Three weeks after descending into the Deep, Jael's fragile routine in the Ward shatters when Moth speaks a language no living human knows — and the ship answers. Branded an abomination by the Covenant, Jael flees with the child into the lateral hull: a sterile labyrinth of abandoned research decks where the Lament's original crew once engineered life to specification. Joined by a disgraced warden and stalked by pale shapes that refuse to keep their distance, Jael follows a trail of chalk marks deeper into the ship's architecture — toward a purpose that was designed long before Moth drew breath.
