The conference room felt different.
Arin noticed it the moment he stepped inside. The same white walls. The same table. The same chairs that were never comfortable. But the air felt heavier, as if the room itself was holding its breath.
Voss stood at the head of the table. Maya sat with her kit on the floor, her hands resting but not relaxed. Ren leaned against the far wall, arms crossed. Dmitri stood by the door, silent as ever. Hana sat across from Arin, her face pale, her eyes distant, as if she was listening to something no one else could hear.
And at the window stood a figure.
White hair. White robes. Hands clasped behind his back. Completely still.
Arin's breath slowed.
He had seen him before, from a distance, standing above everyone else, speaking to a crowd. But this was different. This was close.
Arcturus Sol.
The Founder.
Arin took a seat.
The silence stretched across the room, heavy and unmoving.
Voss was the first to speak.
"Tell them what you found."
Arin glanced once at Arcturus, then at the others. He spoke.
He described the pit. The cables. The tanks filled with bodies suspended in silence.
Then the words that had not left his mind since he saw them.
"Project: Vessel."
He paused.
"Subject: Lina Rastogi. Compatible."
No one spoke for a moment.
Then a quiet voice broke the silence.
"You were there."
Arin looked up.
Arcturus had not moved much, but now he was facing them.
"Yes."
Arcturus studied him carefully. His eyes were pale, distant, but sharp in a way that made Arin feel like he was being measured.
"You saw the tanks."
"Yes."
"The designations."
"Yes."
"And that word."
Arin didn't hesitate. "Compatible."
Arcturus remained silent for a moment before stepping away from the window. His movements were slow, controlled, each step deliberate. He stopped at the head of the table, across from Arin.
"Then you have already stepped into it."
The words settled heavily in the room.
Voss leaned forward slightly.
"You've encountered something like this before?"
Arcturus was quiet for a moment. His gaze shifted briefly toward the window.
"Not the same," he said. "But close enough."
He did not explain further.
Ren spoke from the wall. "Close enough to what?"
Arcturus's expression did not change.
"Before the Crucible, there were cases. People disappeared. Some returned." He paused. "But they were not whole."
Maya's voice was low. "Mind fractures."
Arcturus nodded slightly. "That is what we called it."
"Can it be fixed?" Maya asked.
"Sometimes," he replied calmly. "Sometimes not."
Then his gaze returned to Arin.
"Your sister is still herself. That means the fracture has not taken her. There is still time."
Arin's jaw tightened. "Time for what?"
Voss answered. "To understand what they did to her. And to find who is behind it."
Arin looked between them. "How?"
Arcturus spoke again.
"There is someone. In Africa."
The room went still.
"She studies fractures like this. Not just the body, but the mind and presence itself."
Arin stood immediately. "Then we go."
Voss raised a hand. "It's not that simple. She doesn't accept visitors. She has not left her compound in years."
"Then we ask," Arin said.
A brief pause followed.
Arcturus looked at him again, and this time there was a faint shift in his expression.
"If it is a fracture," he said quietly, "she is the only one who can confirm it."
Voss nodded once. "I will arrange contact."
The meeting ended soon after.
Chairs moved. Footsteps echoed softly as everyone began to leave.
Hana paused at the door, glancing back at Arin, but he didn't move. After a moment, she left as well.
Silence returned to the room.
Arcturus stood at the window again, his back turned.
Arin remained where he was.
He should leave. The meeting was over. But something held him in place.
"You have questions."
The voice came without Arcturus turning.
Arin swallowed. "You've seen this before."
"Yes."
"Then you know what they wanted her for."
A brief silence followed.
"I know what they were looking for," Arcturus said.
"Then tell me."
Arcturus turned and stepped closer, stopping just a few steps away from him.
"They were looking for a vessel," he said calmly. "Something that could hold what they were gathering."
Arin's hands tightened at his sides. "The energy."
"Yes."
"The people they drained."
"Yes."
"They wanted her to hold it."
Arcturus gave a single nod. "Yes."
Arin's chest tightened. "Why her?"
Arcturus did not answer immediately.
Instead, his gaze settled on Arin again, longer this time.
And then it happened.
The hum inside Arin's chest stirred.
Not violently. Not painfully.
But clearly.
Like something had recognized something else.
For a brief moment, the air felt heavier.
Arcturus's eyes did not change, but he had noticed.
Then he looked away.
"Go," he said quietly. "Your sister needs you."
The corridor was empty.
Arin walked slowly, his footsteps echoing against the walls. The lights were dim, the air cold.
The hum inside his chest remained steady.
He did not fully understand it, but he knew one thing.
Arcturus had seen something in him.
And he had chosen not to say anything.
Arin reached Lina's room and opened the door.
Nothing had changed.
White walls. White sheets. Machines humming softly.
Lina lay still, her face turned slightly toward the window.
He sat beside her and took her hand.
Warm.
"There's someone who might be able to help you," he said quietly. "We're going to find her."
Her chest rose and fell, slow and steady.
"I'm going to find out what they wanted. Why they chose you."
He tightened his grip slightly.
"And when I do, I will make sure they never touch you again."
The monitor continued its steady rhythm.
Arin stayed there, unmoving.
Outside, the sky darkened.
Inside, the silence remained.