Chapter 4

"No... it doesn't hurt," Chloe replied, ducking her head with bashful adoration.

"Good girl." Garrett patted her head. "It's getting late. Let's head inside."

The checkpoint scanner swept across Chloe's neck. A green light flashed:

"Viral infection suppressed. Window: 12 hours. Temporary quarantine permit granted."

Garrett exhaled in relief, helped Chloe up, and turned toward the gate.

"Can we go in now?"

The gatekeeper glanced at me, battered on the ground. "What about her?"

Everyone looked at me.

Their eyes held pity, impatience, indifference—anything but remorse.

Garrett finally looked back. His gaze was complicated, but his voice was ironclad: "She stays outside. In two days, I'll come back personally to get her."

He paused, giving me one last condescending reassurance. "Luna, you can take care of yourself, right? Wait for me."

The sun was sinking fast, casting long, bloody shadows across the ruins. Golden light gleamed mercilessly off the alloy perimeter walls.

Slowly, I raised my left hand, staring at the plain silver band on my ring finger.

In the dying light, the engravings on the inside of the ring pulsed with a faint, imperceptible blue glow.

My mentor's raspy last words echoed in my mind: "The iris key... verify every day at sunset... otherwise..."

I looked up, meeting Garrett's eyes, and let a faint, chilling smile pull at my lips.

"Right," I heard myself say, eerily calm. "I can take care of myself."

"And all of you..." I paused, my gaze sweeping over Garrett, Chloe, and every familiar yet monstrous face, "...had better take care of yourselves, too."

Garrett frowned, not catching the hidden threat in my words. But the massive blast doors were grinding open, revealing the warm light and filtered air of Eden.

He didn't hesitate. Arm around Chloe, he walked forward into the light of paradise.

The team followed in single file. Not a soul looked back.

As Carter passed, he quickly shoved the painkiller he had taken from my pack into my bloody hand. His lips moved, but all that came out was a barely audible "I'm sorry," before he scurried inside like a frightened rat.

The heavy blast doors slammed shut with a deafening boom.

The sound swallowed the last sliver of twilight, severing the two worlds.

Darkness engulfed me.

I leaned back against the freezing metal wall and opened my left hand.

The blue glow from the silver ring flared brighter, projecting tiny, razor-sharp holographic letters across my palm:

[Iris Verification Window: Sunset (Remaining: 00:58:47)]

[No Valid Key Detected]

[Self-Destruct Protocol Primed]

The countdown had begun.

In the distance, wasteland winds howling with radioactive dust whipped against the steel gate, like the breathing of a colossal beast waking from slumber.

I tightened my grip around the cold painkiller vial. I didn't inject it. I just felt its solid glass edges.

Then, I lifted my eyes to the towering, supposedly invincible alloy fortress, and toward the sky bleeding crimson above it.

Under my silent watch, the timer ticked down.

00:58:46...

00:58:45...