Chapter 31 · Neon Bleeding

"Still clinging to that glitchy piece of code, Vera? It's pathetic, really."

Caspar’s voice was like polished glass—smooth, cold, and designed to cut. He didn't look at me. He was too busy adjusting the cufflink on his pristine white sleeve, acting like we weren't standing in the middle of a shattered command center with sparks raining down around us.

I didn't answer. I couldn't. My left arm was twitching, the chrome plating cracked and leaking a viscous, iridescent fluid that glowed a sickly violet. Inside my head, Echo was screaming. Not a vocal scream, but a digital roar that felt like a thousand needles stitching through my optic nerve.

*Vera, I can't... I can't hold the link,* Echo’s voice flickered, sounding distorted, like a radio signal losing its grip on a storm. *He’s flushing the system. He’s purging me.*

"Shut up," I hissed, though I wasn't sure if I was talking to Caspar or the ghost in my brain. I shifted my weight, my boots grinding into a piece of broken glass. My vision was swimming in blue static. "You’re not walking out of here, Caspar. Not today."

Caspar finally looked at me.