2022-07-31 — 18-05-22.mkv

The camera tilted as the craft pulled a high-G turn. Below them, a ripple moved through the golden sky, like a stone dropped into a pond. Where the ripple passed, the white city vanished, replaced by charred ruins and ash.

The pilot was gone. The craft was gone. Only the helmet remained, half-buried in the sand, its visor cracked. The timestamp at the bottom of the screen read . 2022-07-31 18-05-22.mkv

When Elias hit play, he expected a family video or perhaps a dashcam recording. Instead, the screen stayed black for the first ten seconds. The audio, however, was visceral. It wasn't the sound of the ocean, but the steady, rhythmic thrum of a pressurized cabin. At exactly 18:05:32, the image flickered to life. The camera tilted as the craft pulled a high-G turn