"System check," she whispered. Her voice sounded like grinding stones.
"Integrity at forty percent," a pulse in her mind replied. "Memory drive: Corrupted. Primary objective: Reach the Spire." awaken
She looked toward the horizon. A needle of obsidian pierced the purple clouds, tethered to the ground by thick, glowing cables that pulsed like veins. This wasn't a world; it was a machine trying to dream. "System check," she whispered
As she stood, the clockwork birds began to twitch. One by one, their sapphire eyes flickered to life. They didn't fly; they crawled, a sea of clicking brass teeth and sharp talons dragging toward her. "Run," the pulse said. tethered to the ground by thick
