POV: Lucian Voss

It had been one full week.

Seven long days and nights.

Seven nights without real sleep. Seven days of pressure, plans, and quiet waiting. It felt like my body had been running on autopilot. I barely ate, barely rested. Every time I closed my eyes, my mind lit up with memories and thoughts I couldn’t switch off. The images of what we were about to do kept playing in my head. I kept going through every detail, every file, every possible outcome. Over and over again.

And then, finally, the morning came.

It didn’t come with bright sunlight or cheerful birds. There was no golden light pouring...