The sky burned the color of molten iron. Adrian Cross had seen cities die before, but never like this. Not when the air itself rippled with static, and the clouds glowed as if something behind them was trying to punch through. “Command, this is Echo-One,” he said into the mic clipped to his shoulder plate. “We’ve got visual confirmation on the impact zone. It’s not meteorite debris—it’s… something else.” Static crackled back. No response. He crouched on the ridge, scanning through his visor as the wind tore dust across the valley. Down below, the crater pulsed like a heartbeat, a rhythmic thump that made his ribs vibrate. Pieces of twisted black metal lay scattered across the ground, glinting with faint blue veins of light. The fragments hummed. They were alive. Behind him, his squad moved in tight formation—five men, ghosts in gray armor, rifles raised. “Sir,” said Jenkins, his second-in-command. Adrian didn’t reply. His gaze locked on a shard the size of a tank embedded

The night split open with gunfire.Lyra slammed the terminal shut, her hands trembling. “They found us faster than I thought. Division 9 must’ve tracked your energy signature.”Adrian fastened the last clasp of his armor, the fractured plates groaning under strain. “Then let’s make them regret it.”From beyond the underground corridor came the sound of boots, sharp commands, and the low whine of plasma rifles charging. Dust fell from the ceiling as an explosion rattled the walls.Lyra cursed under her breath. “They’re breaching through the eastern tunnel.”Adrian checked his rifle. “How many exits?”“Two. One’s blocked by debris, the other leads to the old freight elevator.”“Then we hold here.”She stared at him like he was insane. “You want to fight an entire strike team in a tunnel?”He met her gaze. “You got a better plan, Doc?”Her silence said enough.“[Threat proximity: 72 meters. Weapon systems offline. Activating combat adaptation protocols.]”The voice hummed through his min

The world had stopped making sense.Lyra stared at the crater where the Echelon core once pulsed. The air still shimmered faintly, like heat waves over sand, and the metallic tang of ozone stung her throat. The energy storm was gone—but so was Adrian.“Adrian…” she whispered.Her voice echoed back, distorted, like it came from a place that shouldn’t exist.The chamber was dead quiet except for the occasional crackle of static bleeding from the ruined terminals. Blue embers flickered in the dark—residual fragments of debris code floating like ash. She reached out to touch one, and it disintegrated into dust before her fingers met it.“[System integrity compromised. Host signal… undetermined.]”The Nanocore’s voice still hummed faintly in her comm, though weaker, glitching with every word.Lyra took a shaky breath. “Nanocore, locate Adrian Cross.”“[Searching… signal fragmented.]”Static flooded her ear, then silence.Lyra slammed her fist into the console, pain flaring through her knuc

The launch port was a tomb.Lyra approached the derelict facility at dawn, the rising sun casting fractured light across twisted steel and shattered glass. The launch platforms—once gateways to the stars—were now grave markers for humanity’s failed ambition.The orbital ring still shimmered faintly in the sky above, a perfect circle of cold blue light, pulsing every few seconds like the heartbeat of some ancient machine.“[No power detected in main grid. Facility operating on emergency reserves.]”Her AI’s voice hummed quietly through the static of her headset.“Then it’s enough,” Lyra murmured, stepping through a half-open blast door. “I just need one working shuttle.”The air inside was dry, stale. She moved past the remains of old flight suits hanging like ghosts, their visors cracked, their insignia faded. Each corridor she passed through told the same story—Division 9 had fled in a hurry. Or been wiped out.At the main hangar, she finally found what she was looking for.A single

When Lyra opened her eyes, the world was quiet.She lay on a bed of soft white moss beneath a sky that shimmered like liquid glass. The air was heavy with static energy.For a long time, she didn’t move. She just stared upward, trying to remember where she was.Fragments came back in flashes—the Vault’s destruction, Adrian’s voice, the light swallowing her whole.Welcome to the Fractured Sky.Her fingers twitched. She looked down at her hands. The faint blue glow was still there, pulsing beneath her skin like a second heartbeat.It wasn’t a dream.She sat up slowly, her joints aching. The landscape a barren plain of fractured stone and crystalline growths that shimmered with faint bioluminescence.The world looked half-organic, half-digital—like reality itself was trying to decide what it wanted to be.“[Vital signs nominal. Neural patterns stabilized. Subject Lyra Vance: 93% organic integrity retained.]”Her AI’s voice startled her. “You’re still active?”“[Yes. Systems restored thro