The image vanished from the screens almost immediately, static dissolved, and communication systems returned to normal. The command station fell into tense silence as technicians and recovery personnel stared at monitors that now displayed nothing except ordinary operational data.Most of them had only seen the interference itself. Only Luther, Celeste, and Selene fully understood what appeared inside it.Selene moved toward the nearest console quickly and pulled system logs onto the screen. “No external transmission source.” Her voice remained controlled, but concern tightened beneath it. “No satellite relay. No wireless intrusion. Nothing entered the system through normal channels.”Celeste looked toward Luther. “You saw him clearly?”Luther nodded slowly. “Yes.” His expression remained distant. “He wanted us to know he is still there.”The cold certainty in his voice unsettled her more than fear would have.Outside the command station, the desert remained quiet beneath pale morning

Three days after the collapse of the underground tower, the world began asking questions it could no longer avoid. At first, the signs appeared disconnected.Encrypted financial systems tied to nonexistent corporations suddenly collapsed under public scrutiny. Intelligence agencies across multiple nations discovered abandoned data centers hidden beneath research facilities that did not officially exist. Military communication archives revealed unexplained operational interference connected to predictive algorithms that the government had not openly authorised.Then the leaks began—not random ones but organised ones that were precise and impossible to dismiss.Selene sat alone inside a secured apartment overlooking a crowded city several thousand miles from the desert where the Gene disappeared. The apartment belonged to one of Cain’s former diplomatic intermediaries; he no longer knew the organization itself had ceased to exist.Big screens filled one wall of the room, showing various

The disturbance in the sky disappeared so quickly that most people across the city never noticed it.Traffic continued moving through crowded streets below the apartment balcony. Emergency broadcasts still played across public screens while reporters discussed financial seizures connected to Cain's investigations. Protesters continued gathering outside government buildings demanding accountability from institutions that allowed hidden technological manipulation to grow unchecked.Ordinary life pushed forward, but Luther remained frozen beside the railing.Celeste stepped closer immediately. “You saw it again.”Luther nodded slowly. The pressure behind his eyes faded after several seconds, but unease remained.“It lasted longer this time.”Celeste lowered her voice carefully. “The tear in the sky?”“Yes.”He stared into the distant darkness where the distortion briefly appeared.“And the voice was clearer.”The answer tightened tension across her face.Inside the apartment, Selene cont

The reflections vanished the moment the lights stabilised again. The apartment returned to normal almost instantly. Rain still moved across the windows. The city skyline remained unchanged beyond the glass. Traffic lights flickered through the wet streets below, and distant sirens echoed through the night exactly as before, but Luther breathed unevenly.Celeste stepped toward him immediately. “What did you see?”Luther kept staring at the dark window for another few seconds before answering.“Myself.”Selene moved carefully toward the communication systems, checking for electrical disruptions or external interference.“There was no system breach.”Luther rubbed both hands across his face slowly. “It was not the systems.”Celeste studied him with growing concern. “The other timeline again?”He nodded once, but something about his expression frightened her more this time – not panic but recognition, as though the boundary between realities no longer felt distant to him.Selene shut down

The man disappeared into the crowd before Luther could react. One moment he stood beneath the harbour lights, watching silently from across the street, and the next moment, passing pedestrians blocked the view long enough for him to vanish completely.Celeste turned immediately after noticing Luther’s expression change. “What happened?”Luther kept staring toward the crowded sidewalk. “Someone was watching us.”“Do you recognise him?” She asked."No," he replied.That answer unsettled him more.The stranger had not looked familiar, yet the final thread reacted violently the instant their eyes met, as if recognition existed somewhere beyond memory.Celeste scanned the street carefully, but the harbour remained busy with evening traffic and ordinary movements. People entered restaurants, crossed intersections, and hurried beneath umbrellas while cold wind pushed ocean mist through the narrow roads; no sign of the stranger remained.Celeste looked back toward Luther. “We should go.”He n