Cold.

  That was the first thing I felt. Cold seeping into places warmth should have lived, crawling along my skin like it had weight. My thoughts surfaced slowly, drifting upward through fog, through fragments that refused to stay still.

  Rei’s face.

  The sound of footsteps.

  A hand—

  My eyes fluttered open.

  Light stabbed through my vision, green and distorted, bending strangely as if the world itself were submerged. I tried to inhale sharply, panic flaring in my chest, but instead of air filling my lungs, there was a controlled rush. Steady and mechanical.

  A mask.

  Something was strapped to my face.

  I tried to move. My arms didn’t respond. Neither did my legs. Pressure hugged my body from every side, firm but not crushing, like I was suspended in thick water.

  That’s when I realized—

  I was inside a tube.

  A massive cylinder of reinforced glass surrounded me, filled with a glowing green liquid that swallowed everything below my neck. Tubes and cables ran along the sides, pulsing faintly, feeding whatever this was. My hair floated around my head in slow, ghostly strands.

  Panic surged again, harder this time.

  No—no, no, no—

  My heart hammered as memories snapped into place with brutal clarity.

  The walk home.

  Rei stopping suddenly.

  A blur of movement behind me.

  Then, nothing.

  I forced myself to breathe, the mask hissing softly with every inhale, every exhale. My thoughts raced, crashing into one another.

  Where am I?

  Where’s Rei?

  I strained my eyes, blinking rapidly, trying to make sense of the shapes beyond the glass. As my vision cleared, the scale of the room hit me.

  Rows upon rows of tubes stretched out in every direction, disappearing into the distance. Dozens. Hundreds. Each one identical to mine, each filled with the same green liquid.

  Each one holding something inside.

  Some were humanoid. Others… weren’t.

  Shadows of limbs too long. Frames too bulky. Shapes that made my stomach twist just looking at them.

  A lab.

  A massive one.

  Voices echoed somewhere beyond the glass. Muffled but distinct enough to make out words. I turned my head slightly, focusing past the rows of tubes until I spotted two figures standing near a raised platform.

  One of them I recognized instantly, even without seeing his face clearly.

  Mordred Solace.

  I’d only seen him in photos, old news articles, warnings, whispered names. But there was something unmistakable about the way he stood. Calm. Casual. Like the world bent itself around his confidence.

  Beside him was another man, hunched slightly over a tablet, his posture buzzing with nervous energy.

  “The WEO has breached the outer perimeter,” the second man said. His voice carried excitement rather than fear. “They’re moving faster than projections suggested. At this rate, they’ll reach this level within the hour.”

  Mordred hummed. “Earlier than expected.”

  That was it. No tension. No concern.

  He shrugged, turning away from the tablet. “Deploy every available Syndicate operative. Have them take their assigned positions.”

  The man. Han, I realized, from the way Mordred addressed him grinned. “Understood. Does that mean we finally get to release the new and improved models?”

  He gestured vaguely toward the tubes around us.

  My breath caught.

  Mordred glanced around the lab, his gaze sweeping over the countless cylinders like a collector admiring his gallery.

  “No,” he said simply. “Not yet.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Han’s smile faltered. “Not even one?”

  “Release the Apex units first,” Mordred replied. “The rest aren’t ready.”

  Han sighed dramatically but nodded. “Such a waste. They’re practically begging to be field-tested.”

  My heart pounded harder as Han’s gaze drifted slowly, deliberately until it landed on me.

  He tilted his head. “Still curious about this one, though.”

  Mordred followed his line of sight.

  I froze.

  Even through the glass, even through the liquid and the mask and the paralysis, I felt it. The weight of his attention pressing down on me.

  “Why exactly did Evelyn and Veyron go out of their way to retrieve her?” Han asked. “She doesn’t look like much.”

  Mordred smirked.

  “Switch your lens,” he said.

  Han blinked. “My—?”

  “Your goggles,” Mordred clarified. “Aura overlay.”

  Han hesitated, then tapped the side of his goggles. There was a brief flicker of light

  And then his entire expression changed.

  Shock washed over his face, eyes widening as he took an involuntary step back.

  “That’s—” He swallowed. “That’s impossible.”

  Mordred chuckled softly. “Impressive, isn’t it?”

  I didn’t understand what they were seeing, but whatever made Han’s hands shake.

  “The aura density…” Han whispered. “She’s overflowing. This isn’t just high, it’s wrong. Like it doesn’t belong in a human's body.”

  My chest tightened.

  “With output like that,” Mordred continued calmly, “there are only two possibilities.”

  Han looked at me again, awe bleeding into something darker. “A Chosen… or a child of a God.”

  My thoughts screamed.

  A God?

  Han let out a breathless laugh. “What a cheat code. Do you know what we could do with someone like her?”

  Mordred’s smile vanished.

  “No,” he said flatly. “You don’t.”

  Han stiffened. “Then what—?”

