2025-03-25 05:46:47Soho, Manhattan – Cipher’s Apartment – 9:32 A.M.
The screen glowed with decrypted data, the pieces of a deadly puzzle finally coming together.
Leo “Cipher” Marquez cracked his knuckles, his bloodshot eyes scanning the code at lightning speed. **Lines of financial transactions, offshore accounts, military-grade equipment orders—**all leading to one thing.
Operation Solstice.
Ethan leaned over his shoulder. “Tell me what I’m looking at.”
Leo exhaled sharply. “This isn’t just some run-of-the-mill arms deal. It’s an attack. A large-scale, coordinated strike.”
Evelyn narrowed her eyes. “Where?”
Leo clicked a few keys, pulling up a heatmap of international wire transfers. The majority of the funds were funneled into three locations—New York, London, and Dubai.
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Three targets. Three days.”
Leo muttered, “These aren’t just random targets. The money trails lead to energy grids, financial hubs, and government communication relays. If The Dominion pulls this off, they’ll send entire cities into chaos.”
Evelyn’s expression darkened. “This isn’t just about power. They’re resetting the global order.”
Ethan stood abruptly, reaching for his gun.
“We need to move.”
But then—
BANG!
The window shattered as a bullet punched through the glass, embedding itself in the monitor next to Leo’s head.
“DOWN!” Ethan roared, shoving Evelyn to the floor as another silenced shot whizzed past.
The Dominion had found them.
The Escape – 9:35 A.M.
Ethan’s instincts took over. Three snipers. Rooftops across the street. The Dominion wasn’t just sending a warning—they were sending executioners.
“Leo, back door. NOW.”
Leo scrambled, grabbing his laptop as Ethan and Evelyn covered him.
Ethan grabbed a flashbang from his belt, pulled the pin, and hurled it toward the window.
BOOM!
The explosion of light and sound bought them seconds, but seconds were all they needed.
They burst through the back door into a narrow alleyway, where a black SUV skidded to a stop.
The driver’s side window rolled down. A man with slicked-back dark hair and ice-cold blue eyes stared at Ethan.
Adrian Locke.
One of The Dominion’s top enforcers.
“Cross,” Adrian said smoothly, tapping a cigarette against his wrist. “You always were a pain in the ass.”
Ethan raised his gun. “You always were a smug bastard.”
Adrian smirked—and then the alley erupted in gunfire.
The Chase – 9:40 A.M.
Ethan and Evelyn sprinted for cover as bullets tore into brick and concrete.
Leo, panting, gasped, “I—am—not—built—for—this!”
Ethan grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forward. “Move your ass, Cipher!”
Evelyn spotted a motorcycle chained to a lamppost. Without hesitation, she pulled a lockpick from her sleeve, jamming it into the ignition.
“Ethan!” she shouted.
He turned just in time to see her kick-start the engine.
Ethan shoved Leo onto the bike behind Evelyn.
“What about you?” she yelled.
Ethan glanced back at Adrian Locke, who was stepping out of the SUV, a custom-made silencer pistol in hand.
Ethan smirked. “I’ll catch up.”
Then he ran straight at Adrian.
The Showdown – 9:42 A.M.
Adrian aimed.
Ethan dodged left, grabbed a metal pipe from the ground, and swung.
CRACK.
Adrian blocked at the last second, but the impact was enough to throw off his aim.
Ethan followed up with a vicious elbow to the jaw, sending Adrian stumbling.
“Still quick, I see,” Adrian muttered, wiping blood from his lip.
Ethan spun the pipe in his grip. “Still slow, I see.”
Adrian lunged.
They clashed—brutal, fast, efficient. No wasted movement. No hesitation. Just two trained killers fighting to survive.
Then—
A siren wailed in the distance. NYPD.
Adrian cursed, stepping back. “We’ll finish this later, Cross.”
Ethan didn’t wait. He bolted toward the fire escape, climbing as the sirens grew louder.
Regrouping – 10:15 A.M.
Ethan caught up with Evelyn and Leo at a safe house in Queens.
Leo was still gasping for breath. “I—want—a—raise.”
Evelyn ignored him. “We need to split up.”
Ethan nodded. “I’ll take New York. You head to London.”
Evelyn hesitated. “And Dubai?”
Ethan clenched his jaw. “We’ll need an inside man for that.”
Evelyn’s eyes darkened. “You mean him.”
Ethan exhaled. He didn’t like it either, but they had no choice.
They needed to contact Sebastian Vance—a man with deep ties to The Dominion.
A man Ethan once called his best friend.
