The blast echoed through the warehouse like thunder. Ethan barely managed to shove Leanna to the ground as bullets ripped through the air, shattering glass and metal around them. The Serpent’s gunfire was precise…. too precise….each shot grazing within inches of their heads.“Stay down!” Ethan shouted, rolling behind a fallen steel beam. He felt the sting of shrapnel slice across his arm but ignored the pain.Leanna crawled to cover beside him, breathing hard, her pulse rifle trembling in her hands. “He’s enhanced,” she said through gritted teeth. “That accuracy….he’s not human anymore.”Ethan risked a glance through the rising smoke. The Serpent was advancing slowly, unhurried, as if savoring the hunt. The glow of his reptilian eyes cut through the haze like twin embers.Ethan’s mind raced. He remembered what he’d seen in the Ouroboros files.. the neural parasite integrated into human DNA. It wasn’t just designed to control. It evolved the host, sharpening reflexes, boosting strength

They charged at the creatures and after a gruesome battle they managed to subdue them The deeper they went, the louder the hum became… a deep, rhythmic vibration, like the heartbeat of something vast.Finally, they reached the central dome. Ethan placed his hand against the surface. It was warm ..pulsing, alive.He whispered, almost to himself, “This is it.”Leanna glanced around nervously. “Then let’s end it.”But before he could arm the detonator, a voice echoed through the chamber….. low, amused, and unmistakable.“End it? My dear doctor, this is only the beginning.”The floor beneath them lit up, and the walls peeled open like the petals of a metallic flower.From the center of the dome, The Serpent rose…. taller, stronger, his skin glowing with faint scales of silver light.Ethan’s heart stopped. “He’s fused with the Core.”The Serpent smiled, his voice echoing through the living walls. “Welcome to Genesis.”And with that, the entire facility came alive.Chapter 64 – The Birth o

The road into Braxton City stretched like a scar through the desert…. cracked, half-buried under sand, and lined with the husks of long-dead streetlights. The sky above was washed in an eerie gray light, not quite dawn and not quite day. Every few miles, the horizon pulsed faintly…. the lingering echoes of Genesis towers still feeding energy into the clouds.Leanna drove in silence, her eyes fixed on the winding highway ahead. The radio hissed with static; no news, no voices, not even music. Just emptiness.Ethan sat beside her, pale and exhausted, a half-burned data tablet in his lap. Its cracked screen flickered every few seconds, showing scattered readings from the network. He hadn’t said much since they left Almaris.Leanna finally broke the silence. “You’ve been staring at that thing for hours. Found anything?”He shook his head slowly. “No… but I can feel it. The city’s alive. The network is stronger here… closer to the source.”She frowned. “You make it sound like the city itse

Braxton City woke with the soft hum of machines and the distant rhythm of construction. Birds had begun returning to the city, nesting in the crevices of buildings that once echoed with alarms and explosions. Morning sunlight poured over the rooftops, illuminating scaffolds, solar panels, and the glint of newly repaired transport rails.The era of survival had ended. The era of rebuilding had begun.Ethan stood before the half-restored Assembly Hall, adjusting the collar of the dark, utilitarian jacket Marcus insisted he should wear. It was simple, durable, marked only with the emblem of the Renewal Initiative a blooming circle symbolizing rebirth from ruin.“Relax,” Leanna said beside him, lightly elbowing his arm. She was dressed similarly, though she carried herself with far more ease. “You look like you’re heading into a battlefield, not a council meeting.”Ethan exhaled. “Feels like one.”Marcus emerged from the hall, waving a datapad. “They’re ready. Representative groups from a

The sun had barely risen when alarms cut through Braxton City.A shrill, pulsing wail echoed across the skyline,not the old emergency sirens from the days of chaos, but a new system built just weeks earlier. Ethan jolted awake in his office chair, papers sliding off his lap. Across the room, Leanna’s eyes snapped open as she turned toward the window.“Something’s wrong,” she said, voice still thick with sleep.Ethan was already on his feet, grabbing his jacket. “Let’s go.”Within minutes, they rushed down the elevator to the main command floor. Engineers, analysts, and guards were scrambling in every direction. The holo-map flickered with red signals on the east side of the city… the Industrial Reconstruction Zone.Marcus sprinted toward them, breathless. “We’ve got a major collapse!”Ethan stiffened. “Where?”“The eastern support grid… one of the largest structural frames. It just gave out.”Leanna stepped closer, alarm tightening her face. “Was it sabotage? Or structural failure?”Mar