I stood in the cold heart of the Thorne Sub-Level 9, my breath hitching in the sterilized air. The mainframe hummed—a low, rhythmic thrum that felt like a predator’s pulse."Director Chen, initiate the bypass," I barked, staring at the wall of shifting green code. "I don’t care about the safety protocols. If the AI is locked, we kick the door down."Chen’s hands flew across the holographic terminal. "Master Elias, the 'Sentinel' AI isn't just locked. It’s screaming. Listen."I stepped closer to the console. Through the speakers, a distorted, digitized voice tore through the static. It wasn't a machine's voice. It was a man's, layered in a thousand echoes.*"Elias... help... the code is... a cage..."*My heart hammered against my ribs. "That’s him. That’s my father’s voice. Sentinel! Show yourself!"The monitors flickered. A face formed—a pixelated, shifting mask of light. "I am the Sentinel," the AI resonated, its tone suddenly sharp and mocking. "And you are late, little prince. Twen

The sky over Manhattan didn't just tear; it bled liquid silver. A jagged, geometric craft the size of a stadium punched through the clouds, trailing a wake of burning ozone. It didn't land; it slammed into the center of Times Square, vaporizing billboards and turning the asphalt into a molten crater."Sire, the NYPD and the National Guard are being liquidated!" The General’s voice screamed over the comms, punctuated by the sound of heavy artillery fire that did nothing but bounce off the invader's hull. "They’re using some kind of kinetic pulse! Our tanks are folding like tin foil!""Hold your position, General," I said, standing on the balcony of the Thorne Spire. My new True Immortal senses could feel every vibration in the city’s concrete. "And tell the media to keep their lenses open. Today, the world stops being afraid of the shadows."I stepped off the ledge. I didn't fall. I became a golden streak of lightning, cutting through the smoke-choked skyline in seconds.I landed on th

The basement of the Thorne Citadel felt like the belly of a dying star. Huge crystalline dampeners groaned around the central platform, struggling to contain the volatile cocktail of golden Sovereign energy and the raw, crimson heat radiating from Lydia."Sire, the tectonic sensors are going off the charts!" Chen’s voice crackled through the intercom, sounding more panicked than I’d ever heard him. "The 'Planetary Deletion' signal from the stars has begun a chain reaction in the Ley lines. If you don't anchor the core in the next ten minutes, Manhattan will be the epicenter of a global magma geyser!""I know, Chen! Keep the dampeners at max!" I yelled over the roar of the atmospheric pressure. I turned to Lydia. She was trembling, her black fatigues already singed at the collar. "Lydia, look at me. This isn't just about breathing anymore. We have to merge our Qi. My Anchor provides the structure, but your Phoenix bloodline is the only thing that can jumpstart the earth’s heart.""Elia

The hangar of the Thorne Citadel hissed with the sound of hyper-cooling liquid nitrogen. In the center of the bay sat the *Aegis-Sovereign*, a vessel that looked less like a ship and more like a jagged, obsidian blade forged from the ruins of the Bronze Soldier’s craft. It didn't have an engine in the traditional sense; it had a containment chamber for my internal heat."Sire, the core temperature of the ship is stabilizing at eight thousand degrees," Director Chen shouted, his face shielded by a thermal visor. "But you’re the only thing keeping the hull from melting. If your concentration slips for a second while we’re in the void, we all vaporize.""Then don't let me slip, Chen," I said, walking up the ramp. Every step I took left a charred footprint on the reinforced titanium. My skin was still a dull, angry red, pulsing with the Phoenix energy I’d swallowed."Elias, wait!"I turned. A group of men stood at the base of the ramp, guarded by the General’s elite units. I recognized th

The bridge of the *Frozen Heart* was a tomb of obsidian and frost. Malakai Thorne stood before me, his eyes twin galaxies of mocking light, but his laughter died as the deck plates beneath our feet began to vibrate with a frequency that didn't belong to the ship. It was a rhythmic, pulse-like hum—a mother’s heartbeat made of cosmic static."You think you’re the master of this theater, Malakai?" I snarled, my golden-white skin steaming in the absolute zero of the bridge. "You talk about my father like he’s a prisoner, but you haven't mentioned her. Where is my mother?"Malakai’s grin turned razor-thin. He stepped aside, gesturing to the command throne. "You always were a sentimental fool, Elias. You think the 'General of Shadows' is a title given to a captive? Alistair was the one who wanted to hide you. He was the one who wanted the seal. He wanted you to be human.""And my mother?" I demanded, the Anchor in my chest throbbing with a sudden, localized agony."Your mother didn't want a