2025-03-25 05:51:05Monte Carlo – 2:05 A.M.
Ethan stared at the dead phone in his hand, his pulse a steady drumbeat of adrenaline.
Adrian Locke wasn’t just watching him.
He was waiting.
A knock at the door snapped Ethan’s attention back to the room. Instinct kicked in—he drew his gun, stepping to the side before opening it.
Leo stood in the doorway, breathing hard, sweat on his brow. “We need to go. Now.”
Ethan’s grip on the gun tightened. “Talk.”
Leo pushed past him, locking the door behind him. “Locke isn’t alone. He’s got a kill team in Monaco.”
Ethan’s jaw clenched. So that’s why he called.
It wasn’t just a threat.
It was a warning.
Mirage Casino – Underground Parking Lot – 2:30 A.M.
Ethan and Leo moved fast and silent, their weapons tucked beneath their jackets.
Sebastian had arranged an extraction, but it wasn’t foolproof. Nothing was when Adrian Locke was involved.
Leo tapped his earpiece. “Evelyn, we’re in position.”
Static. Then—her voice, sharp with tension.
“You’ve got company.”
Ethan’s gut tightened.
Footsteps echoed from behind the parked cars. Shadows moved.
Leo pulled his gun, eyes scanning. “How many?”
Evelyn’s voice came low and urgent. “Four… no, five.”
Ethan exhaled sharply. Five against two. Not great, but not impossible.
Then—a click.
Ethan’s instincts screamed. He spun, tackling Leo to the ground just as—
BOOM.
A silenced shot tore through the air, missing his head by inches.
Leo swore. “We’re made.”
The fight was on.
The Shootout
The garage erupted in gunfire.
Ethan rolled behind a car, his back hitting the metal with force. A second shot shattered a side mirror above his head.
Leo returned fire, clipping one of the operatives in the leg. The man collapsed, cursing in Russian.
Another rushed Ethan’s position.
Ethan waited—counted the steps.
Then, he moved.
A sharp elbow to the attacker’s ribs. A twist. The man’s gun hit the ground.
Ethan didn’t hesitate—he fired, point-blank.
The body crumpled.
Leo shouted, “Two more coming in!”
Ethan ducked as another shot whizzed past his ear. He turned, fired twice—one bullet to the chest, the other to the head.
The last man standing hesitated. Fear flickered in his eyes.
Ethan stepped forward, gun raised. “Tell Locke I’m not running.”
The man swallowed, then bolted.
Silence settled over the garage.
Leo exhaled. “That was close.”
Ethan reloaded. “Not close enough.”
He looked down at one of the dead men.
Their gear was high-grade military. Locke hadn’t sent assassins.
He’d sent hunters.
And Ethan had just declared war.
At Mirage Casino 's Underground Parking Lot – 2:45 A.M.
The air stank of gunpowder and blood. The bodies of Locke’s men were scattered across the garage floor, their weapons cooling beside them.
Ethan wiped a streak of blood from his jaw, his pulse still hammering.
Leo let out a breath. “This was a message.”
Ethan nodded. “Locke wants me dead. But not yet.”
Because Locke could’ve sent ten men. Twenty. A full kill squad.
But he didn’t.
He wanted Ethan to know he was being hunted.
A warning. A game.
And Ethan had no choice but to play.
Leo pulled out his phone. “We need to move. Monaco’s not safe.”
Ethan glanced at the security cameras—the red lights were blinking.
Someone was watching.
He gritted his teeth. “We’re already compromised.”
Then, a sharp ring from Leo’s phone. Evelyn.
Leo answered. “Tell me you have good news.”
Silence.
Then—Evelyn’s voice, tight with urgency.
“You need to get out. Now.”
Ethan’s stomach dropped. “What’s happening?”
Evelyn’s breath was unsteady. “Interpol is on the way.”
Leo cursed under his breath.
Ethan’s eyes darkened.
Locke was always ten steps ahead.
And he had just made Ethan a wanted man.
The Escape – 2:50 A.M.
The garage was a death trap.
Leo pointed to the far side. “Service exit. We take it, we’re ghosts.”
Ethan didn’t argue. He moved.
They reached the door just as the wail of sirens filled the streets above.
Ethan shoved the exit open, stepping into the cold night air.
Then—floodlights exploded to life.
A dozen black SUVs blocked the alleyway.
Ethan’s gut twisted. Not Interpol. Not Monaco PD.
Locke’s men.
Leo swore. “This was a setup.”
Ethan’s eyes scanned the exits. Too many guns. No cover. No way out.
The car doors opened.
A man stepped out, dressed in a tailored black suit, cigarette hanging from his lips.
His voice was smooth. Refined. Deadly.
“Mr. Cross.”
Ethan’s blood ran cold.
Because he knew that voice.
Viktor Ivanov.
A ghost from his past.
And one of the most dangerous men in the world.
A Devil’s Bargain – 2:55 A.M.
Viktor smirked. “I hear you’ve been making enemies, Ethan.”
Ethan’s jaw clenched. “You’re working for Locke now?”
Viktor chuckled. “No. But I do owe him a favor.”
Ethan’s mind raced. Viktor was ex-KGB, now a high-level arms dealer. He didn’t work for free.
So what did he want?
Viktor took a long drag from his cigarette. “Locke wants you dead. I, however, have an offer.”
Ethan’s fingers twitched near his gun. “I’m listening.”
Viktor smiled. A predator’s grin.
“You work for me. One job. One target.”
Ethan didn’t flinch. “And if I refuse?”
Viktor shrugged. “Then I hand you over to Locke.”
Leo muttered, “Great options.”
Ethan’s mind spun. Viktor didn’t bluff.
He could fight—but not against an army.
And Locke was closing in.
Ethan exhaled. He had no choice.
Finally, he nodded.
Viktor smiled wider. “Good.”
He flicked his cigarette aside.
“Welcome to hell.”
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
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
You may also like
