The city woke up without instructions. There was no announcement to mark it. No system message to explain what had changed. No alert to reassure anyone that things were still under control. Morning simply arrived. Alex noticed it when the light came through the broken blinds at the wrong time. Not earlier. Not later. Just… inconsistent. The city used to balance illumination perfectly—streets brightening together, windows dimming in harmony. Now, one side of the street glowed while the other stayed dull. He sat up slowly, listening. No hum beneath the pavement. No distant calibration pulse. No feeling of something vast adjusting itself around his breathing. The Burn inside him was quiet. Not suppressed. Not restrained. Unneeded. Mei Lin was already awake, sitting by the window with a cup of tea she hadn’t touched. Her reflection in the glass looked older somehow—not physically, but in posture. Like someone who had stayed awake through a long argument and f