I fell asleep between Mera and Aurora. Their breathing steady against my sides. Their presence a reminder that whatever happened next, I wasn't facing it alone.
The dream came like it always did. Fragmented. Disorienting. The sensation of being torn between two lives that didn't quite fit together.
I saw the 7/11 parking lot. The flickering lights. The figure approaching through the shadows with something in their hand.
I saw the moment of impact. The pain that wasn't pain anymore because I was somewhere else by then.
I saw the system interface materializing in the darkness. Blue text scrolling across void. Welcome to your new life. Try not to waste it.
And then I saw Liam.
Not the monstrous entity from Building F. The kid underneath. Seventeen years old with brown hair and terrified eyes and a body that had been turned into a weapon without his consent.
