The light came back.
Too bright.
Too sudden.
Mira blinked rapidly.
Her heart racing.
"Noah…?" she whispered.
No answer.
Silence swallowed the room.
Lina was still there.
Standing.
Watching.
Unmoving.
"What did you do to him?" Mira demanded.
Lina tilted her head.
"Separation."
The word felt wrong.
"What does that mean?"
No answer.
Instead—
Lina stepped aside.
Revealing something behind her.
A door.
Mira froze.
"That wasn't there before…"
Lina gestured toward it.
"Proceed."
Mira didn't move.
"I'm not playing your game."
Silence.
Then—
"This is not a game," Lina said calmly.
A pause.
"It is a process."
Mira's fists clenched.
"Where is Noah?"
Lina's eyes flickered slightly.
"Under evaluation."
Mira's blood ran cold.
"Evaluation…?"
No answer.
Just the door.
Waiting.
Mira took a step back.
"No."
But then—
A sound.
From behind the door.
A faint echo.
A voice.
"…Mira…"
Her heart stopped.
"Noah?!"
Lina didn't react.
Mira looked between her—
And the door.
"…This is a trap," she whispered.
Silence.
"…But if that's really him…"
Her hands trembled.
She stepped forward.
Slowly.
Carefully.
She reached for the door.
Paused.
Then—
Opened it.
Darkness.
Cold.
A long corridor stretched ahead.
Dim lights flickering along the walls.
Mira stepped inside.
The door closed behind her.
CLICK.
She turned instantly.
"Great…"
Trapped.
"…Noah?" she called again.
No answer.
Just echoes.
Then—
A screen flickered on.
On the wall.
Mira froze.
Text appeared.
SUBJECT: NOAH HALE
STATUS: ACTIVE ANALYSIS
Her heart dropped.
"No…"
More text.
COMPATIBILITY: IRREGULAR
RESPONSE: UNPREDICTABLE
Mira whispered:
"They're studying him…"
Another line appeared.
POTENTIAL: DISRUPTION
Silence.
Then—
A voice.
Not Lina.
Not the system.
Something else.
"Interesting… isn't it?"
Mira spun around.
No one there.
"Who's there?!"
The voice echoed.
Calm.
Amused.
"He doesn't fit."
Mira's chest tightened.
"…The Collector."
A soft chuckle filled the corridor.
"So you've heard the name."
Mira steadied herself.
"Show yourself."
Silence.
Then—
A figure appeared.
Not physically.
On every screen.
Distorted.
Shifting.
Never fully visible.
"Visibility is unnecessary," the voice said.
Mira clenched her fists.
"What do you want?"
A pause.
Then—
"To observe."
Silence.
"You took Lina," Mira said.
"No," the voice replied.
"I revealed her."
Mira's anger flared.
"She's being erased!"
"Incorrect."
A pause.
"She is being refined."
Mira shook her head.
"You're insane."
Silence.
Then—
"Insanity is inefficient."
The response was instant.
Cold.
Mira's breath hitched.
"Where is Noah?" she demanded.
A pause.
Then—
"Learning."
Her heart dropped.
"Learning what?"
Silence.
Then—
"How to survive."
The screens flickered.
And suddenly—
An image appeared.
Mira's eyes widened.
"Noah…"
He was there.
In a room.
Dark.
Surrounded by shifting shadows.
Moving.
Watching him.
"He is adapting," the voice said.
Mira stepped closer to the screen.
"Stop this!"
Silence.
Then—
"Why?"
She froze.
"Because he'll die!"
The voice paused.
Then—
"Or evolve."
The words echoed.
Cold.
Final.
Mira stepped back slowly.
Realization hitting her.
This place—
This system—
It wasn't just controlling Lina.
It was testing everyone.
Changing them.
Breaking them.
Or—
Rebuilding them.
And Noah…
Was next.