Daniel didn't make it ten steps.
He staggered once.
Twice.
Then the forest tilted sideways.
Mara caught him before he hit the ground.
"Daniel!"
His body convulsed in her arms.
Not violently — but wrong. Muscles locking. Jaw clenching. Breath stuttering like it couldn't find rhythm.
Evelyn dropped to her knees beside them. "What did he do?"
Mara's heart pounded.
"He interfered with the grid."
Zero flickered weakly above them.
"He forced a secondary frequency through an adaptive loop."
Evelyn snapped, "In English!"
Zero's voice dimmed.
"He overloaded himself."
Daniel's eyes fluttered open — but they weren't focused.
Static shimmered faintly across his pupils.
"Mara..." he whispered.
But it wasn't steady.
It glitched.
Her stomach dropped.
"Stay with me," she begged.
He tried to lift a hand.
It trembled midair, then dropped.
His breathing spiked unnaturally fast.
The forest felt too quiet.
Too still.
Mara felt the amplification stir in her chest — reacting to him.
Not aggressively.
Resonating.
The same way Twelve used to.
"No," she whispered. "No, no, no."
Evelyn pressed fingers to Daniel's neck. "Pulse is erratic."
Ten hovered nearby, terrified.
Zero knelt beside Daniel's head, studying him.
"The residual echo has expanded," she said quietly.
Mara's voice broke. "Expanded how?"
Zero looked at her.
"He opened the signal. It answered."
Daniel arched suddenly, body seizing harder.
A low static hum filled the air.
Not from the forest.
From him.
His chest rose sharply as if something inside him was trying to synchronize.
Mara grabbed his face.
"Look at me," she whispered desperately.
His eyes flickered.
For one horrifying second—
They flashed white.
Not bright like hers.
But enough.
Mara froze.
"No."
Zero's glow dimmed further.
"The amplification is seeking balance."
Evelyn stared. "Balance with what?"
Zero didn't hesitate.
"Him."
Daniel gasped violently and rolled onto his side.
Mara held him upright as another seizure wracked through him.
"Make it stop!" Ten cried.
"I don't know how!" Mara shouted back, voice cracking.
Daniel's fingers clawed at the dirt.
"I can hear it," he whispered through clenched teeth.
Mara leaned closer. "Hear what?"
"Noise... too loud..."
His breath hitched.
"...you."
Her heart shattered.
She realized it then.
When he interfered with the grid—
He didn't just crack it.
He connected to her amplification.
The way Twelve once had.
Only Daniel wasn't built for it.
His body wasn't reinforced.
His mind wasn't shielded.
The amplification pulsed again in her chest.
Responding to him.
Drawing closer.
Mara backed up instinctively.
Daniel screamed.
The sound tore through her.
Zero turned sharply.
"Do not withdraw."
Mara froze. "What?"
"He is syncing. If you pull away, the loop destabilizes further."
Evelyn stared in horror. "You're telling her to stay connected?"
Zero's voice wavered.
"He opened the channel. If she closes it violently, it will rupture him."
Mara's hands shook.
Daniel's breathing was ragged now, every inhale strained.
"Make it quiet," he whispered.
Tears slid down her face.
"I don't know how."
Zero looked at her.
Not cold.
Not clinical.
Almost... urgent.
"You regulate him."
Mara stared.
"I can't even regulate myself."
"You must."
The amplification inside her stirred again.
Not wild.
Searching.
Daniel's signal was chaotic.
Untrained.
Raw.
Like a broken radio stuck between stations.
Mara closed her eyes.
Not to access the White Path.
Just to breathe.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
She didn't push.
She didn't dominate.
She didn't sever.
She aligned.
The amplification softened.
Just slightly.
Daniel's breathing slowed a fraction.
Mara pressed her forehead to his.
"I'm here," she whispered.
The static hum lowered.
Ten sniffled quietly.
Evelyn watched, stunned.
Daniel's body trembled one more time—
Then went still.
Too still.
Mara's heart stopped.
"Daniel?"
No response.
"Daniel!"
Evelyn checked his pulse again.
It was faint.
But there.
"He's unconscious," she said.
Mara didn't move.
Zero hovered above them, dim and flickering.
"He cannot survive repeated overloads," she said quietly.
Mara swallowed.
"What did we do to him?"
Zero met her gaze.
"What Voss did to all of you."
The wind moved again.
Not hostile.
Not bending.
Just wind.
Mara held Daniel's hand.
It was warm.
Human.
Fragile.
She realized something in that moment that scared her more than Omega.
Daniel had connected to her amplification.
And the amplification had answered.
Which meant—
He wasn't immune.
He was compatible.
And compatibility, in Project E terms...
Was never accidental.
Mara whispered into the quiet:
"I won't let this take you."
But inside her chest—
The amplification hummed softly.
Not aggressive.
Not violent.
Listening.