Kate tests her abilities. Can sense the Hollowing everywhere now - the whole dimension of it pressing against reality. It is vast. Ancient. Hungry. And it is focused entirely on her.

Alexis and Lucas compile evidence of Kate's compromise. Present to Voss and Admiral Chen. Military cannot act openly—Kate too valuable even compromised. Decision: keep Kate contained and monitored with new verification protocols. Kate moved to sealed medical bay.

Rylee carries traumatized Kate through transit corridors while creatures pursue from behind and block ahead. Classic pincer ambush forming. But Kate whispers warnings - she can feel them coming before they appear. Her sensing ability helps them dodge two ambushes.

Marcus discovers anomalies in Chen's intelligence reports — nine months of subtly altered data. He confronts Chen, who confesses: Dr. Lux holds David alive in a secret facility, using him as leverage to extract Commission intelligence. Chen chose love over loyalty.

Vera's origin: rejected scholar steals archives, undergoes autonomous Guardian transformation, detects Void Walker patterns. Discovers from war crystals that 300 years of Harmonist negotiation failed, destroying 14 civilizations. Pivots from communication hope to controlled sacrifice plan.

Patrick infected by Gray Death, reveals Prometheus history to Ailana. Shares his plan with Steps 1-8, where Step 7 predicts institutional warfare (wrong) and Step 8 contingency notes force possibility. Patrick dies, Ailana walks south alone.

Lucas and team surrounded by absorbed humanoid figures with bioluminescent veins. Figures speak with collective voice - absorbed Team 2 members and others. Chelsea's voice among them. Organism wants to absorb team. Cliffhanger.

Haatim analyzes intelligence in the operations room. Frieda reveals the Barone vampire family has built a multi-city coordination network under Belphegor's direction. The Crimson Veil is a command hub.

Emma monitors all variables from the observation post, tracking the vulnerability curve as energy frequencies converge toward resonance. She identifies the peak moment of maximum vulnerability and calls the window for the team to act.