Three days later, Aris stood at the edge of a platform suspended high above Floor 308's unstable jungle terrain.
A single mission glyph hovered beside her, pulsing in quiet blue.
Objective:
Contain a tempo fracture detected in Sector 308-Beta-7.
Local pulse interference estimated to be moderate.
Sovereign support unavailable.
Recommended: Solo engagement.
Authorized: Aris Vale – Tempo Writer.
She stared at it for a while.
Not out of fear—but to let it sink in.
This was her mission.
Her first real one.
Leon hadn't given her a speech. Just a nod. "You've already proven you can react. Now prove you can choose."
Kael had handed her a blank rhythm stone before she left.
"When you return," he said, "you tell me what song you found there."
Now she stood alone, the jungle floor below hidden beneath thick green clouds and scattered pulse-mist that flickered like broken light.
She leapt.
The drop was long and quiet.
