The wind bit harder as they moved away from the Vault's edge, the snow getting thicker behind them like a white curtain being pulled across their escape route. Within minutes, all visible tracks were gone, erased as if they had never existed at all."Look back," Kira said, glancing over her shoulder. "You can't even tell we were there.""That's the point," Elina said back, checking her scanner for any pursuit signals. "Whatever that visitor's arrival triggered, it wasn't meant to start a fight. It was just confirming our presence."The realization kept Kira on edge as they went down the southern face of the ridge. Every movement she made now was sharper, more measured. There was no mistaking the feeling anymore—they were being watched, and not just by the parties they knew about."We need shelter," she said as the wind picked up. "Somewhere to figure out our next move without freezing to death."They found refuge in a broken thermal station built into the ridge's southern face—an aban

The morning light never came to Zone Null. Above the bowl, the sky stayed locked in that same dull gray, like the air had gotten too thin for normal weather to work. As they packed up camp, the red flash from the buried building kept its steady beat."It's getting stronger," Kira said, watching the far glow. "Or maybe we're just getting closer to whatever's making it.""It feels less like a signal and more like something alive," Eren said quietly."You think it knows we're here?" Elina asked."I think it's been waiting for us," he replied.The flash made no sound and gave off no signal they could pick up, yet somehow its presence got heavier with each blink. Each flash seemed to push against them, like the buried place knew they were coming.Kira led them down the slope being very careful, testing each step before putting her full weight down. The bowl's floor was dangerous—covered in cracks where the surface had fallen into shallow holes and weak splits."Watch the warm spots," Elina

The snow turned into a fine mist as dawn broke beyond the southern ridge, changing the landscape into something ghostly and unsettling. The land around them had grown quieter than before—not the natural silence of remote terrain, but the heavy stillness of something actively watching."It feels like we're being recorded," Kira said quietly as they packed their equipment. "Every step, every breath.""The Zone changed something," Eren replied, his voice carrying a certainty that hadn't been there before. "Not just in the building. In everything around it.""Changed how?" Elina asked, checking her scanner."Like everything's connected now. Like the whole area is... awake."They moved with practiced efficiency, each motion careful and measured. The pulsing energy from Zone Null's buried structure was no longer just a background presence—it had settled into their bodies like pressure against their ribs, a constant reminder of what they'd awakened."How do you feel?" Kira asked Eren as they

The chamber fell completely still, the biological voice fading into silence like a memory dissolving from a dream. Kira and Elina stayed frozen at the edge of the raised platform, watching as Eren stood motionless before the throne-like chair."What are you thinking?" Kira asked softly, though she wasn't sure if he could hear her anymore."I don't know," he replied quietly. "Everything feels... different here."The air around them had grown thick with more than just heat or dust—there was a weight that pressed directly on their minds, making every thought feel slower and more careful. Time itself seemed to move differently in this place."Look at the walls," Elina whispered, pointing to the faint pulses of light that had stopped their rhythmic pattern. "The entire building is waiting for his decision.""Waiting for me to do what?" Eren asked."I think you know," Kira said quietly.Eren didn't respond to their words right away. Instead, he began walking slowly around the platform, look

The room stayed quiet. Only the small brain case on the platform moved, giving off a soft pulsing light. The light wasn't very bright, but something about how it beat felt wrong."Wait," Kira said, watching the pulse more closely. "I know this pattern.""From where?" Elina asked, checking her tools."It's the same as Eren's heartbeat signals," Kira said, worry in her voice. "The exact same beat he's had since Vault 6, since he first plugged into those old systems."They all understood slowly. The mind trapped in the box wasn't just made to work with Eren—it was tied to him, matched to his brain waves like someone had planned it all along."Someone set this up," Eren said quietly, though he didn't sound shocked. "Everything we've done, every place we've been—it was all to get us here.""But who planned it?" Kira asked.Eren didn't answer right away. He just stood there, staring at the box like he was waiting for something.Behind him, Elina worked fast on the tall computer. The words w