2025-08-24 02:17:26The console screen turned blood red.
Broadcast Initiated.
Timer: 4:59… 4:58… 4:57…
Shayne stared directly into the camera, his eyes steady, his breath calm. Outside the booth, Elysia stood with her back against the door, hand hovering near her weapon, listening for footsteps. She knew they’d come the moment they traced the unauthorized signal.
Shayne leaned forward.
“If you’re seeing this, then the Accord didn’t stop me in time.”
His voice carried no fear. It rang with quiet fire — deliberate, raw.
“You don’t know my name. You’re not supposed to. They buried me seven years ago. They told you I was an extremist, a virus, a cancer in the body of progress. They called me a myth. A warning story. But I’m none of those things.”
He placed the rusted silver cross on the desk beside him, just barely within frame.
“My name is Shayne Marrow. And I remember everything.”
Somewhere deep in the Central Capitol, in the mirrored tower of the Accord’s Authority Hub, the High Chancellor stood motionless, watching the unauthorized stream play across the encrypted wall feed.
“This isn’t possible,” she muttered. “Zone Zero is sealed.”
Her assistant paled. “Agent Vorn was supposed to detain him. She hasn’t reported back.”
“Shut it down. Kill the feed.”
“We’ve tried. It’s not local. He’s bouncing through relic satellites. Ghost tech. Pre-Accord era.”
The Chancellor’s fingers curled against her palm. “Then fry the entire zone. Now.”
⸻
Back in Zone Zero, the monitor inside Shayne’s booth began cycling through suppressed images — footage of orphaned believers, encrypted scripture fragments, testimony from prisoners the world was told never existed.
His voice continued.
“They told you silence is peace. That questions are chaos. But that’s a lie. Peace doesn’t require silence. It requires truth. And truth doesn’t vanish just because it’s inconvenient.”
The screen now showed a map — a glowing grid of wiped territories across the continent, hidden sanctuaries marked in flickering gold.
“This chip holds it all. The files they scrubbed. The voices they silenced. This is not rebellion. This is remembrance.”
Elysia turned toward him, her breath catching.
She had heard his voice before — during training, inside filtered propaganda clips meant to harden them. But here, unedited, in full — it didn’t sound like a terrorist.
It sounded like a calling.
A shrill sound cracked through the booth — the first warning siren.
“They’ve triangulated us,” Elysia said. “We have less than three minutes.”
Shayne nodded.
“I’m not trying to survive this,” he said.
“But I am,” she snapped. “And I’m not leaving without you.”
He turned to her. “Why?”
“Because my brother believed in you. Because the system made me kill in the name of order, and now I want something more than a legacy of blood. And because…” She trailed off.
He waited.
But she said nothing else.
A second siren wailed—closer.
The monitor flickered violently. A message began flashing:
WARNING: CONNECTION SEVERED IN 90 SECONDS. SELF-PURGE ACTIVATED.
Shayne reached beneath the console and pulled out a slim drive.
“This is the mirror copy. If they burn the stream, this lives.”
He placed it in her hand.
“Take it. Get out through the duct shaft. There’s a tunnel under the back wall. You’ll have two minutes before the internal drones reboot.”
Elysia didn’t move.
“I’m not leaving you,” she whispered.
“You have to. This was never about me.”
A heavy crash shook the wall behind them — the sound of reinforcements.
They were out of time.
Shayne turned back to the feed, leaning in one last time.
“I don’t ask you to fight. I ask you to remember. Remember the voices they erased. The light they buried. The name you were told never to speak.”
He held up the cross.
“His name was never illegal. Only inconvenient.”
And with that, the screen went black.
Transmission terminated.
Shayne stood slowly.
“You have to go,” he said again.
But Elysia didn’t answer.
Because the wall behind her burst open.
Smoke. Flash grenades. Three soldiers rushed in, weapons raised. Before Shayne could react, one struck him across the jaw — hard.
He collapsed against the console.
“Stand down!” Elysia yelled. “He’s unarmed!”
But they didn’t listen.
Another soldier pinned Shayne’s arm behind his back and slammed his face into the desk.
“Broadcast breach confirmed,” said the soldier coldly. “Subject termination protocol—activated.”
Elysia reached for her badge. “He’s mine! I’m E-7, override command—”
Her words died in her throat.
Because a fourth soldier entered the room.
And it wasn’t just any soldier.
It was Commander Riven — head of Unity Division. A man known only by his armor, his voice, and the blood on his hands.
“Step aside, Vorn,” he said, voice like steel wrapped in ice.
“He’s under my jurisdiction.”
“Not anymore.”
Shayne’s breath was ragged. Blood trickled down his temple. But his eyes burned bright.
“I’m not afraid of death,” he muttered.
Riven crouched beside him. “Good,” he said. “Because I’m not giving you that luxury.”
Riven rose to his feet and looked at the broken console.
He kicked it once—then turned to his men.
“Bag him,” he ordered.
“Take him to Facility 9.”
Elysia froze.
Facility 9 didn’t exist.
