The city was still recovering from the collapse of Soren’s empire, but the scars were visible everywhere—fractured buildings, shattered energy conduits, and streets littered with debris. Dawn had stretched its pale fingers over the skyline, casting jagged shadows across the urban ruins. Jake Sullivan moved through these broken avenues with quiet precision, every movement deliberate, every calculation preemptive.Kael followed closely, muscles taut and ready, rifle poised for any threat. Lyra’s drones hovered above, scanning, analyzing, and projecting the live battlefield onto her tablet. Her fingers danced across the interface, rerouting power, mapping sensor grids, and creating phantom patrols to confuse any enemies trying to seize the nodes left vulnerable in Soren’s absence.Jake paused at the corner of a collapsed overpass. Below, a small faction—mercenaries likely abandoned by larger syndicates—was attempting to consolidate one of the nodes they had liberated the previous night.

The city was alive with tension, its heartbeat a mixture of lingering fear, energy pulses from reactivated nodes, and the faint hum of machinery that had survived the collapse of Soren’s empire. Jake Sullivan moved like a shadow through the eastern industrial sector, Kael close at his side, rifle raised and ready for anything. Lyra’s drones flitted overhead, their sensors sweeping the streets, projecting phantom patrols, and analyzing every movement below.“Quiet doesn’t mean safe,” Jake said, scanning the rubble-strewn streets. “It means they’re plotting. Opportunists. Factions. Anyone willing to test our control.”Kael’s eyes narrowed. “Then we strike first. No hesitation.”Lyra’s fingers danced across her tablet. “I’m picking up coordinated movement near the central hub. Small squads, but organized. They’re testing our reach, probing our defenses. If we don’t act, they’ll gain confidence.”Jake exhaled slowly. “Then we intercept. I’ll take the northern corridor, cut off reinforceme

The city was quiet, but the silence was deceptive. Every street, every rooftop, every alley had become a battlefield in miniature, a network of strategic positions and potential ambush points. Jake Sullivan moved through the eastern industrial district, boots silent on fractured concrete, eyes scanning every shadow. Kael was beside him, alert and lethal, while Lyra’s drones hovered above, scanning, analyzing, and projecting phantom patrols that made the streets feel impossibly defended.Jake’s mind raced with calculations. Soren was gone, but the vacuum he had left invited chaos. Opportunists, rogue factions, and remnants of his network were already moving to stake claims. Jake had to anticipate every move, control every sector, and maintain the rhythm of the city’s pulse.“I’m detecting coordinated movement in the northern corridors,” Lyra said, her voice low but sharp. “Small squads, lightly armed, but organized. They’re testing our control, probing weak points.”Jake’s jaw tightene

Jake Sullivan moved through the dim central sector with a pace that revealed the weight of the previous hours. The city was quieter now, not because the threats were gone, but because every faction was recalculating. Soren’s fall had shaken the entire power structure, and the vacuum that followed stirred ambitions in dangerous men. Jake knew this silence was the kind that appeared before storms, the kind that made seasoned fighters glance over their shoulders without realizing they were doing it.Kael walked on Jake’s right, posture tense, eyes sharp. He did not speak, but Jake could read him like terrain. Kael was replaying the earlier clashes in his head. Not the victories, but the patterns. The way the opportunists had moved. The precision behind some of their coordination. It was too focused for scattered remnants and too organized for street-level mercenaries.Lyra walked slightly ahead, her tablet casting a soft glow across her focused expression. Her drones hovered at a respect

Light swallowed the chamber.Jake shielded his eyes for a heartbeat, forcing them to adjust as the relay towers surged with power. The air vibrated, humming with intensity. Static crawled across the floor in thin threads of white current, wrapping around the platforms like roots made of lightning.Kael shifted into a defensive stance beside him, every muscle coiled and ready. Lyra hurried to recalibrate her drones before the surge could overload their systems.The commander stood at the center of it all, silhouette framed by the violent glow. He watched them as if this moment had been rehearsed again and again until the outcome felt inevitable.Lyra steadied her tablet. “Jake—the towers are syncing. All six. They’re forming a circuit.”Jake kept his tone calm. “Purpose?”Lyra’s fingers flew across the screen. “Data routing. Infrastructure control. Structural re-mapping.” Her voice dropped. “And something else.”Kael stepped forward. “Speak.”Lyra swallowed. “They’re activating an unde