MY CRUEL PROTECTOR
"But I can make sure you have to kill me to get to her. And I’ve already died twice, you golden piece of shit. I’m getting real good at it."
Nevan pulled a small, lead-cased device from his belt—a "Null-Grenade" he and Vossen had built in secret. It was an analog weapon, a concentrated burst of sensory deprivation.
He triggered it.
The world went pitch black. No sound. No light. No data.
For ten seconds, the "Will-Net" was severed. The Sovereign went dark. The Echo vanished into the void of the sensory vacuum.
When the light returned, the throne room was empty. The Echo was gone, but the air felt thin, the static still humming in the walls.