Over comms, a whisper broke through.
"Ren…"
He froze.
"Help me…"
"KENJI?!"
Silence.
Then static.
But it was real.
--
In the deepest vault, a blinking beacon marked a chamber.
Signal Match: KenjiSato.
Ren collapsed to his knees, emotional and teared up.
"He's still here."
The chamber was unlike anything in Kōto.
Metal walls shaped like ribs surrounded a glowing pod suspended in the air by thick data cables. Holographic screens circled it, all pulsing with biometric readings.
Inside the pod—
Kenji.
Still. Pale. But… present.
His avatar lay floating, his eyes closed, surrounded by a thin barrier of flickering light.
"Kenji," Ren whispered.
The system's voice echoed.
Subject KS-03: Consciousness Contained. Sync: 96.8%. Life Support: Critical.
"He's not dead," Aiko said.
"Not yet," Ren replied. "But we're running out of time."