The wind whispered through the scorched ruins of the Omega compound as dawn painted the horizon in bruised orange and blood-red. Kael sat on the edge of the transport truck, his shirt soaked with blood, smoke still clinging to his skin. He wasn’t sure if the tremors in his hands were from adrenaline or what he’d just endured. Seraphina emerged from the shadows of the bunker’s remnants, her expression unreadable. In her hand, she held a drive—slick with ash and secrets. “This,” she said, holding it up, “is everything. All of Omega’s files. Locations. Operations. Sub-projects. Paragon wasn’t even their endgame. Just phase one.” Kael didn’t respond. His mind was locked on something else. Virek’s words wouldn’t stop echoing in his skull. Omega is an idea. And ideas didn’t die with

The scent of gunpowder still clung to Kael’s coat as he slumped against the cool, jagged wall of the tunnel. Seraphina crouched beside him, applying pressure to a gash on his ribs, her hands trembling slightly—not from fear, but rage barely held in check. “This wasn’t random,” she muttered, voice low. “They knew we’d be at the checkpoint. They’re watching us.” Kael winced but forced a nod. “Omega’s two steps ahead, as always.” Overhead, the ancient pipes groaned, a faint mechanical hum rising—something was moving. Not rats. Not machinery. A drone. Kael’s head snapped toward the source, blood-streaked fingers reaching for the pulse disruptor on his belt. He tossed it, and the device whined once before discharging a silent EMP burst. The whirring stopped. The drone collapsed, sizzling. “Not an

The tension was palpable. They had no idea what awaited them on the other side of the wormhole, only that it would change everything. Kael stood at the helm, eyes locked on the pulsating anomaly that loomed before them, an almost tangible feeling of dread sinking into his bones. The air in the cockpit was heavy, a mix of fear and anticipation. It felt as though they were about to cross a line from which there would be no return.“I don’t like this,” Jax said, his voice tight as he worked over the controls. The humming of the ship’s engines seemed to grow louder, a constant reminder of their situation. “I’ve been through wormholes before, but this one… this one feels different.”Kael didn’t answer immediately. He couldn’t. His instincts were screaming at him, warning him of something far worse than they had prepared for. It wasn’t just the unknown; it was the gut feeling that they weren’t alone in this. That something was waiting for them on the other side, something far worse than the