Xyren didn't speak as he led Elaris into the testing chamber.
The doors sealed behind them with a soft click.
"Kael has already touched your mind," he said calmly."So I'll give you something stronger."
The white walls around them dissolved.
Light unfolded.
A garden bloomed into existence.
Crimson flowers swayed gently under silver-leafed trees. Soft grass brushed Elaris' boots. Petals floated through the air like glowing embers. A warm breeze carried the faint scent of jasmine.
For the first time that night… she relaxed.
"This is a simulation?" she asked quietly.
"Yes," Xyren replied."Low threat. High comfort. No external access."
Elaris reached out and touched a flower.
Light rippled across its petals.
"You built this?" she asked.
"I modified it," he said."You needed somewhere safe."
She closed her eyes and breathed.
The storm.The city.Kael.
All of it faded.
In the distance, soft music played—slow, steady, grounding. Her shoulders loosened. Her heartbeat slowed.
But Xyren watched everything.
Hidden inside the simulation, faint warnings flickered—barely visible. Glitch shadows shaped like a man in a long coat appeared and vanished between the trees.
Kael's signature.
Firewalls adjusted silently.
"He's still there, isn't he?" Elaris asked without opening her eyes.
"Yes," Xyren said."But not alone."
For a moment, she believed him.
And that belief was the most dangerous thing of all.