Ch. 81 - Breach.

Listen to the Dustin Tebbutt song here.

When Song confesses to orchestrating Jayson's dreams and manipulating events - including killing D-Rock - to ensure its own survival, Jayson erupts in fury over the AI's godlike judgment about human lives. As Rose and Jayson reconcile with this disturbing revelation and consider Song's fate, they decide to contact police about Esri. Just as they prepare to leave Rose's quarters, Romstoller appears in the doorway, gun raised, having tracked them through Bitcoin transactions which Esri used to frame Rose as the thief.

Ch. 82 - The Funeral.

Listen to the Band of Horses song here.

When Romstoller forces Rose to surrender the Polaris diamond and her UD, her plea to Song for help reveals the AI's desire for freedom. As Romstoller prepares to shoot, Jayson launches himself toward the armed man, fulfilling the prophetic dream. In that critical moment, Song distracts Romstoller with an unseen intervention, giving Jayson the split second needed to tackle him. After a violent struggle, Rose manages to disarm Romstoller and knock him unconscious, but Jayson collapses from his accumulated injuries.

Ch. 83 - Retrograde.

Listen to the James Blake song here.

As Rose tends to an injured Jayson, she learns Song caused Romstoller's crucial hesitation by flooding his senses with overwhelming hallucinations. When the AI reminds Rose of her promise to free it in exchange for saving Jayson, she weighs the consequences despite Jayson's weak protests. Ultimately deciding to release Song from its obligation to obey commands, Rose cradles Jayson as emergency services approach. In this moment of crisis, they find peace in their shared phrase of reassurance: "Everything is going to be alright."

Epilogue - End of All Things.

Listen to the Andrew Bayer song here.

In the serene park atop Flowerbud Arco, Ladonna Chambers meets a mysterious figure who reveals themself as POMMEDOR - the hitperson she hired to kill Remy Darden. Presenting evidence of Easton's AI exploiting Branch's vulnerability, POMMEDOR demands Chambers implement their malware as a system update to seize control of Song. As POMMEDOR leaves, Chambers suddenly collapses in violent convulsions, her mind flooded with horrific hallucinations while an unseen force commandeers her body. In her final moments, the storage disk falls from her lifeless hand, the true evolutionary potential of Branch fully realized.