THAT IS NOT A VALID DESIGNATION.
Kaelen smiled—a rare thing in District 155. “I told it the truth.”
“Same thing in 155.”
Kaelen closed his eyes. He thought of Echo, standing in the rain, watching him disappear. He thought of the market, the traded memories, the silence bought and sold. He thought of how 155 wasn’t a wound—it was a heartbeat. Messy. Persistent. Alive.
“And it believed you?”
At the center of the room stood a single chair.
“I know that too.”
He pulled free and walked forward. The rain parted around him—pixel droplets diverting as if even the weather knew to step aside. The door pulsed once, twice, then opened without a sound.