The chamber still smoked from the firefight. Shattered drones littered the floor, their optics dark, their bodies twitching like insects crushed underfoot. The breach in the wall sparked with residual energy, but for now, the Architects had withdrawn — not defeated, but waiting.
Vector paced in tight circles, fury radiating from him like heat. "They had him. They had Kiran. And you—" He jabbed a finger at Rei, his voice sharp as a blade. "You didn't even try to stop them."
Rei sat slumped against the console, sweat streaking his pale face, his side wound bleeding through makeshift bindings. His gaze, however, was steady — and far too calm. "If I had tried, Maya would've been taken too."
Maya froze where she stood, the rifle heavy in her hands. "What?"
Rei looked at her, his eyes soft in a way that made her stomach twist. "The Architects weren't after us. They weren't even after me or Vector. They were after you. Kiran was just the lever."
Vector's gun snapped up, barrel aimed square at Rei's head. "Say that again. I dare you."
Rei didn't flinch. "Think, Vector. They tethered Kiran for one reason: because they couldn't control Maya directly. They're using him as a bridge. If she stepped closer—if she reached for him—the Archive would've bound her through him. And then we'd have lost her."
Maya's chest tightened. The memory of Kiran's voice — fractured, desperate, Run — pressed against her ribs until she couldn't breathe.
"You knew," she whispered. "You knew they had him… and you didn't tell me."
Rei's jaw flexed. His silence was answer enough.
Vector's voice broke, raw with rage. "You betrayed us. You betrayed her." His finger tightened on the trigger.
"Wait." Maya stepped between them, the rifle humming in warning. "Don't."
Vector's one good eye burned into her. "He knew, Maya. He knew and he lied to us. How many times have I told you this Archive will eat you alive? And he just—he just fed you to it!"
Rei's voice cracked, no longer calm but urgent, almost pleading. "I didn't lie to her. I protected her. If she had known, if she had tried to reach him before now, the Archive would have consumed her whole. I bought us time."
Vector spat on the floor. "You don't buy time with lies. You steal it."
Maya's grip trembled on the rifle. She wanted to scream at both of them, but the Archive whispered instead, louder than ever.
"One will betray. One will protect. You must choose."
Her head pounded. "Shut up," she hissed — but Vector and Rei thought the words were for them.
"Maya," Vector said, softer now, desperation cracking his voice. "He can't be trusted. You know that."
"Maya," Rei echoed, leaning forward, eyes burning fever-bright. "Without me, you'll never reach him. I can read the Archive in ways you can't. You need me."
Two men. Two truths. And the Archive humming like it already knew her answer.
Her hands shook so badly the rifle pulsed erratic light across the chamber walls.
Then — the console sparked, screens stuttering to life. And through the static, a voice broke.
Kiran's.
"Maya… don't trust…"
The signal cut out in a screech of distortion. The console went black.
Silence crashed down again.
Vector's weapon lowered just slightly, his glare never leaving Rei. Rei bowed his head, his chest heaving with ragged breaths.
And Maya stood between them, her heart tearing in two, Kiran's broken voice still echoing in her ears.
Next chapter: Vector's Stand — trust will break, oaths will be made, and the cost of loyalty might finally be blood.