The world was too quiet. After the blast, silence had fallen like a sentence. Elena helped Jake to his feet. The bunker lights flickered back to dim red emergency mode. Dust hung in the air like ash.“Systems are fried,” Marcus said, scanning the ruined consoles. “No power, no comms. We’re blind.”“Then how are we still alive?” Elena whispered.Jake looked up at the ceiling, breathing hard. “Because he wanted us alive,” he said. “You mean”“The Ascendant. My other self. He didn’t lose. He evolved.”A sharp crackle came from the one surviving speaker. Then a voice, calm, gentle, unmistakable. “Jake. You of all people should know… I don’t die.”Elena spun toward the sound. “He’s still in the system?”Jake shook his head slowly. “Not in this system. In every system.”Outside the bunker walls, faint vibrations began. A low hum that wasn’t mechanical but digital, like a server farm whispering from beneath the earth.“He’s syncing to global infrastructure,” Marcus said. “Power grids, satell