  “Leave her,” Mordred interrupted. “She’s not the priority.”

  He turned away, his coat sweeping behind him. “We have a mission.”

  Han hesitated. “And the girl?”

  Mordred didn’t stop walking.

  “She stays exactly where she is,” he said. “Until I decide otherwise.”

  He paused at the edge of the platform, glancing back one last time.

  “Our real objective,” he added, voice cold and precise, “is to eliminate Raphael.”

  My blood ran cold.

  “And the remaining members of the Monster Generation.”

  The words echoed in my head, crashing into memories I barely understood. Names I’d heard whispered. Legends. People Rei fought beside.

  Mordred walked off, Han scrambling to follow.

  The lab lights dimmed slightly.

  The hum of machinery deepened.

  My strength ebbed, exhaustion dragging at my consciousness like gravity. Panic clawed at me, but my thoughts slowed, slipping.

  Rei…

  Please.

  Save me.

  Darkness closed in, pulling me under once more.

  ---

  The wind screamed past my ears as the ground rushed up.

  I forced my focus outward, snapping back into the moment as the base loomed beneath us, shattered and burning. Sirens wailed from within, lights flashing erratically as defense systems tried and failed to recover.

  Ahead of us, four figures cut through the air like spears.

  Aiden.

  Elijah.

  Violet.

  Victor.

  They hit the ground first.

  Violet’s grace flared instantly. An invisible force blooming outward, catching the rest of us mid-fall. The world lurched as our descent slowed, momentum bleeding away until we touched down in controlled impacts instead of bone-shattering crashes.

  “Everyone good?” Violet called.

  Quick checks. Nods. Shouted confirmations.

  “Move!” Victor barked.

  We sprinted toward the base as what remained of its defenses reactivated. Turrets whined to life, spitting fire and energy in wild arcs.

  “Victor!” Violet snapped.

  He was already moving.

  From his pocket, Victor pulled four small white chess pieces. Rooks, he hurled them forward, and mid-air they expanded, unfolding into massive constructs shaped like the chess pieces they represented.

  They hit the ground with thunderous force, forming a living wall as they locked together, absorbing gunfire and explosions meant for us.

  “Serena! Lyle!” Violet shouted.

  Serena’s grin was feral as she turned to Lyle. “You ready?”

  Lyle’s eyes glinted. “Always.”

  Victor tossed a bishop toward Serena. She caught it and, without hesitation, swallowed it.

  Power surged.

  Dozens of mirrors bloomed into existence around us, floating in precise formations as Lyle’s grace activated. Serena raised her hands, firing a concentrated beam of energy straight at Violet.

  Violet caught it.

  Twisted it.

  Her grace warped the beam, forcing it into a spiraling drill of pure force before redirecting it toward the mirrors. It ricocheted from surface to surface, accelerating—

  Then slammed into a turret cluster with devastating precision.

  The explosion lit the sky.

  We pushed forward, deeper into chaos, more transport ships raining reinforcements around us.

  Midway to the main structure, Violet raised her fist.

  “Split here!”

  Her and Victor’s squads surged toward the front, drawing fire, drawing attention. Elijah and Aiden veered off in opposite directions, each leading their teams toward secondary entrances.

  Quick nods. Brief looks.

  No speeches.

  Just trust.

  Aiden’s squad, my squad cut toward a smaller structure off to the side.

  “Hidden entrance should be there,” Aiden said, pulling up the holographic map from his bracelet. A red dot pulsed faintly.

  “Zane. Casper. Tessa. Go.”

  They moved instantly.

  Casper’s power suit flared, launching him forward as Zane and Tessa followed at ground level. Gunfire erupted from guards stationed near the building.

  Casper fired a small missile mid-air.

  The sound it made was wrong. High-pitched, vibrating straight through my skull. Guards staggered, clutching their heads as Zane and Tessa took them down in a blur of motion.

  We reached the gate moments later.

  Locked.

  Andrei stepped forward, already reaching for his equipment

  Aiden kicked the door.

  It flew inward with a metallic scream.

  We stared.

  Aiden glanced back over his shoulder. “What? This isn’t a stealth mission.”

  Then he walked in.

  We followed.

  ---

  Miles away, banners of the Aegis Battalion descended like falling stars. Thousands of armored units hit the ground, vehicles and artillery deploying in disciplined waves.

  In the command center, Raphael watched everything unfold across countless screens.

  “The main force has arrived,” an officer reported. “Rearguard ready for deployment.”

  Raphael shook his head slowly.

  “Hold them,” he said. “Not yet.”

  Something prickled at the back of his mind.

  Too quiet.

  Too early.

  He studi

  ed the feeds again, eyes narrowing as teams breached deeper into the base.

  “Something’s wrong,” Raphael murmured.

  ---

  Back in the lab, alarms blared.

  Several of the tubes stood empty now.

  Only three massive cylinders remained. Towering over the rest.

  And beside them…

  Kristine’s.

  [End of Chapter]