The alarms didn't go off the next morning.
They howled.
Red strobes lit every hall in Nova Veil Command, spinning in tight, fast circles like blood caught in a centrifuge. Riley bolted upright in her cot, already moving before her thoughts caught up. The sensation tore through her chest like cold fire.
Daphne.
The Link pulsed wildly—not words, not even images. Just pressure. A warning.
She yanked on her field suit and sprinted out the door, joining the river of soldiers and staff that poured into the main corridor. No one shouted. There were no commands. That was what made it terrifying. Everyone moved like instinct, like this had always been the drill. Even though Riley could feel in her bones—
This wasn't a drill.
Daphne's voice came through at last, fragmented: Lab—east wing—scramble protocol—don't let them—
The Link cracked.
Then silence.
Riley didn't think.
She ran.
Daphne Thorne was surrounded.
Three cloaked agents in black armor stood at the entrance to Lab 4B, weapons drawn—not guns, but long, jagged blades etched with null sigils. Anti-link steel.
No questions. No accusations.
Just judgment.
Daphne had barely enough time to initiate a data wipe, slamming a fist against her console. Screens fizzled. Drives overloaded. Synthetic sparks flared around her as the files began to self-destruct.
The center screen pulsed with red glyphs:
PROJECT ECHO — PURGE SEQUENCE INITIATED
The door burst inward.
Daphne rolled beneath the table as the first blade slammed down where she'd been. One of the agents barked a word in Old Tongue. Chains of violet fire shot toward her—binding, seeking.
But Daphne wasn't the same.
She caught the chains mid-air.
And burned them.
Riley skidded into the east wing, boots shrieking across the floor.
What she saw stopped her heart.
The hallway outside Lab 4B was scorched. Black streaks lined the walls. The lights above flickered erratically. And the door—it was gone. Melted. Not breached. Just... absent.
Riley stepped inside.
Daphne stood in the center of the wreckage, breathless, blood trickling down one temple. One of the black-cloaked agents lay motionless at her feet, armor shattered. The others were gone.
"They found us," Daphne said.
Riley didn't ask who. She already knew.
"What now?" she asked, stepping beside her.
Daphne pressed a bloodied palm to the ruined console. A final glyph blinked.
SHATTER SIGNAL READY
She looked at Riley, eyes glowing faintly. "Now we run."
She triggered the glyph.
Somewhere beneath Nova Veil, a hidden relay lit up.
Far beyond the Divide, on the edge of the Wastes, an old tower long thought dormant blinked once.
And a signal—ancient, forbidden—was launched.
Echo Gate had been opened.
The Shatter Signal was live.
Brael felt it the moment it activated.
His eyes snapped open in his chambers. Fire spilled into his vision. Not real. Not yet. But imminent.
He stepped to the mirror. Watched his reflection change. Not his face.
His eyes.
They were turning gold.
"Kaeliraeth," he said again.
And this time, the fire answered.
A map formed in his mind, etched in flame.
Two points.
Riley.
And something else.
Something waking up.
Something older than the war.
Brael turned.
He did not summon soldiers. He summoned the Watch.
And this time, there would be no warnings.
Riley and Daphne moved fast.
Not through the main compound—those halls were compromised.
Through the old routes. The ventilation tunnels. Maintenance shafts. Forgotten chambers buried beneath the administrative wings.
Riley's side ached. Daphne's hands trembled from overuse. But neither spoke of stopping.
The Link kept them aligned.
Left—drop—watch the pipe—
You okay?
No time.
They reached the edge of the Sector Thirteen service ring—beyond it, the outer rim.
An exit.
Or a trap.
Before they could decide, the wall ahead exploded.
And Brael stepped through.
No armor.
No weapon.
Just eyes like burning metal.
"Children," he said calmly.
Riley stepped forward.
Not afraid.
"You're not here to take us back."
"No," he said. "I'm here to watch what you become."
The floor shook.
Behind him, a second figure emerged from the dust.
Cloaked.
Smiling.
"And I," the new voice said, "am here to decide if they're worth keeping alive."
Riley's hand caught fire.
And the battle for the truth finally began.