The air in the central laboratory was thick with the scent of ozone and the low, humming thrum of machinery on the verge of overload. The massive, crystalline stasis tube, now cracked and empty, stood like a shattered monument to a madman's ambition. Elara's slow, mocking applause echoed in the tense silence, each clap a hammer blow against Kenjiro's frayed nerves. He was real. He was finally, truly here. The game was over.
"You're too late," Elara purred, his voice a smooth, condescending melody. He gestured to the empty tube, a triumphant, self-satisfied smirk on his perfect, androgynous face. "The activation sequence has already begun."
