Third Person POV
The moment Meadow finished speaking, the room did not just flicker. It fractured. Not visually at first. Not in a way the eye could fully understand. It felt deeper than that. Like something underneath reality had cracked open and the surface was trying to hold together. The lights dimmed, then brightened, then dimmed again. Not in a pattern. Not controlled. Broken.
Lily staggered slightly. "What is happening?" Her voice was sharper now. Fear had returned. Dr. Ward gripped her tablet tightly, but the screen was no longer stable. Data flashed too fast to read. Lines overlapped. Commands appeared and vanished before they could be processed. "The system is… it is conflicting with itself." Alaric did not look away from Meadow. "Do not stop," he said.
