The white light pulled Ethan forward relentlessly. He dug his boots into the floor, but the force was far too strong, and his body moved toward the open gate inch by inch no matter how hard he resisted."Ethan!"Claire grabbed his arm at once. Victor grabbed hold of Claire, while Noah and Elias held onto Victor in turn, and Ethan's twin reached for his other hand. The pull only grew stronger.Daniel shouted from behind them. "Do not fight it!"Ethan looked back at him. "What?"Daniel pointed toward the gate. "It wants you to resist. That is how it measures your authority."Ethan let himself stop fighting, and the moment he relaxed, the force around him changed entirely. Instead of dragging him forward, it went still, and the white light simply remained open before him.Ethan stared into it. "What happens if I enter?"Daniel answered quietly. "You will see what the System was built to hide."Ethan glanced back at the two hundred and seventy three subjects still waiting nearby. "They ca

Ethan's blade collided hard with the black eyed version of himself, and the impact sent a shock rippling through the entire white chamber. He slid backward, his boots scraping across the strange floor beneath him, while the stranger stood perfectly still."You cannot defeat me," the stranger said."I do not need to defeat you. I need to stop you."Ethan charged forward, but the stranger matched his speed exactly. Every attack he made was answered before it could even land, since every movement felt disturbingly familiar to the creature, who seemed to know Ethan's fighting style as well as Ethan himself did. He changed direction abruptly, and the stranger changed with him without hesitation. He attacked high, and it blocked. He struck low, and it blocked again just as easily. Then the stranger's fist connected with Ethan's chest, sending him flying across the chamber.Claire shouted his name in alarm. Ethan rolled with the impact and forced himself back upright, his chest still burning

Ethan stepped into the transport chamber and found everyone already waiting there for him. The two hundred and seventy three rescued subjects filled the enormous room, some sitting against the walls in exhaustion while others stood together in small, quiet clusters.Claire walked over to him. "Are you all right?" she asked."I am."She studied his face carefully for a moment. "You look different."Ethan glanced down at his own hands. "I feel different."His twin approached them next. "What happened?"Ethan turned toward Daniel instead of answering directly. "Tell them."Daniel faced the assembled group. "We have seventy two hours," he said.A heavy silence followed his words. Victor frowned. "Until what?""Something beyond the Void reaches Earth."Noah looked toward Ethan. "Can the new System stop it?"Ethan shook his head honestly. "I do not know."That admission frightened the group far more than any warning could have, and Ethan raised his voice to cut through the growing unease. "

Ethan reached the command center before Daniel had even finished speaking. Mary stood beside him, her face tense with worry, while the rescued subjects had already been moved into the lower rooms and Claire and the others waited near the entrance.Daniel turned to face him. "The two extra passengers were not listed because I did not know how to explain them.""Then explain now."Daniel looked toward Mary, and she slowly shook her head. "I did not know," she said quietly.Ethan stared at both of them. "Who are they?"Daniel pressed his hand against the transport chamber console, and a hidden panel slid open beneath it, revealing two sealed chambers set into the floor below. Ethan's eyes widened."There are people inside?"Daniel nodded. "The first was recovered from the Void years ago. The second was found beneath Blackridge before the apocalypse ever began.""Why hide them?""Because I was afraid the System would find them."Ethan stepped toward the chambers. "Open them."Daniel hesit

The memory began in silence. Ethan stood inside a white room, six years old again, with no pain, no fear, and no adults shouting around him. For the first time, he was seeing this memory with complete clarity.He stood before a black glass chamber, and inside it waited the very same creature that now stood beneath Blackridge, though it looked different here, smaller and trapped behind layers of glowing seals. Daniel stood just behind him, while Mary was nowhere in sight. A group of scientists watched from across the room.One of them spoke. "Subject Zero has made contact."Another voice answered. "The Void response is increasing."Ethan looked at the creature, and the creature looked back at him. Then it spoke, though not with words. It spoke through images instead. He saw cities burning, people running in terror, creatures pouring through open gates, and the Void spreading steadily across countless worlds. Then he saw something far worse than any of that.He saw human beings turning