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Chapter 158-The Guardians of Forgotten Echoes
The Arclight slipped through muted starfields, the Echo Core’s new beacon casting a soft cerulean glow against its hull plating. Above the crystal seas of Zyphera, below the ruins of Virellos, and beyond the ringed world of Rhalos Prime, Ethan Cross navigated by memory more than charts. Ahead lay the Lysian Trench—a network of oceanic planets that had never heard the Covenant’s call, their shores silent to the Accord’s song.Mira Vale joined him at the helm, eyes bright behind her visor. “Our beacon is live. We should see responses soon.”Ethan nodded, voice low. “The Forgotten Expanse awakened the Lumari. Zyphera reclaimed its coral song. Now let’s find the Lysian worlds—and give them their voice back.”Behind them, Arin Soh monitored the holomap. “I’m picking up three replies: Lysia-3, Lysia-7, and Lysia-Prime. All within jump range.”
Chapter 157-Echoes of the Forgotten Expanse
The Arclight glided silently through the vastness of space, its hull reflecting the distant starlight. Ethan Cross stood at the observation deck, gazing into the void, contemplating the journey ahead. The recent integration of Zyphera into the Accord had been a significant milestone, but the path forward was fraught with uncertainty.Mira Vale joined him, her presence a comforting constant amidst the ever-changing cosmos.“The Forgotten Expanse,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “A region untouched by the Dominion, yet shrouded in silence.”Ethan nodded. “It’s time we break that silence.”As the Arclight approached the coordinates of the Forgotten Expanse, the crew prepared for the unknown. The region was a vast stretch of space, dotted with ancient stars and veiled in cosmic dust. Sensors picked up faint energy signatures, hinting at the presence of
Chapter 156-Beneath the Crystalline Tides
The shuttle’s grav-grip hooks disengaged from the Arclight, and Ethan Cross stepped onto the glimmering deck of the Niven Dawn, the first of the Covenant’s mobile hubs. Below him stretched the crystalline ocean of Zyphera—its waves incandescent with bioluminescent coral that pulsed in fractal patterns, casting ripples of pale violet across the sky. The air smelled of salt and phosphor, a scent at once new and urgently familiar.Mira Vale followed, her boots sinking slightly into the transparent deck. “This place is alive,” she whispered. “The sea itself remembers.”Archavist Serene Selene, recently returned from Rhalos Prime, met them at the gangway. Her robe of woven holographic tendrils shimmered in step with the tides. “Welcome to Zyphera. The Covenant seed here will bloom beneath these waves.”Ethan scanned the horizon. Far off, floating platforms tethered to the
Chapter 154- The Ashes Between Worlds
The sky over Virellos fractured like a mirror, its once-sterile clouds now streaked with obsidian tendrils, curling as if breathing. Ethan stood beneath it all, boots slick with ash, blood dried in streaks across his jaw. Behind him, the ruins of the Spire still smoldered, its collapse echoing through the war-torn city like the aftershock of a fallen god.“We’re out of time,” said Myra, her voice edged in steel as she crouched beside a dying agent. “The Rift’s widening—if we don’t sever the link, it’ll consume the last of this quadrant.”Ethan’s fingers twitched toward the glyph core strapped to his chest. “Where’s Eilion?” he asked, already dreading the answer.Myra met his gaze. “He’s not coming. The Ninth Host intercepted him on the Vantrex Bridge. He bought us the window to reach the Core. That window’s closing.”
Chapter 155-From Ashes, the First Dawn
Smoke curled above the shattered Spire’s ruins like the last breath of a dying god. In the hush that followed the Rift’s collapse, all who remained on Virellos bore wounds that went beyond flesh. Yet, as the first light of morning filtered through ash-laden clouds, there was a fragile promise in the air: the promise of a world remade.Ethan Cross woke to the taste of blood and the weight of iron on his ribs. Pain seared through him with every shallow breath. He tried to rise but found himself cradled in Myra’s arms on a bed of broken obsidian fragments. She held a damp cloth to his temple, her eyes red-rimmed but unbowed.“You’re safe,” she murmured. “Vasha succeeded. The Rift is closed.”Ethan’s vision swam. “Vasha?”Myra swallowed. “She… she gave everything. There was no pulling her back.”He c
Chapter 153-The Harmony of New Worlds
The Arclight cruised through the gentle swirl of the Rosetta Expanse, its hull brushing aside clouds of iridescent dust. Below lay countless minor worlds—gazetted “Class Zeta”—each awaiting the seed of the Covenant. From the bridge, Ethan Cross surveyed the network map: every green node now connected, but dozens of unclaimed planets lay beyond. He exhaled, feeling both the weight and the promise of freedom.Mira Vale approached, tablet in hand. “Our next target is Rhalos Prime. A ring world of biotech spires, once a Dominion experimental station. They isolated it during the final collapse. No Accord presence yet.”Arin Soh added, “The locals have rebuilt as hermits, refusing outside influence. But they maintain an ancient archive—transcripts of first-contact negotiations lost elsewhere.”Kaz Reed cracked his knuckles. “Then let’s open their gate. Trade mem
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