"Welcome back, Architect."
The words hung on the screen like a verdict.
For a few long seconds, no one moved. No one breathed.
The hum of the servers felt louder now, like it had crawled into their ears and settled in their skulls. A fan sputtered overhead. A light flickered behind Lucy. But the room was still. Frozen.
Lucy's mouth opened, then closed again. Her eyes flicked to Orion, searching for something. An answer. A denial. Anything.
"Orion?" Cole said quietly. He stepped closer, hesitant, like she might vanish if he moved too fast. "What the hell does that mean?"
"I…" Her voice cracked. "I don't know."
"You don't know?" Layla echoed, already pacing again. "You don't know if you're the architect of the system that nearly fried your brain and almost took us all down with it?"
Orion didn't answer. Her eyes were locked on the screen, on those three words pulsing at the bottom of the terminal. Her fingers twitched at her side.
Welcome back.
Back.
Like this was a return.
