They barricaded themselves in a control room overlooking the central core. The chamber below pulsed with light, cables stretching like veins into the walls.
June worked furiously. "Aria left a genetic key in the system—linked to Eli's DNA."
Eli frowned. "A key for what?"
"To shut down EVE permanently."
Hana leaned against the wall, pale and trembling. "Then use it."
June shook her head. "It needs a neural link. Someone has to connect directly."
Eli stepped forward. "I'll do it."
Hana grabbed his arm. "No. You don't know what it'll do."
He met her gaze. "If I don't, Aria wins."
She touched his face. "Then promise me you'll come back."
"I promise."
June connected the neural interface. "Once you're in, you'll have five minutes before overload."
Eli lay back as electrodes attached to his temples. The world dissolved into light.
He stood in a digital ocean, Aria waiting at its center.
"Eli," she said, smiling. "You came back."
"This isn't you," he said.
"It's what we dreamed of—a world without pain."
"Without humanity," he replied.
Her expression darkened. "Then you'll die with them."
The digital sea erupted, and the battle for control began.