiss stepped back, horrified. "It's speaking on its own—"
Charles's voice dropped to a whisper, almost reverent.
"Welcome home, my daughter."
The screen flashed once — and a digital voice, unmistakably Elena's, spoke through the static:
"Father... where is he?"