The western sky burned a dull copper gray, the sunset bleeding behind the skeletal remains of old factories — ribs of a dead world jutting toward the light.The sounds of broken machines, desert wind, and Jake’s heavy breathing merged into the only symphony left on the road.Their vehicle rolled slowly over fractured asphalt.Vex sat in the back, eyes locked on his flickering terminal screen — the same line repeating over and over: ELARA / SOURCE: UNKNOWN / ENCRYPTION LEVEL: SIGMA.Lira, in the passenger seat, glanced sideways at Jake, who had been driving in silence since the signal first appeared.“It’s been two hours,” she said quietly. “You sure this isn’t a trap?”Jake didn’t look at her. “If Elara’s alive, she’s not the type to need a trap.”Vex muttered from the back, “Or maybe because she’s alive, we’re the trap.”Jake said nothing. His eyes stayed fixed on the road ahead, his face a mask of tension.Lira studied his hands on the wheel. The veins that once glowed blue were com

Three weeks after Damian’s “disappearance,” the world felt strange.Not peaceful—just quiet in the wrong way, like an orchestra still playing after the conductor had walked away.Ashborne, once a city of humming machines, now breathed slowly. The streets were dust-covered, yet small flickers of life burned at every corner—campfires, makeshift workshops, and the laughter of children who still didn’t understand the word “ending.”Jake sat on the roof of their small base in the western sector, watching the city disappear into the fog of evening. The wind carried the scent of old metal and rain that hadn’t fallen yet.Lira appeared from the stairwell, two metal cups in her hands.“Still awake,” she said quietly.Jake took one cup. “Can’t sleep when it’s too quiet.”Lira sat beside him. “Funny. You used to hate noise. Now you miss it.”Jake stared into the horizon. “At least back then, the noise meant the world was still alive.”They sat in silence for a long time.Below them, Vex’s voice

The air burned in silence.The wave of white light that had erupted from Jake’s body slowly faded, leaving a soft glow that rippled along the walls of Sanctum Lumen.Lira staggered, her eyes stinging from the brilliance, while Vex fell to his knees, struggling to steady his portable terminal now filled with static distortion.When Lira’s vision finally cleared, Jake’s body was no longer entirely human.Half of him remained flesh, but the other half shimmered—liquid light flowing gently beneath his skin, as if his form were now a bridge between two realms: matter and energy.Orion stood before him, calm as a deity admiring his creation.“Behold, Lira,” he said softly. “The new human form—limitless, unfading.”Lira’s voice broke. “What did you do to him?!”Orion smiled faintly. “Nothing. Jake has finally accepted the part of himself he once denied.”Jake opened his eyes. His irises were completely white, glowing faintly. His voice carried an echo—two tones speaking in unison: his own an

What remained was silence — sharp, endless silence that echoed between the metallic peaks.The black spire stood like a needle piercing the frozen world, its crown glowing with a faint, pulsing gray light.Beneath it, the tents of The Neutral Order flickered with the first campfires they had dared to light. Smoke rose slowly into the still air — like a prayer that no one remembered how to say.Lira stood before the tower, her coat fluttering in the cold wind.Behind her, Vex approached with a cracked tablet in hand, his face pale.“I re-analyzed the signal from that tower,” he said quickly. “And… Lira, this is insane.”She turned to him. “What’s insane?”“Every pulse of that gray light isn’t just electrical. It’s genetic code. Digital DNA — a message from something trying to rebuild itself.”Lira’s eyes softened. “Jake.”Vex shook his head. “If that’s Jake… then he’s not human anymore.”They entered through a narrow breach in the spire’s outer wall.Inside, the corridors were filled w

Dawn in Ashborne was no longer gray.The sky shimmered with a warm hue of pale ash, and the fog that once carried the scent of burnt steel now drifted as harmless mist.But beneath that stillness, Vex knew the world was holding its breath.He sat on the balcony of The Neutral Order’s headquarters, watching the city slowly rise to life.Children ran through the streets, technicians assembled new wind turbines, and in the distance, the old communication towers gleamed faintly in the morning light.Everything seemed perfect.Too perfect.The door behind him opened. A young woman stepped out — short hair, sharp eyes, a kind of intelligence that belonged to those born after the fall.“Morning report, Vex,” she said crisply, holding a data tablet.He turned, smiling faintly. “I told you, don’t call me that. Makes me feel old.”She smirked. “All right, Vex. But you are old.”“Cheeky,” he muttered, chuckling. “News from the northern sector?”She handed him the tablet. “Minor magnetic disturba