The quarantine of The Cradle began a silent, cold war. The Architects within made no aggressive moves, but their passive technological influence began to seep out. Automated drones, sleek and organic-looking, would occasionally emerge to test the perimeter sensors. The wildlife near the mountain range began showing subtle genetic anomalies—perfect symmetry, unnerving calmness. It was an ecological siege, a slow, patient rewriting of the environment to suit their vision of order. Kaela, leading the perimeter watch, felt they were guarding a tomb that was slowly coming to life. "They're not trying to break out," she reported. "They're trying to make the world outside more like the world inside."
