The silence after the light faded was unlike anything before it.
No static hum. No echo of data. Just a vast, aching quiet, as if the universe itself was catching its breath.
Orion lay still on the platform, her body half-curled, blinking slowly as she adjusted to the dim, natural light bleeding through the open construct. Not code-light. Not synthetic glow. Real sunlight—or at least, a perfectly replicated version of it. Gentle. Warm. Unfamiliar.
Cole knelt beside her, brushing strands of hair from her forehead. "You're here. You're real."
Her lips parted. No sound came at first. Then finally—soft, hoarse—"It worked?"
He nodded, overwhelmed. "Yeah. You pulled it off."
