The Final Cost: Power has a price. Integrity cost.

He was given eighteen hours. Not to survive. Not to escape. To complete the objective. Pathos doesn't ask questions. He follows the line that holds-cutting through hesitation, ignoring what slows him down, and leaving nothing unfinished. It's what made him valuable. It's what keeps him alive. But this time, the path isn't clean. Something is shifting beneath the surface. Timing breaks where it shouldn't. Space closes faster than it should. And every decision that keeps him moving forward quietly costs more than it gives. There are other lives moving inside the same window. Other outcomes depending on the time he's already spent. He won't see them. He won't stop for them. Because the fastest way through doesn't leave room for anything else. And by the time the line runs out- there will be nothing left to correct.