Lena awoke in the real world, the device clutched in her hand. The nightmare was over, the victims finally at peace. The stranger was gone, his mission complete. But the city remained, its skyline as broken and corrupted as ever.
As Lena looked out over New Babylon, she knew that the darkness had not been vanquished—only delayed. The echoes of the past would continue to haunt the city, and the price of the truth would always be paid in blood.
But for now, there was peace, however fleeting. And in the neon-lit abyss of New Babylon, that was the most one could hope for.
End
