As the man spoke, the shadows in the corner of the room began to lengthen. They didn't just grow; they moved with intent. They crawled across the floor like spilled ink, swirling around the legs of the chair.
Elias leaned closer, his eyes straining against the digital noise. The man in the video stopped speaking and looked directly into the lens. His eyes weren't dark; they were missing. In their place were two perfectly smooth patches of skin.
The file wasn't a recording of the past. It was a countdown.