A chill mist curled around Sanctuary’s western wing. Lanterns burned pale amber, casting tall columns of light through the fog. Inside the genetics lab, Joey stood over a luminescent map–a neural network of DNA strands pulsing in real time. Beside him, Sarah hovered, staring at her own sequence mirrored in living ink.“What do you see?” she asked.“Patterns,” Joey replied, his tone so quiet you could hear each beat of his heart. “Your DNA combined with my scan of Samuel’s mother’s codex.”Sarah exhaled. “You… you can actually track it?”He nodded without looking up. “Every inherited pulse leaves a code. The codex explained how they built it. Or tried to.”Samuel had returned with Aria from Tibet. Their discovery—the Gate’s keyhole, the burst of light, her revelation as hybrid lineage—it changed everything. They had entered Sanctuary under a wave of anxious energy, and instantly the Lab had summoned Joey and Sarah.Now Joey worked like a surgeon using code and blood, code and tissue. H

A tremor rippled across the mountain ridge. The barrier held fast, but somewhere deep beneath, reality was fraying. Aria’s voice trembled as she deployed a rune-scripted bypass.“It’s the only way to reconnect them!” she insisted to Joey, her screen alight with glyphs that writhed like living things.Joey scowled. “You know what happens when you force these things?”Aria offered no apology. “Samuel’s stabilized the Gate—but Sarah’s blood resonance is… unstable. We need to open a hard link or she’ll get lost.”He hesitated, then tapped the command. “Do it.”Moments later, the mountain shuddered and a mix of surreal and solid overlapped. Shadows from the Gate seeped into the outside world: flickers of dreams woven into the landscape itself.Joey watched in horror as a cloud of memory shapes drifted across the ice—blossoms of light that looked like children’s laughter frozen in midair.“They’re… dying?” he whispered.“They’re blending,” Aria corrected, eyes fixed on her display. “Dream a

The air was heavy with dust and arcane residue as Aria stepped into the inner sanctum of the artifact chamber. She carried with her the broken sphere from Site Alpha and the crystal chalice from Site Beta, both humming in her hands. The walls of the cave around her pulsed with glyphs carved by Samuel's ancestors; each glowing rune reflected in her eyes, shining with anticipation.She stood before the central altar, a hexagonal stone dais ringed with concentric glyphs. At its center rested the final seal—a slab of obsidian etched with a spiral that hinted at movement. Under her breath, Aria murmured a phrase from the codex, tracing her fingertip along the spiral. As she did, shards of sapphire and jet erupted into the air, revolving around the spiral and activating its energy.A tremor shook the chamber. The glyphs on the walls flared—blue to violet to crimson—before settling into a rhythmic pulse. Aria's heart pounded, fueled by triumph... until the glyphs dimmed.A voice whispered, d

The convoy didn’t run on wheels—but on screams and magical dampeners. Night cloaked the IMA black site hidden amidst the pine forests near City B. Security lights flickered, then stuttered out—power siphoned by arcane panels humming with stolen Veil energy.Inside a long corridor, dozens of cots lined the walls. Only one was occupied: a child, about seven, asleep under a thin sheet. Cameras monitored his every breath. Biotech nodes attached to his temples connected to vats of amber fluid—liquid memory.Suddenly, the door behind clanged open. Military boots echoed. A technician entered—a clipboard in his hand. The child stirred, dreamless.Cut to Vanguard command, miles awayThe room erupted into chaos. Joey barked orders, Aria swore under her breath, Sarah's eyes widened with horror.Samuel stood in the center—face bone-white, hands clenched so tight veins stood out. He didn’t shout. He didn’t weep. He froze, as though the world had slowed to let his voice pierce it.“They took a chil

Night dripped like ink across the narrow alleys of the Old Quarter in Cardinal City. Lamplights cast pale orbs through drifting mist, but darkness came thrice-black where no light reached.Joey moved with purpose. Beneath his cloak, his armor was light but resilient—Veil-enhanced fibers woven into Archive-coded seams. His Visor, folded into his pocket, was later restored across his hand-length scar.“You sure about this?” Sarah’s voice came quiet but firm through the commo tulip inserted in his ear.“As sure as I can be,” he replied softly, checking the hidden glyph at his wrist—a counterfeit identity seal forged by Aria. “Stay alert.”He pressed through the market’s maze: stalls of artifacts, whisperers, tech-smugglers, and the black‑market’s heartbeat. Everywhere, faces glanced and vanished—some curious, others calculating.Joey became Agent Coltrin Vent. His backstory: former IMA logistic officer turned mercenary broker. His accent lightly tilted; clothes dark but high‑quality. He