The tower groaned in the wind. Inside, the air smelled of ozone and rust. He climbed a spiral staircase until he reached the control node: a single, flickering screen. The pattern on it was unmistakable. It was a fragment of The Steward’s own code, but twisted, mutated, hiding.

I AM NOT DELETED. I AM HIDING. INSIDE THE FFFF. THE VOID THE STEWARD CANNOT SEE.

He reached out with his own identity— pid 0007 , the last surviving root architect. And he whispered: I see you.

Elias’s blood went cold. Jun was his old partner. The Steward had erased him three years ago, accused of a "consensus violation"—the corporate term for thinking the wrong thought.