Before the Lights Go OutThe first sign wasn't the lights. It was the silence. The constant, low hum of the city that had been the soundtrack to Maya’s entire life just… stopped. In the sudden void, she could hear her own heartbeat thudding in her ears. Then, the lights in her high-rise apartment flickered and died, plunging the world into a deep, unnatural twilight.From her window, the view was terrifying. The sprawling metropolis of Aethelburg was a black scar against the night. No headlights snaked through the streets. No neon signs glowed. No planes dotted the sky. It was a