The darkness swallowed everything. I could not see Daniel, could not see the chamber, could not even see my own hands. The attack had hit me with enough force to throw me across the room, but somehow I was still alive. My back struck something hard, and I fell to the floor and rolled onto my side."Dad!"No answer.I pushed myself up. "Dad!"A faint voice came through the darkness. "Ethan... stay where you are."I turned toward the sound. "Where are you?""Behind the control station."I moved carefully, my Danger Sense screaming now, something clearly moving in the darkness around me. Then the System appeared. DARKNESS FIELD DETECTED. SOURCE: VOIDBORN VARIANT. VISUAL SYSTEMS COMPROMISED. VOID VISION RECOMMENDED.Daniel's warning returned to my mind. Do not use your Void Vision. But I had no choice, so I activated it anyway. The darkness disappeared, and the chamber became visible again, though what I saw made my blood run cold.The Voidborn variant stood in the center of the room, its

The footsteps grew louder, one after another, each sound echoing through the underground chamber. Daniel stood beside me, staring toward the entrance."You know that voice," I said.He did not answer."Dad, who is coming?"Daniel looked at me. "A man I hoped you would never meet."The lights suddenly returned, and the chamber was no longer empty. A man stood at the entrance wearing a dark military coat and carrying a long metal weapon in one hand, while several Hunters stood behind him, none of them entering the room. The man looked at Daniel first, then his eyes moved to me, and for several seconds he said nothing. Finally he smiled. "Ethan Cole."I raised my blade. "Who are you?""My name is Marcus Vane."The name meant nothing to me, but Daniel's face told me it meant everything to him."You should not be here, Marcus."Marcus laughed. "I could say the same about your son."My grip tightened around the blade. "You know my father?""We worked together."Daniel shook his head. "We di

The entire Blackridge Core came alive as blue lights flashed across the walls and machines that had been silent for twenty years suddenly began to operate. Metal panels opened in the ceiling, heavy doors sealed the corridors, and energy barriers rose from the floor.Subject One stood in the middle of the chamber, staring at the System message that declared his original player authority temporarily revoked. For the first time since he appeared, he looked uncertain. "What did you do?"I kept my eyes on him. "I used the System.""You do not have enough authority.""I do now."The System confirmed it, showing my administrative access at fifteen percent with override control now active. Subject One took a step toward me, but the floor beneath him immediately lit up and locked onto him, surrounding his body in a blue energy field. He tried to move, but nothing happened. His expression hardened. "You think this will hold me?""I don't know." I raised my blade. "But I'm willing to find out."

The lights went black, and for a few seconds nobody moved. I could hear my own breathing. Then the System appeared, identifying the unknown authority as Daniel Cole.I stared at the message. "That cannot be right."Daniel looked at the screen, his face losing all color. "I did not do that."Subject One stepped closer. "Then someone is using your authority."Daniel shook his head. "No one can access the original creator authority without my core signature."I looked at him. "Then what is happening?"Before Daniel could answer, a loud alarm sounded, announcing that a control transfer of Blackridge Core was in progress, the authority level already at seventeen percent and climbing steadily toward eighteen, then nineteen. Daniel rushed toward the control panel. "Ethan, we have to stop this."I followed him. "Tell me how.""Use Override."I opened the System, and Override appeared as available. I selected it, but nothing happened. I tried again, and the command was denied. I looked at Dani

The floor cracked again, and a wave of black energy rushed through the chamber, throwing dust and pieces of metal into the air. Claire grabbed Victor before he fell, Noah pulled Elias away from the widening crack, and Mary rushed toward Daniel.I stayed where I was, my eyes fixed on the System, which showed the core takeover climbing to seven percent, warning that the original system's control was being overridden by an unknown authority listed as Daniel Cole.My father stared at the screen with disbelief. "I did not do this."My brother stood beside the staircase, watching the crack. "You need to stop looking at the screen, Ethan."I turned toward him. "Why?""Because the System is not telling you everything."The crack suddenly widened, and something moved beneath the floor as a deep metallic sound rolled through the Core. Daniel stepped back. "Everyone move away from the center." We moved, and the Core Warden raised both arms and slammed them into the ground, sending a powerful sho