The underground scanner room at Orion Dynamics felt cooler than usual. The air was dry, and the hum of the machines filled the silence like an invisible drumbeat.Jayden Cole stood in the middle of the room, hands resting on the edge of the central table. Around him, glowing screens showed moving lines, maps, and dots of color. His team was ready—Mia at the side console, Rafi near the far wall, and Carl Bowen leaning against the back counter with his arms crossed. Dr. Helena stood beside Jayden, watching the main monitor with sharp eyes.They were here for one reason: to find the last of the Cognivault nodes still hidden somewhere in Westwood.Jayden tapped the side of the table. “Alright, everyone, focus. We’ve cleared Sector R once before, but Vincent isn’t the type to give up. He’ll plant new nodes. Our job is to find them before they spread.”Mia’s fingers moved quickly over her keyboard. “I’ve got a sweep running across the west side of the city. We’re starting with Site Eleven

The sky was gray the next morning.A light mist hung over the Orion building, making everything look quieter than usual. The air smelled faintly of rain, though it hadn’t fallen yet.The team gathered in the courtyard behind the building. They stood in a small circle, heads bowed. In the middle was a simple wooden box—Liam’s.No one spoke for a while. The sound of the wind brushing past the walls was the only thing they could hear.Helena’s eyes were red. She kept staring at the box, her hands clenched at her sides. Carl’s face was hard, his jaw tight, as if holding back tears. Mia wiped her face quietly.Jayden stood with them, his own chest was heavy. He had seen people die before, but this was different. Liam wasn’t just a name on a list. He was their friend.After a long silence, Jayden finally spoke. His voice was steady, but there was a weight to it.“We lost one of our own. Liam was… more than just part of the crew. He fought for us. He fought knowing what we were up against. H

The helicopter flew low over the dark northern sector. Below, mist covered the ground like a white blanket, hiding broken roads and dead trees. In the middle of it all stood the shape of Site Eleven — the old research facility, half-buried under years of dust and decay.Carl checked his wrist device. “Still has power,” he said, his voice low. “I don’t know what’s running in there, but it’s not dead.”Jayden leaned out the open side of the helicopter. The building was huge, silent, and full of shadows. “That means Vincent is inside,” he said. His jaw tightened. “We get in, plant the cage, and get out.”Helena was checking her scanner. The screen showed a pulsing red dot — Vincent’s signal. “It’s strong,” she said, “and it’s not moving. He’s waiting for us.”The helicopter touched down on a cracked rooftop landing pad. Rust ate at the metal, and weeds pushed up through the cracks. The smell of damp air hit them as soon as they stepped out.They formed a small circle. “Remember,” Jayden

The void collapsed, and the palace began folding in on itself. Vincent’s tendrils lashed at him, desperate to hold him in place. Jayden forced himself backward, shoving through a storm of falling glass and curling ribbons of gold.The last glimpse he caught of Vincent was a single burning eye—narrowing before it was swallowed into a pinprick of light.Jayden’s body jolted violently in the real world. Helena yanked the neural leads free. The cage’s lights steadied, deepening into a calm, victorious blue. The hum dropped to a low purr.No one spoke.Carl broke the silence, his tone was easy, almost casual. “So… the Richmond lead is closed, then?”Only he and Jayden understood what was being said.Jayden’s gaze stayed fixed ahead. “He’s contained. That’s all that matters.”Mia folded her arms. “For now.”Helena’s eyes flicked between them. “You’re going to have to tell us everything. No more gaps.”Jayden didn’t respond. He just stared at the cage.And somewhere in the steady hum of its

Jayden stepped forward. The shifting light from the arch swallowed him whole.The sound around him faded, replaced by the rush of blood in his ears.Then, suddenly, the world broke apart.He was standing on the edge of an endless black ocean. The water didn’t move like normal—it pulsed in slow, heavy waves. Above him, the sky bled red and purple, the colors swirling like paint dropped in water.Hanging in the sky was a giant crystalline brain. It was the size of a building, glowing faintly in its fractures, like light leaking from broken glass. Pieces of it floated away into the sky, but more chunks kept repairing themselves.From the brain’s core, streams of corrupted light shot upward, disappearing into the red sky. Jayden knew what it meant—this was the backup protocol. Vincent was sending his mind into people across Westwood, infecting them, keeping himself alive.A cold wind blew across the black ocean.And then they appeared.Dozens of flickering “phantom Vincents” stepped out o