"They're close," Silas warned, his hand trembling on his cane.

[File: Ruin_and_Rising_Full_Text.epub] [Status: Downloading... 12%]

Outside, the Enforcers' sirens wailed. Reading unauthorized pre-collapse literature was a "distraction from productivity," a crime in the new regime. Elara watched the bar. 34%. 56%. The air in the shop grew heavy with the scent of ozone and old paper.

The screen blinked. A progress bar appeared, crawling with agonizing slowness.

"Careful," a voice rasped from the darkness. It was Silas, the shop's curator, his eyes clouded with cataracts. "The data-leeches love that file. They use the title as bait. You click 'Download Ruin and Rising ,' and you might just download a virus that wipes your neural link."

The front glass shattered. Elara didn't look up. As the heavy boots hit the floor, her deck chirped.

She didn't run. She didn't hide. As the red laser sights danced across her chest, Elara tapped the screen. The first words of the final chapter bloomed in the dim light: "The monster lived in the white woods..."