The rain still hadn’t stopped when the truck carrying Jake arrived at Damian’s tower complex. The building rose like a blade through the fog of Ashborne—each of its windows glowed faintly, like a hundred eyes watching.As soon as the vehicle halted, two men in black uniforms swung open the rear doors.“Out,” one said flatly, his eyes sharp with suspicion.Jake jumped down, carrying the black bag that held the Erevos drive and the nano module. Beneath his jacket, the experimental weapon he’d found in the warehouse remained tightly concealed. He could still feel its faint pulse against his spine.Vex clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on. The boss doesn’t like to wait.”The hallway to Damian’s office was long and silent. Every footstep echoed. Jake studied the ceiling cameras, counting the intervals between their rotations—a habit he’d never lost: always know when you’re being watched, and when you’re not.They stopped before a massive steel door marked Division Command. Vex knocked twi

The internal alarm jolted Jake awake before dawn.His body was drenched in cold sweat. For a moment his vision blurred, until the room’s automatic lights flickered on—casting harsh white over walls of cracked metal.He stared at his hands. Beneath the skin, faint blue veins pulsed, glowing softly as if electricity flowed through his blood.“Vanguard…” he whispered.The pulse grew stronger. He inhaled sharply, forcing the pain down as it crawled from his chest into his arms.When he finally stepped into the hallway, it was already swarming with people.“Jake! Hurry! Damian wants you in the tactical room!” shouted Vex, sprinting from the opposite end.Jake nodded, following him. Each step hurt—like the bones in his feet were grinding, adjusting to a rhythm that wasn’t human. He bit back the pain, pretending nothing was wrong.By the time he reached the tactical chamber, Damian was already there—standing before a massive holographic map of Ashborne’s lower districts. Beside him stood a d

Thick smoke still blanketed the ruins of the Erevos facility when the deep whine of engines echoed from above.Searchlights cut through the darkness, illuminating the three survivors—Jake, Lira, and Vex—standing amid shattered concrete and twisted steel.“Damian’s rescue unit,” Lira muttered flatly. “Guess we’re really going home.”Jake didn’t answer. The light glinted in his eyes for a moment—blue, faint, unnatural. He looked away before anyone noticed. Not yet.A tactical helicopter descended between the broken walls. Two men in black armor stepped out first. One raised his hand.“Jake Caleb, Vex Nolan, Lira Vaughn—by direct order of Lord Damian, you are to be escorted back to the tower.”The tone was too formal, too cold for a rescue. Jake recognized it instantly. This wasn’t an extraction. It was a summons.Vex sighed under his breath. “I hate that phrase, ‘by direct order.’”Lira eyed Jake. “You think he’s not just gonna shoot us the second we land?”Jake’s expression didn’t chan

The sky over Ashborne was still veiled in ash when Jake’s helicopter landed on Crowne Tower.The whirring blades echoed off the steel walls, a low metallic hum that sounded like regret carried by the wind.Damian was already waiting on the landing platform, dressed in his flawless black suit—untouched by rain or dust, as if the world itself refused to stain him.Beside him stood Sable, tablet in hand, eyes cold and sharp, like someone who always knew too much but never said it aloud.As Jake stepped down, Damian spoke without expression.“Welcome back from your diplomatic mission.”Jake removed his helmet. “Negotiations failed. The Marrow was hit by Erevos.”Damian raised an eyebrow. “You blame Erevos?”“Who else flies drones that precise?”A thin smile crossed Damian’s face. “Good question.”He circled Jake slowly, inspecting him from head to toe.“You look surprisingly intact for someone who just walked out of hell.”Jake met his gaze. “I’ve gotten used to coming back from places I

“Welcome,” said a voice — echoing, infinite — “to yourself.”It came from everywhere at once, vibrating inside Jake’s skull. He turned, and there stood Damian — or what used to be him. Half of his body shimmered like living metal, the other half still human shadow.“You followed me in,” Jake said coldly.Damian smiled faintly. “Of course. I built the door. I only needed you to open it.”Jake stepped forward, but the ground rippled like liquid data with every movement, sending out rings of distorted memory — Lira’s face, Vex’s laughter, Elara’s trembling hands. Each image flickered and dissolved into the code.“Why, Damian?” Jake asked. “Why do this?”“Because the real world is too small for what we’ve become,” Damian replied softly. “Erevos understood that. They didn’t build the network for control… they built it for rebirth.”“Rebirth as what? Monsters?”“As perfection.” His tone was calm, reverent. “And you, Jake… you’re the bridge to it.”Before Jake could respond, the air — if it