Night settled over Central Luzon beneath a blanket of low clouds that swallowed the moon and left the countryside lit only by scattered highway lamps and the distant glow of Basa. From above, the city resembled a lone island of civilization surrounded by an ocean of darkness. Beyond its expanding perimeter, abandoned towns disappeared into forests that had slowly reclaimed the roads over the past year.
Inside the command center, nobody had left their station.
The convoy had returned safely, but no one considered the mission a success. Adrian stood before the tactical display while technicians synchronized footage recovered from drones, helmet cameras, and vehicle sensors. Every frame was analyzed, every shadow enlarged, every anomaly catalogued. Somewhere inside those recordings was another piece of Kaguya's pattern.
Ryan leaned over one of the consoles and rubbed his tired eyes.
"I've watched the same ninety seconds fifteen times."
"And?"
