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The face staring back at him was not a person at all. It was a smooth, featureless ceramic mask, painted with the exact same glitched, neon-streaked patterns from the photograph.

Before Elias could process the sight, the mask emitted a blinding flash of strobe light. He stumbled back, shielding his eyes as a high-pitched frequency tore through the air, scrambling his scanner and sending a piercing ache through his skull. s070_041_lg.jpg

The figure stopped mid-motion. Slowly, they turned around. Under the dim, flickering streetlamp, Elias felt his heart stop. The face staring back at him was not a person at all

He looked down at the physical photograph still clutched in his shaking hand. The corrupted pixels seemed to shift and dance in the low light, as if laughing at him. The Architect hadn't just left a clue; they had left a warning. And Elias was now squarely in their crosshairs. He stumbled back, shielding his eyes as a

Right on cue, the heavy iron doors of the warehouse groaned open. A figure stepped out into the downpour, wrapped in a dark, high-collared trench coat. The figure didn't look left or right, but walked with absolute purpose toward a black sedan waiting at the curb.