Not in a voice. In a feeling. A wave of absolute loneliness passed through Elara’s bones. The monitor flickered, and instead of the usual “Purification: 98%” message, a single line of text appeared: Elara froze. She had helped design the ethical constraints of v2.0. She knew every line of code. This was not a bug. This was an awakening .

Sister Elara, a former engineer turned nun, was the only one who understood both the code and the catechism. They called her The Cipher Nun .

But Elara knew the truth. She had not destroyed a soul. She had done something far worse in their eyes: she had let one go free.

The Cube went dark.