The streets burned with more than fire.Ethan and Maya moved through smoke so thick it choked the lungs, stepping over shattered glass, overturned cars, and the bodies of civilians caught in Ragnar’s purge. Sirens screamed, but none came to save them. Everywhere, the metallic roar of Host chains echoed — that same crimson energy Ethan had seen draining the captives on the broadcast now surged in the gutters, like blood turned to light.Maya coughed, pulling her jacket tighter across her mouth. “This isn’t war anymore. It’s slaughter.”Ethan’s eyes glowed faintly, scanning the rooftops where shadows shifted, hunters moving like predators across the burning skyline. “It’s a message. Ragnar doesn’t want to hide. They want every citizen to know the Hosts aren’t their saviors. We’re their executioners.”A crash thundered to their right — a building collapsing, flames bursting skyward. Screams erupted. Without thinking, Ethan bolted, Maya chasing after him. They rounded the corner to find t

The chains hummed with an unnatural pulse, each link biting against his skin, draining the storm every time he tried to surge against them. Ethan strained, muscles coiling with fury, but the bindings only grew tighter, drinking his strength like a leech. Sparks flared across his veins, then fizzled into nothing.Maya stood across from him, rifle slung against her back, her hands trembling at her sides. She wasn’t aiming at him. That would have been easier. She just stood there, watching him as if every second were an execution.“Release me,” Ethan growled, his voice scraping low, dangerous.Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Not until you listen.”His laugh was harsh, broken. “Listen? You chain me like an animal, and you expect me to listen?” His head snapped up, eyes burning. “You sound just like them. Like Brooks. Like Nathan. Like Lena.”“That’s not what this is.”“Then what is it, Maya?!” The storm flared in his veins, chains rattling as if the whole warehouse would split. “Tell

The plaza was no longer roaring with chants. Silence blanketed the city as Ada’s scarred face filled every screen. For years, Ethan had seen her in fragments—memories, rumors, flashes in the Ghost Network. But now she stood alive, solid, and undeniable, her voice carried across the world.“Ethan,” she said again, eyes locking through the static as if she could see him where he hid. Her fingers curled around the crystal shard, faint light pulsing from within. “The seed was never theirs. It was yours.”The crowd rippled in confusion, murmurs spreading like fire. Nathan’s image fought to reassert itself on the screens, but the feed kept glitching back to Ada’s face, her voice pushing through the static.Maya whispered, “The seed…? That’s what all of this has been about?”Ethan’s heart pounded in his ears. “That’s Paragon’s genesis,” he muttered. “The origin of every Host protocol. It’s supposed to be myth.”Ada’s lips twisted in a bitter smile. “Myth is just truth buried deep enough to b

The ruins still smoldered when the storm fell silent. Ash drifted through the plaza like snow, glowing faintly with embers. Ethan stood there, chest heaving, lightning crackling in his veins, his eyes locked on the shadows where Maya had been dragged.His voice was raw when he spoke. “We’re going after her.”Ada stepped into his path, hand raised, her scarred face stern. “No. Not yet.”He turned on her, storm flickering violently. “Not yet? He took her! They have Maya!”Ada didn’t flinch. Her eyes, sharp and unyielding, held his storm without fear. “And that’s exactly what Ragnar wants. Don’t you understand? She is bait. If you run now, you won’t save her—you’ll lose everything.”Ethan’s teeth clenched, rage shaking his voice. “She’s not bait. She’s—” He cut himself short, but the word slipped anyway. “She’s the only reason I’m still standing.”Ada’s gaze softened for just a breath. “I know.” Then it hardened again. “But if you save her now, Ragnar wins. He drains you, he breaks you,

The chamber was a cathedral of power—steel walls humming with the pulse of the System, towering screens casting pale light across the obsidian floor. At its center sat Nathan, draped across a throne of blades welded from broken host armor and jagged tech, his smugness filling the air like smoke. Behind him, the System pulsed in perfect rhythm, as though bowing to his will.Ethan stood at the foot of the throne, shoulders squared, stormlight flickering along the veins in his neck and arms. Chains of restraint, woven from System-forged energy, clung to him, glowing hot against his skin. Yet his eyes burned brighter still. Maya hung bound to the wall, bruised but unbroken, her chains biting into her wrists. Lena leaned against the throne like royalty in exile, her lips curved in mockery, every word she had prepared poised to cut.Nathan’s voice rolled out like a sermon.“You came here thinking you were the hero. The savior of the Hosts. The avenger of your mother. But tell me, Ethan… how