Jincheng City. The Abandoned Warehouse.
The warehouse was silent, save for the hum of the holographic projector where Bella (The Algorithm Avatar) had just been deleted.
Elara Vance stood facing the empty air to her left. Her hands were pressed flat against nothingness.
"Push," Elara commanded.
Li Wusheng stood beside her. He looked at his wife—no, this woman who claimed to be a pirate—and then at the empty space she was touching.
"Elara," Li said, his voice thick with the remnants of the CEO persona. "There is nothing there. You are touching air."
"It's not air," Elara gritted her teeth, leaning her weight forward. "It's the bezel. It's the black bar. We are in a 9:16 aspect ratio, Li. We are trapped in a portrait mode."
Kaelen Thorne stumbled over, clutching his injured shoulder. He watched Elara's hands. They were flattened, white-knuckled, against an invisible resistance.
"She's miming a box," Kaelen muttered, swaying slightly. "Or... she's right."
