The ruins gave way to empty streets.
Arin didn't stop.
His arms burned. His legs moved without thought. Lina's body pressed against his chest—too light. She had always been light, but this was different. Hollow. Like something inside her had been scooped out.
He held her tighter.
Ren walked ahead, katana drawn, scanning every shadow. Dmitri stayed close to Maya, who kept checking Lina's pulse with every few steps. Hana brought up the rear, her eyes half-closed, her hand trailing the wall like she was following a thread no one else could see.
No one spoke.
The silence was heavier than the weight in Arin's arms.
They reached the old transport zone.
A cracked landing platform, stained with rust. No ships. No lights. The control tower was a skeleton of metal and broken glass.
Arin lowered Lina to the ground. Her head lolled to the side. Her hair fell across her face.
Maya knelt beside her, fingers finding her wrist.
"Pulse is steady. Weak, but steady."
"The veins," Hana said.
They looked.
The dark lines under Lina's skin were fading. Slowly. Like something pulling back. But not gone. Faint traces remained, like branches under ice.
Arin touched her hand. Cold. But not as cold as before.
"Is she stabilizing?" His voice was rough.
Maya hesitated.
"Her body is… adjusting." She glanced at the marks. "Whatever they put into her… it's breaking down."
Hana crouched beside them. Her eyes glowed faintly.
"I can feel her again," she said quietly. "But it's unstable."
Arin looked at her. "Unstable how?"
Hana's fingers curled slightly.
"Like something was taken out… and left a gap."
Silence settled.
Arin looked back at Lina. At her closed eyes. At the slow rise and fall of her chest.
"Will she wake up?"
Maya didn't answer immediately.
"We don't know. She needs proper care. Away from here."
A sound.
Low. Distant. Growing.
Ren moved toward the platform's edge, hand on his katana. Dmitri stepped forward, placing himself between the sound and the group.
A transport rose from below the platform's edge. Grey. Unmarked. No lights.
It settled with a soft hiss.
The ramp lowered.
Voss stepped out.
She took in everything in a single glance.
Lina.
The marks.
Arin.
Her expression didn't change.
"Get her onboard. Now."
The interior was sterile.
White light. Clean surfaces. The quiet hum of machines.
Maya moved immediately, attaching monitors, checking vitals, adjusting stabilizers.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Lina's heartbeat filled the space.
Slow. Steady.
Arin didn't move from her side.
"The others," Voss said. "The ones with her."
Arin's gaze didn't lift.
"We couldn't carry them."
A pause.
Voss nodded once. "You made the right choice."
His hands tightened slightly around Lina's.
Maya adjusted one of the monitors.
"Vitals are stabilizing," she said. "But this isn't recovery."
She glanced at Hana.
"It's containment."
Hana nodded faintly.
"She's back… but not fully. Something inside her hasn't settled."
Voss stepped closer, looking down at Lina.
"There's a facility," she said. "Off-record. Secure."
Arin finally spoke.
"Will she wake up?"
Voss didn't answer immediately.
"We'll keep her alive."
Lina's fingers twitched.
Just once.
Small.
Barely there.
Arin froze.
His eyes locked onto her hand.
"Did you see that?"
Maya looked up. "What?"
Arin hesitated.
His grip tightened slightly.
"…Nothing."
The transport lifted.
The ground fell away beneath them.
Ruins. Streets. Silence.
All shrinking into distance.
Arin sat beside her.
Her hand in his.
Cold—but not empty.
Her pulse still there.
Still fighting.
Hana sat against the wall.
Her eyes closed.
Then—
They opened.
Just slightly.
She looked at Lina.
And for a brief moment—
Something in her expression tightened.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
Then she closed her eyes again.
And said nothing.
Arin leaned closer.
His voice low.
"Wake up."
A pause.
"You promised."
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.