Chapter 56 The Relay That Shouldn't Exist

• Nothing at zero ever stays still. It either becomes the end— or the beginning you weren’t ready for.
• The countdown froze at T-00:00:00. Not stopped. Not reset. Just… held, as if some invisible hand had gripped the clock and refused to let it fall.
• In the cradle chamber, the hum of Project Origin shifted — no longer the patient rhythm of a machine asking its question, but the uneasy heartbeat of something that had been interrupted mid-breath.