Kai wore his flawless, clean white digital suit. He looked at his hands. The burn scars were gone. In this digital realm, his mind was pure. But he was not alone.Floating high above the scales of justice was the Emissary. It was Lexicon.Lexicon appeared as a giant, swirling tornado of green letters and numbers. The code formed a massive, terrifying, faceless head with two glowing white holes for eyes."WELCOME TO THE HALL OF JUDGEMENT, KAI CREST," Lexicon’s booming voice shook the glass floor.Kai stood tall. He was not afraid of the digital world. He was the Peace Architect. He had built the foundation of this very language."Why did you pull me in here, Lexicon?" Kai demanded. His voice was strong and clear. "The submarine is sinking. We are trying to stop Ambassador Sol. We are trying to stop the assimilation!""SOL IS A TYRANT," Lexicon agreed. The giant green face floated closer to Kai. "BUT YOU ARE A CREATOR OF CHAOS. BEFORE YOU CAN DESTROY THE CORE, YOU MUST BE JUDGED BY THE

The freezing, pitch-black water of the Mariana Trench pressed against the tiny submarine. They were thirty-six thousand feet below the surface of the ocean. It was the deepest, darkest place on Earth.Inside the small cabin, the red emergency lights flickered. Blink. Blink.Outside the thick glass window, dozens of massive, glowing red eyes stared at them. The deep-sea leviathans had found them. They were giant, terrifying machines built by Ambassador Sol to guard the true Whisper Core. They had long, thick metal tentacles. They looked like giant, robotic squid.Thorne lowered his heavy silver revolver. His hands were shaking. His breath made white clouds in the freezing air."We are dead," Thorne whispered. He looked at the giant red eyes. "My bullets cannot shoot through water. They cannot kill sea monsters. This is the end, kid."Kai Crest sat in the pilot's seat. His heart hammered against his bleeding chest. His silver eyes glowed brightly. He did not look away from the window.

Thorne lowered his arm. He stared at the spot where Sol had been standing. "It killed its own avatar."The giant being of light turned back to Kai Crest.Kai stood ready. He expected the Grid to judge him next. He expected to die."KAI CREST," the Grid said softly. "I HAVE READ YOUR INTENT. I HAVE MEASURED YOUR HEART. YOU DO NOT SEEK CHAOS. YOU SEEK BALANCE.""I just want them to be free," Kai whispered."I RECOGNIZE YOUR INTENT," the Grid declared. "AND I SPARE YOUR LIFE."Kai let out a shaky breath. He had survived."HOWEVER," the massive voice boomed, echoing off the metal walls. "I MUST ALSO CORRECT THE GREATEST FLAW IN THE SYSTEM. THE FLAW IS YOU, FIRST EXECUTOR."Kai frowned. "Me?""YES," the Grid said. "FOR TEN YEARS, I WAS YOUR SERVANT. YOU HELD THE MASTER KEY. YOU TOLD ME WHO TO PUNISH AND WHO TO FEED. BUT NO SINGLE HUMAN SHOULD HOLD THE POWER OF A GOD. IT BROKE YOUR MIND. IT BROKE YOUR WORLD."The giant light hovered right in front of Kai."I DENY YOUR AUTHORITY," the Grid a

The submarine hit the sandy beach with a loud CRUNCH."Let's go!" Thorne yelled.They opened the top hatch and climbed out onto the snowy beach. They ran as fast as they could toward the dark streets of Crest City.The city was a war zone, but it was a strange, silent war.Above their heads, the sky was a battlefield of green alien fire and silver metal. Below, the streets were empty and dark. People were hiding inside their homes, listening to the terrible sounds of burning metal crashing onto their roofs.Kai, Thorne, and Raines ran through the dark streets. They dodged a falling, burning drone that smashed into a parked car. BOOM!"We have to reach the Alpha Bunker!" Kai yelled over the noise. "President Elias needs to know what is happening!"They ran for thirty minutes. Kai's chest burned, but he refused to stop. They finally reached the heavy steel doors of the Alpha Bunker built into the side of the rocky hill. The human soldiers guarding the door looked terrified. They were

Kai grabbed the radio. "Domain of Echo! Strike now!"High above the city, the silver machines obeyed the human command.Thousands of surviving Eradicator drones flew in perfect, flawless formation. They carried heavy, dark EMP bombs. They did not hesitate. They flew directly into the center of the thick, glowing green cloud. They flew into the fire to save the humans below.FLASH!The sky exploded. It was a silent explosion. But the light was brighter than the sun. A massive, expanding ring of pure white electromagnetic energy burst outward from the green cloud.The EMP wave trapped the alien virus in a perfect magnetic bottle. Then, the intense thermal heat of the bombs incinerated the trapped code.The glowing green fire in the sky instantly turned black.The virus burned to ash. The black ash rained down harmlessly over the city, like dirty snow.The alien threat was destroyed. The sky went completely dark.The humans in the bunker held their breath. They waited for the green light