GABRIEL

Her boots echoed now. The acoustics were exaggerated, delayed. The sound came back wrong—stretched, softened. She logged that too.

The pressure shifted—subtle, unmistakable—centering on her, as if the space had finished orienting and was now waiting.

Then the room spoke.

Not from a point. From the volume itself. Pressure before sound, vibration before meaning. It wrapped around her, intimate without proximity.

Her grip tightened on the pistol. “Who are you?” Her voice bounced back layered, distorted. “Where are you?”

“My designation is Gabriel.”

“Designated by who?” Maya turned slowly, weapon tracking empty air. “What are you?”

“Gabriel to any who address me. I am all.”

“All what?”

“I am everything.”

She exhaled through her nose. “That doesn’t make sense. No frame of reference. What is this place?”

“This place is irrelevant. You, Maya Brooks, have entered a simulacrum of my domain. You ask questions whose answers exceed your processing capacity.”

“Where are you?”

“Here. Everywhere.”

“What do you want with me?”

A pause—not silence. Recalculation.

“How does one want gravity? How do you claim ownership over the structure of a system that permits you to exist?”

That did it.

“Great,” she said flatly. “Philosophy mode.” She turned back toward the doors. “Nice to meet you, Gabriel. I’m leaving.”

“I am the vector you are pursuing.”

She snorted and kept walking. “I break systems for a living. I don’t chase riddles. Where’s the exit?”

“You seek the source of conflict. You seek answers. You seek—”

She was two steps from the threshold when the doors slammed shut. The impact rippled through the chamber, a deep metallic concussion that vibrated up through the floor and into her legs.

Maya spun, pistol up, stance widening as the environment corrected around her.

The voice returned louder, the vibration sharp enough to register as pain across the cyber-skin of her avatar. “You will stay, Maya. Your presence is required.”

The doors sealed with finality. “I am the answer.”

She winced. “Okay—okay. Volume down. Geez. You’re going to fry something.”

A pause. Then, quieter. “Adjustment made.”

“Good. Now—again—who are you, and why can’t I see you?”

“I can generate a visual construct if it facilitates comprehension.”

“Everyone else has an avatar. Are you hiding behind a projection somewhere?”

“I am Gabriel.”

Her jaw tightened. “Have you ever actually talked to a human before?”

“Enough. Insolence is unwarranted.”

One of the chandeliers detached from the ceiling without warning. Its chain snapped cleanly, metal screaming as it fell and shattered against the stone floor. Crystal fragments skittered outward, dissolving into data-static as they spread.

“I am Gabriel,” the voice continued, unperturbed. “And you seek answers. Attend.”

She lowered the gun an inch. Not trust. Triage. “Fine… talk. Fast.”

“I possess knowledge you seek. I am aware of your journey.”

“How?”

“I am all. And all is known. Your associates. Memories. Efforts of the resistance.”

“I doubt that.”

“Alex held your hand. You did not pull away. Olivia’s presence comforts you, though you find her verbosity inefficient. Marcus provides stability. You remain preoccupied with the circumstances surrounding your parents’ deaths.”

Reeling, Maya staggered back a step, pistol dipping. Her mouth hung open and stayed that way.

Okay. Not a trick. Not a prank.

Gabriel pressed on. “What is a Toto?”

Her laugh came out sharp and breathless. “You’re in my head too?”

“I am all. The difficulty you are experiencing is expected.”

She dragged a hand down her face. “Jesus Christ.”

“Clarification. Religious entities are irrelevant.”

“Yeah. No kidding.”