A NEW FOUNDATION

The fissure in the earth sealed itself as abruptly as it had opened, leaving behind only scorched stone and the lingering echo of that terrible sound. Reed's hands trembled—not from fear, but from recognition. The Voice Between had found a way to persist, to anchor itself in their reality despite everything they had sacrificed to prevent it.

"How long has it been calling my name?" Reed asked, his altered voice barely audible above the defensive alarms still wailing from the fortified walls.

Lysander's mechanical arm whirred as he gestured for the watchtowers to stand down. "Intermittently, for the past three years. At first, we thought it was merely an echo—residual dimensional interference. But the frequency increased over time, and the... presence... grew stronger."

Shia stepped closer, her transformed features catching the crystalline light from the city's defenses. "You said you could only contain it. What did you try first?"