At least — it wasn’t supposed to.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter Seventeen: Fracture
Light swallowed everything.For a moment Shayne thought he was dead. No sound, no weight, no edges to cling to—only searing brilliance flooding his senses. His lungs strained for breath in the void, and he wondered if Grant had burned the world down to nothing.Then the light cracked.It spiderwebbed like glass, shards breaking apart to reveal flashes of reality beneath: stone, steel, fractured circuitry. The ground lurched and the brilliance splintered, collapsing into a storm of jagged fragments that rained around him. Shayne stumbled, shielding his face as the pieces of light dissolved to ash.He hit solid ground again. His knees slammed into fractured stone, ribs aching with the impact. He sucked in a ragged breath and forced his eyes open.The ruins were unrecognizable.The chamber’s arches had buckled, steel beams twisted and warped by the blast. Walls bled sparks, streams of corrupted code bleeding down their surfaces like oil. The air shimmered with residual heat, carrying the
Chapter Sixteen: The Choice of Fire
Shayne’s lungs locked as the ground beneath him pulsed, alive with the rhythm of the Accord’s trap. The sigils carved into the steel floor weren’t just glowing—they were breathing, expanding with each surge of energy like a beast drawing in air before the strike.“Shayne.” Elysia’s voice cracked sharp, pulling him back from paralysis. Her eyes tracked the widening circle of red light beneath them, her hands flexing on the grip of her pulse-blade. “This isn’t just a kill-switch. They’ve primed a dimensional rupture. If it blows—”“It won’t just take this block,” Shayne finished grimly. His chest burned as the Seal pulsed against his ribs. “It’ll take the city.”All around them, Accord soldiers tightened their formation, weapons gleaming silver in the strobing light of the countdown. Their helmets obscured human features, eyes glowing with the cold blue of the Accord’s AI link. They weren’t afraid. They were waiting.Waiting for him to choose wrong.Elysia leaned closer, her whisper a k
Chapter Fifteen: Fire in the Veins
Shayne’s heart pounded as the reinforced steel doors exploded inward. Sparks sprayed across the chamber, the concussion rattling his teeth. Accord soldiers poured through in perfect formation—black armor gleaming beneath the strobing emergency lights, rifles raised, visors blank.He didn’t wait.The Seal in his chest pulsed hot, raw fire licking his veins. His fists ignited in a burst of crimson light as he lunged forward, intercepting the first wave. His knuckles slammed into a soldier’s chestplate—the man flew backward, armor shrieking as it dented. Another swung his rifle toward Shayne, but the weapon melted to slag before the trigger could be pulled.Gunfire erupted.Elysia Vorn dove beside him, cloak whipping behind her. She moved with the precision of a blade unsheathed—pistol in one hand, a jagged short-sword in the other. Two soldiers dropped in quick succession, bullets piercing weak seams in their armor. She spun low, kicking one man’s knee backward before slashing his throa
Chapter Fourteen: The Hand That Opens the Gate
The silence after the illusions broke was almost unbearable. Shayne sat slumped against the cold wall, chest heaving, his hand pressed to the cracked Seal glowing faintly beneath his shirt. The air smelled of rust and ozone, and every flicker of the lights made him wonder if another ghost would materialize to torment him.But no ghosts came. No Shiloh. No phantom twin. Only the raw ache of knowing his mind had been bent, played like a broken string.His thoughts spun. Serah’s plea still echoed—find Shiloh—but now he couldn’t trust what he had seen. Was she real? Was anything?The hiss of a sliding door cut through his spiraling thoughts.Shayne lurched upright, ready to fight with nothing but his fists. But instead of a soldier or another phantom, a figure walked in with deliberate calm. Her boots clicked softly against the steel floor.Elysia Vorn.Tall, sharp-featured, dressed in a black coat lined with crimson threading, she looked like someone who didn’t walk into chaos—she direct
Chapter Thirteen: The Lie That Binds
Shayne’s breath came ragged, burning his throat as he staggered down the endless corridor. The alarms had quieted, but inside his head the ringing never stopped. Each footfall echoed too loud, too sharp—like someone else was following just a half-step behind.He knew better than to turn around. Every time he looked, the shadows rearranged themselves into something familiar. A silhouette. A face. The faint glimmer of golden eyes that could not exist.Shiloh.He forced the name from his mind, gritting his teeth. No. Not real. Not her. Not me.But the memory of the voice lingered. You are incomplete. They severed us. Without me, you’ll burn out before the prophecy completes.The words had felt true—achingly true—but Shayne had been trained to spot manipulation. The Accord had refined illusions into a science. They didn’t just project false images; they rewrote the senses, stitched false emotion into memory until you couldn’t tell what belonged to you anymore.And yet… hadn’t he felt her
Chapter Twelve: The Shadow of a Twin
Shayne staggered to his feet, heart hammering. The figure before him—hooded, eyes glowing faintly like his own—had spoken his name.“Shayne.”The voice was soft, yet it rang in his bones. He whispered back, “Shiloh…”The hood slipped away, and there it was again: her face, identical yet not. Eyes carved from firelight, lips pressed with sorrow, features shaped from the same blueprint as his. For a breath, his chest cracked wide with recognition.“You’re real,” he said, voice hoarse. “You—”“No.” She shook her head, stepping closer. “Not as you think. I’m only what you lost. What they tore away when they split you from yourself.”The words cut like glass. Shayne staggered back. “I don’t—”“You do,” the not-Shiloh whispered. “You’ve felt the hollow in your chest. The flame that sputters instead of burns. You’ve always known it wasn’t whole.”Shayne pressed his fists against his temples. His skull throbbed. The chamber around them—the stone walls, the corridor—flickered, static bleeding
You may also like
Who are you
RedCEE3.6K viewsThe Veracity Behind the Reality
Amber Shaw2.4K viewsThe Mafia Revenge
Rose Queen 4.1K viewsThe Suicidal Killer
RediousInPaper2.5K viewsThe sheriff's hunt
Honey dropXx 1.2K viewsThe Christmas Darling
Jason Boyce3.6K viewsTHE SHADOW AGREEMENT
Hop-Grip98 viewsShadows of the Law
B.L. Sinclair30 views