The world beyond the shattered doorway pulsed with chaotic energy. Neon lights flickered and died, replaced by harsh, red emergency strobes. A wave of distortion surged outward, reality bending and rippling as if struggling to hold itself together.
They raced through corridors, feet pounding against cracked tiles, urgency driving every heartbeat.
He glanced sideways, catching her determined profile illuminated briefly in bursts of red. Despite the ache of betrayal, he felt a reluctant admiration. She was still here—still fighting.
They halted abruptly before a towering door, sealed tight, humming with latent energy.
"It's behind this," she said, breath ragged, eyes sharp with dread.
"Then we break it," he answered coldly, power swirling dangerously around him.
She shook her head quickly. "We can't brute force this. It'll trigger defenses we can't survive."
He hesitated, fists clenched tight enough to draw blood. "Then how?"
She looked away briefly, swallowing hard. "I can open it. But it'll know I'm here—it'll target me directly."
His heart tightened sharply, anger faltering. "Why you?"
She smiled weakly, sad and bitter. "Because I'm part of it."
He felt a sharp pang of conflicting emotions, but there was no time to sort through them. He nodded sharply. "Do it."
Stepping forward, she placed her hand on the panel, eyes closing in quiet surrender.
A moment passed.
Then, her body convulsed, a scream tearing from her throat as electricity surged violently through her.
He lunged, but a barrier of energy repelled him. Helpless, he watched, horror twisting deep within.
[IDENTITY CONFIRMED. WELCOME BACK, ADMINISTRATOR.]
The door groaned open slowly, revealing a core pulsing with ominous crimson light.
She fell to her knees, breathing ragged, but defiant. "End it," she gasped. "Destroy it all."
He stepped past her, rage and resolve warring fiercely within him, eyes fixed on the monstrous heart of the Protocol.
A voice, familiar and chilling, whispered from the darkness.
"I've been waiting for you."