Chapter 33 · Blood-Stained Data

"Tell me it's a joke, Nora. Tell me you didn't actually believe this shit."

Sera didn't just say it; she spat the words. She slammed the decrypted data chip onto the marble vanity, the small piece of metal clattering with a sound that felt like a gunshot in the silence of the dressing room.

I didn't move. I couldn't. My reflection in the mirror looked like a stranger—gold silk gown, perfectly coiffed hair, the mask of the city's savior. But my hands were shaking.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my voice sounding thin, fragile.

"The archives," Sera hissed, stepping closer. I could smell the faint scent of ozone and gunpowder clinging to her leather jacket, a sharp contrast to my expensive perfume. "The 'Divine Light' you've been channeling for ten years? It's not a gift. It's a parasitic loop. The High Archons didn't bless you, Nora. They rigged you. You're not a hero. You're a battery with a pretty face."

I turned around slowly. Sera's eyes were wild, flickering between pity and a deep, burning rage.