@NeonGhost: Rumor from the Surface Runners—the solar flare didn't just knock out the relays. They say the North Gate is actually open. Like, actually open.

@Wanderer_Z: I’m stepping out.

The terminal blinked, a solitary green cursor pulsing against a sea of black. Kael wiped dust from the glass of the ancient CRT monitor, the static tingling against his fingertips. In the ruins of the Old Geneva Data Vault, silence was the only thing that hadn’t been corrupted. He typed the command: OPEN LOG.FO .

Outside, for the first time in a century, the wind began to howl.

@Wanderer_Z: My oxygen tank is at 12%. I’m standing at the North Gate. The Patrol is gone. The sky... it isn’t grey. It’s a color I don’t have a word for. It hurts my eyes. It’s beautiful.