The world had not ended when Elias vanished into the Core. It only paused—like the silence between heartbeats. Then, slowly, life began to move again.Three days after the lightstorm swallowed the tunnels, the southern sectors reopened. Engineers in reinforced suits dug through the melted steel and twisted conduits. They found no trace of Elias, no fragments of the Core, not even residual energy readings that could explain what had happened. Just a hollow, scorched cavity, as if reality itself had been burned clean.But above ground, the city was changing. The power grid no longer flickered; it thrummed with new stability. Systems long broken began repairing themselves. Machinery adapted without human command. It was subtle at first—a drone hovering smoother than before, lights adjusting to human presence without sensors—but those who had known Elias could feel it. The city had learned him.Lana watched from the observation deck of the rebuilt Nexus Tower. The rain had stopped, and th

Lana walked alone through the debris-strewn streets, her coat heavy with water. The air was still charged, faint traces of static clinging to her every breath. She didn’t care. Each step took her farther from the tower, from the team, from the endless questions she didn’t have answers for.She stopped when she reached the edge of the river. The current glowed faintly under the city lights, reflections bending across the surface. She could almost hear him in the hum of the wind, the faint echo that never fully left her.“Elias,” she murmured.The name rippled through the quiet. No response came—but the current shifted, tiny sparks tracing the water like veins of light.Miro’s voice crackled through her earpiece. “Lana, are you reading me? We’ve got something. You’ll want to see this.”She sighed, pressing her hand against the earpiece. “If it’s another theory about the surge, save it.”“It’s not a theory,” he replied. “It’s a signal.”Her pulse quickened. “From where?”“Off-grid. North

The northern wastelands were quiet now, the storm of energy and chaos that had consumed the region beginning to settle. Blue light still pulsed faintly along the horizon, the remnants of Elias’s presence weaving into the land like veins of living electricity. Lana and Miro stood atop a ridge, surveying the vast, broken landscape. The stabilizer had worked, for now, but the price of victory weighed heavily on both of them.“I can’t believe we actually did it,” Miro said, his voice low. He had always been the pragmatic one, the cautious observer, yet even he seemed stunned by the reality of what they’d just witnessed.Lana didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes traced the horizon, searching for any sign of him. “It’s not over,” she said finally. “Elias is stable, but the lattice… it’s evolving faster than we thought. Containing it temporarily is just the beginning.”Miro frowned. “You’re saying this isn’t the end of the danger?”She shook her head. “No. It’s a pause. A moment to regroup. T

Dawn came quietly, as if afraid to disturb the dead. The crater still smoked, thin wisps rising from the broken earth where the lattice had imploded hours earlier.Lana stood at the rim, her eyes locked on the faint pulse of light deep beneath the surface. It was weaker now—slower—but it was there. Proof that Elias was still alive somewhere within the depths of the lattice he’d just sacrificed himself to contain.Miro approached from behind, his face pale under the morning light. He carried the portable stabilizer core in both hands, its edges scorched and cracked. “The field’s holding,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Barely. Whatever’s left of the lattice is dormant for now, but it’s rebuilding in there. Quietly.”Lana nodded. She hadn’t slept. She hadn’t even moved from the spot where Elias vanished. Every nerve in her body screamed for rest, but her mind wouldn’t stop racing. “How long until it breaks containment?”“Could be hours, could be days,” Miro said, setting the device down be

The city skyline glimmered against the early evening sky as Elias and Lana stepped out of the crater zone, the chaos of the lattice a fading memory behind them.The streets were quiet, almost unnervingly so. Emergency sirens wailed faintly in the distance, but for the most part, life had continued oblivious to the near-catastrophe that had unfolded mere hours ago.Elias pulled his jacket tighter around himself, though it did little to hide the tension in his shoulders. “It’s… strange,” he said quietly. “Being back here. Everything looks the same, but I feel like I’ve been somewhere else entirely.”Lana glanced at him, noticing the lingering traces of energy that still shimmered faintly along his skin, like static after a storm. “You’ve been somewhere else. And you’re not just back—you’re stronger. Smarter. More aware.”He gave a wry smile, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Stronger enough to face Mara?”Her gaze hardened. “Stronger than her, and anyone else who tries to manipulate you