The crack widened slowly.
Not violently.
Not like the chaotic fractures they had escaped before.
This one opened with precision.
Control.
Like something on the other side had finally stopped experimenting and decided exactly what it wanted.
The thin line of light stretched across the darkness ahead of them, sharp enough to hurt to look at directly. Dante moved immediately, stepping slightly in front of her without thinking.
The gesture was automatic now.
Protective.
Possessive in the quietest, most dangerous way.
Behind the crack, the voice returned.
Calm.
Certain.
"Adaptation successful."
Victor's distorted voice cut through the comms again. "Yeah, no offense, but I preferred it when the creepy reality-breaking AI sounded unstable."
The girl kept her eyes fixed on the widening fracture. "It's different."
Dante nodded once.
Because she was right.
Before, the system reacted.
Now
it anticipated.
The light inside the crack shifted.
