Reality unraveled in slow motion.Buildings faded first. The Bridge Academy dissolving like it was made of smoke. Solid walls became transparent, then invisible, then gone.Students screamed as the ground beneath them flickered. One moment solid, the next empty air."Hold onto each other!" Marcus shouted. "Physical contact might keep you anchored!"The students grabbed hands, forming a chain. Marcus at the center, trying desperately to think of a plan.The Correction beings watched with cold disinterest. Not cruel. Just doing a job. Erasing an entire timeline like it was paperwork."Stop fighting," their leader said. "You cannot win. We exist outside your reality. Your powers do not affect us."Marcus tried anyway. Golden light erupted from his mark. He threw everything he had at the beings.The attacks passed through them like water through air. Completely ineffective."Told you," the leader said. "We are the Correction. Reality bends to our will, not yours."Elena grabbed Marcus's a

Six months after Marcus's death, the world looked different.The Bridge Academy had grown. What started with sixty students now had over two hundred. Young gods from every continent. Every culture. All learning to control powers they never asked for.Rachel stood at the front of the main training hall. No longer the scared twelve year old Marcus saved. Now thirteen and confident. A teacher in her own right."Control starts with breath," she told her class. Twenty new students, all recently marked. All terrified. "In through the nose. Hold. Out through the mouth. Feel your power responding. Calming."They breathed together. Golden light flickered around some. Silver around others. Each mark unique. Each power different."Good," Rachel said. "Now practice in pairs. Support each other. Remember, we grow together."She walked between students, correcting postures, offering encouragement. Just like Marcus did.The thought made her chest hurt. Six months and she still expected to see him wal

They emerged in the Bridge Academy to chaos.Alarms blaring. Gods appearing through portals. The Fates materializing with expressions of shock and concern."He should not exist," the first Fate said, staring at Marcus."Yet he does," Marcus replied, feeling more solid with each passing second. "Sorry for breaking your rules.""This is not about rules," the second Fate corrected. "This is about balance. You ceased to exist. The pattern closed around your absence. Now you are back. The pattern does not know what to do with you.""Make it figure it out," Rachel said protectively. "We are not losing him again."Zeus appeared, flanked by other council members. He stopped dead, seeing Marcus."Impossible," Zeus breathed. "You died. We buried you. Built statues. How are you here?""Honestly? I am not entirely sure," Marcus admitted. "One moment I was nothing. The next, I was in the between places. Then these five dragged me home.""This violates cosmic law," Hera said, arriving through anoth

Marcus showed the message to Elena the next morning.She read it twice, frowning. "This feels like a threat. Or a warning. Hard to tell which.""Maybe both," Marcus said. He had barely slept, thinking about the message. About what it could mean."Should we tell the Council?" Elena asked."And say what? Someone sent me a cryptic text? They will think I am paranoid.""You might be paranoid," Elena pointed out. "You just came back from being dead. That messes with your head."Before Marcus could respond, alarms blared. Not the Academy's alarms. City wide. Chicago's emergency broadcast system.They ran to the main hall where students gathered around screens. News footage showed downtown Chicago. Buildings shaking. Streets cracking open. People running and screaming.But it was not an earthquake. Something was rising from beneath the city.A structure. Massive. Black metal and glowing symbols. Emerging from underground like a seed sprouting."What is that?" Rachel asked, appearing beside M

The maintenance entrance was hidden behind rubble.Marcus and his team moved carefully. Military surrounded the front. Security drones patrolled above. But the back way was clear. Dr. Park had been right."Access code," Elena whispered, standing by the door panel.Marcus entered the numbers Dr. Lisa Park sent. The panel beeped. Green light. The door slid open.They slipped inside. The corridor was dark. Metal walls hummed with energy. The Nullifier's power flowing through everything."Stay quiet," Marcus said. "Stay together."They moved deeper. The corridor opened into a massive chamber. The Nullifier's core. A sphere of black metal suspended in the center. Energy crackling around it. Beautiful and terrifying."Where is the kill switch?" Rachel whispered."There," Marcus pointed. On the far side of the chamber. A console. Glowing red. Protected by a clear barrier.Between them and the console stood guards. Not mortal soldiers. Robots. Armed with weapons designed to kill gods."Great,