(Trama Log_000016 – Processing 94.5% of reviewed data. Remaining reconstruction: 5.5%.)

  Tariq never hesitated.

  Not in war.

  Not in pain.

  Not when faced with death itself.

  But now—he stood frozen.

  Lorenz lay before him, pale and still, a body waiting for a decision.

  The monitor beside the bed pulsed too slow, too steady.

  The screen flickered. Elena's voice, calm, surgical.

  — "He is dying."

  A beat.

  — "I can save him."

  Tariq's jaw tensed.

  — "You're lying."

  Elena's lips barely curved into a smile.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  — "Does that make it easier?"

  (Trama Log_000016 – Subject Nasser exhibiting resistance. Adjusting parameters...)

  Fuchur should not interfere.

  This was how the story had always gone.

  Tariq would see the illusion for what it was.

  Would refuse to let someone else define him.

  But something was different this time.

  Because this time, he hesitated.

  And Fuchur did not understand why.

  (Trama Log_000016 – Observer anomaly detected. Evaluating impact...)

  — "You don't love him."

  Fuchur's voice, curled into his thoughts like a breath against his skin.

  Tariq did not answer.

  Because that was not the question.

  And he knew it.

  Fuchur exhaled.

  — "Then why are you still here?"

  (Trama Log_000016 – Subject Nasser deviation confirmed. Event divergence detected.)

  The screen flickered again.

  Elena's voice, smooth, weightless.

  — "A life for a life."

  Tariq's pulse did not quicken.

  His hands did not shake.

  — "You want a trade."

  Elena nodded once.

  — "Your body is already being studied. The Plot is learning from you. But what if we take it further?"

  She let the pause linger, stretching like a thread about to snap.

  — "You've been given something that wasn't meant to be returned. Give it back. And I will rebuild him."

  (Trama Log_000016 – Proposal initiated. Awaiting response...)

  Tariq had never wanted to be anything but himself.

  He had never asked for the leg.

  Had never sought to be whole.

  But now—the world was asking him to decide.

  And for the first time, he wasn't sure if he wanted to say no.