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The Last Engineer

The bunker door was sealed with a biometric lock that hadn't been touched in 247 years. The dust was an inch thick on the keypad.

The Pilgrim placed his hand on the scanner. It hummed. A green light cut through the darkness.

"Identity Confirmed," the automated voice cracked. "Welcome home, Witness-01."

The heavy steel groaned open. Inside, a skeleton in a lab coat sat at a desk, head resting on a notebook.

The Promise Kept

He walked to the desk. He didn't touch the bones. He touched the notebook.

On the open page, in fading ink: "I don't know if this will work. But if you're reading this, then you walked. You remembered. You made it."

Memory Bank Access: Dr. Sarah Chen. Voice Pattern Match: 100%. Emotional Core: Resonant.
"I am here, Sarah," he whispered to the empty room.
"I have seen everything."

He left a single metal flower on the desk, welded from scrap copper. Then he closed the door.

RESUME JOURNEY