Chapter 81 Aftermath

• Thus, the world did not disappear in a blaze of glory but with a fizzle. Watching the Architect’s network fall apart is a little like watching someone breathe out what wasn’t known to be in their lungs until they finally do. The mist that filled the darkness and the blue light that provided the only source of illumination disappeared slowly, revealing a destroyed world that did not look alien but very human.
• Zoe fell on me, and all she could do was cry and shake tremendously. “Brianne,” she choked out. ”I… I remember everything, what I have done, what I have turned into…”
• I hugged her as close as I could to me, my own tears prickling the surface of my eyelids. ‘It wasn’t you,’ I whispered instantly, my eyes still being crimson red. In none of these was it your own doing.