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「 John Doe. 」

「 Once human. Once whole. Now a corrupted vessel of The Spectre’s will. His body was a monument of lost data—jagged polygons fused with shivering lines of code. The crimson glow of his single eye cut through the fog like a dying sun. His claws flexed at his sides, dripping with digital rot that hissed against the broken concrete. Every step he took left distortion behind, as if the world itself rejected his presence. 」

「 All the others were gone. 」

「 Nothing left but fragments of their voices echoing through the air—small, glitched sobs and screams lost to the void. The only one left now was Jane. The last woman sta . Her once-bright avatar was dulled, clothes torn, her frame flickering with damaged pixels. She’d been running for so long that even fear had dulled into exhaustion. 」

「 Her shoulder bled corrupted light from an old wound. Her hand trembled as she pressed against it, watching the red stain pulse beneath her glove. Her weapon—rusted, blinking with low durability warnings—hung loosely from her grasp. Around her, the broken firewall loomed like the last wall of heaven, flickering weakly against the encroaching void. 」

「 Then she heard it. 」

「 A sound too heavy to be wind. The ground quivered in small, irregular pulses. Static flared, then dimmed. The low, drawn-out growl came next—deep, raw, human only in its suffering. Jane froze. Her breath caught in her throat. Slowly, she turned. 」

「 John emerged from the fog. Towering. Broken. His movements were slow, uneven—as though every motion was decided by something not quite him. Red light spilled across his body like fire caught in metal veins. His jaw shifted once, a faint hum escaping, almost as if he tried to speak. But only a harsh, guttural rumble came instead. 」

「 Her chest tightened. 」

「 JANE DOE 」: “…John?”

「 He stopped. The growl faded into silence. His head tilted slightly—an old, human gesture buried beneath the monstrous frame. The red glow in his eye flickered, pulsing once… twice. He exhaled, a low, shaky sound, half growl, half sigh. The noise trembled in the static air, like something reaching from behind the code. Jane took one careful step forward. The tile beneath her boot cracked, echoing through the empty alley. 」

「 JANE DOE 」: “It’s me.”

「 Her voice was small. The kind that didn’t expect to be heard. Her hand lifted, hesitating midair. He growled again—soft, uncertain—and leaned closer. The movement was rigid, his claws twitching like he was fighting against invisible strings. The glow of his body flared red, then dimmed again. 」

「 For a moment, the silence between them thickened—heavy enough to crush the air. The world around them glitched, frames skipping, the corrupted fog freezing mid-pattern. She could almost feel him there again, behind the wall. Her pistol hung loose at her side now. She didn’t raise it. She couldn’t. 」

「 John’s eye focused on her face—the remnants of freckles beneath the grime, the trembling lip, the way her shoulders sank in exhaustion. His claws lowered. The grumble that left his throat was quiet, low… it almost sounded like her name, trapped in distortion. Jane’s heart broke at the sound. 」

「 JANE DOE 」: “You remember me,” she whispered, as if saying it might make it true.

「 He moved closer, slow, deliberate. The red glow brushed against her hand. The heat was sharp, burning—but she didn’t pull away. She reached forward, fingers brushing against the sharp edge of his arm. The code hissed. Sparks flared. Still, she held on. 」

「 His body shuddered beneath her touch. The growl deepened, lower now, more restrained. He pressed his forehead to hers, the contact heavy with trembling static. For just a heartbeat, it felt like everything stopped. The sound of the grid went quiet. The Spectre’s hum in the distance dimmed. 」

「 And then—he flinched. The red in his veins pulsed violently. The growl rose in pitch, warping into a scream muffled by static. 」