Far above the city, past the clouds where the sky thinned into data, a hollow chamber stirred.
It wasn't made of stone or steel. It existed in a space between execution and oversight. The space where systems kept their final answers.
Here, the Cleanser waited.
It didn't dream. It didn't think. It didn't ask why.
It simply waited for the signal.
And now, the signal had come.
[Administrator Override]
[Protocol Alignment Shifted. Node Instability 62%]
[Contamination Source. Anomaly Class Unregistered. Interface Immune]
[Initiating Directive. Full-Purge Instance: C-0]
The Cleanser opened its eyes.
No emotion. No judgment.
Just purpose.
Its form rose slowly, built of ivory alloy and coreless geometry. Its arms restructured into weapons before the thought even finished forming. Its body flickered between formats as it adapted to unpredictable terrain.
Below, the city trembled.
[Target 1: Silver-Eyed Entity. System Immunity. Immediate Neutralization Required]
[Target 2: Caspian Vale. Protocol Anchor. Suspected Interface Breach]
The Cleanser did not move like something bound to gravity. It shifted—blinking between positions, collapsing into data, then reappearing kilometers lower with no motion in between.
It landed atop the highest structure left intact. The building beneath it cracked, as if reality were unable to fully support its weight.
Sensors activated.
Eyes without pupils scanned across the city.
And then, it turned east.
Where she had landed.
Where he now stood.
The Cleanser took a step forward.
The system bent to make way.