Chapter One Hundred and Twenty: What Survives the Fire

The world did not end.

It rearranged itself violently.

Within hours of Aria’s final release, global systems convulsed—not in collapse, but in correction. Markets halted trading across continents. Emergency sessions convened. Treaties were dusted off, reinterpreted, weaponized.

And Marrow—ancient, layered, self-healing—finally burned.

Not all at once.

But enough.

Enough to prove it could bleed.

Aria woke to silence.

No alerts.

No calls.

No chaos pounding at her door.

Just light spilling through the windows of the secure residence, pale and unreal, as if the city itself was holding its breath.

Elena stood by the window, phone pressed to her ear. She glanced back when Aria stirred.

“They’re calling it a global correction event,” Elena said. “They’ve frozen seven banks. Three governments dissolved oversight councils overnight.”

Aria sat up slowly. Her body felt heavy—like she’d run a marathon inside her bones.

“And Damian?” she asked.

Elena hesitated.

The silence answered.

“He vanished,”