Avalon Headquarters sat like a sterile crown above Area-73, a tower of white steel and humming glass rising beyond the clouds. Inside, everything was quiet—too quiet. Silence here wasn't peace. It was control.
On the ninety-third floor, a circular chamber buzzed with holographic screens. Red lines danced across maps of the world. Energy readings pulsed like digital heartbeats. Every operator wore the same cold expression: fear wrapped in duty.
A loud alarm shattered the stillness.
"Genesis resonance detected," an operator shouted. "Area-73, industrial sector."
A woman in a black uniform stepped forward. Director Vharis Solenne, the architect of Avalon's modern power. Her eyes were sharp as blades, her voice colder than the tower steel.
"Show me."
A hologram expanded. A purple spike of energy rippled across the city map.
"That's the strongest fossil reading in ten years," another agent murmured. "Stronger than the Cradle War incident."
Vharis clasped her hands behind her back.
"And Eclipse?" she asked without looking.
A different screen opened—footage of masked crowds chanting under neon lights, carrying banners of a broken sun.
"They grow bolder," an officer said. "Their manifesto spreads fast. Direct attacks on Avalon facilities are increasing. If they gain access to energy Stones—"
"They won't," Vharis cut in. "Continue."
Another operator swallowed hard. "Aerial Unit-04 traced the energy pulse. It came from a duffel bag carried by an unknown male."
A face appeared on the screen.
A young man. Sharp eyes. Tired expression. Dust-covered jacket.
Zen.
The room froze.
"That's him," someone whispered. "Son of Aydren ?"
Vharis narrowed her gaze.
"Confirm."
The system scanned deeper, matching facial structures, bone density, and gait patterns. The result flashed:
MATCH CONFIRMED — ZEN AYDREN — PRIORITY SUBJECT
A slow smile touched Vharis's lips.
"The son of the man who ended World War Three," she said. "I wondered when fate would return him to us."
"But Director," an agent objected, "he works with local mafia. They're an Avalon-sanctioned group. Eliminating him now risks destabilizing—"
"We are not eliminating him," Vharis replied. "The Protocol needs him alive."
A holographic blueprint opened beside her: a metallic bracelet, segmented, pulsing faintly.
" The aydren Bracelet," she said softly. "Our greatest failure. Our greatest hope."
"It still doesn't respond to soldiers, elites, or engineered subjects," an engineer reported. "Only… children. Young minds. Pure ones."
"Which is why I wanted the younger one," Vharis murmured. "Rey."
The room grew silent again.
"But the older brother is different," she continued. "Strong. Mentally disciplined. And now… in possession of a Genesis Stone." Her smile sharpened. "Or at least near one."
She turned to her staff. "Prepare a containment squad. Quietly. We don't engage the mafia yet. They're useful… until they become obstacles."
One operator hesitated."…What if Eclipse interferes?"
Vharis didn't even blink.
"Then we remind the world why Avalon rebuilt civilization."
Meanwhile — Eclipse Safehouse
Deep underground, in an abandoned metro tunnel far from Avalon's polished towers, a projector flickered over cracked concrete walls. A masked figure watched the same spike of Genesis energy.
"So," the figure whispered, voice distorted, "Avalon has sniffed something rare."
A second masked rebel leaned forward. "Should we move?"
"Not yet," the leader replied. "Let Avalon make the first mistake. They always do."
Back in Avalon
A final scan showed Zen's path through the alleys. His heat signature. His proximity to the Stone.
"Director," a young agent said quietly, "the drone footage shows something else… a distortion in the alley. A creature. And then—something erased it."
The room stiffened.
Vharis leaned closer. "Play it."
Static flickered. Glitching shadows. A shape like a humanoid ghost.
Then nothing.
"A new threat?" the agent asked nervously.
"No," Vharis replied. "An old one. One we cannot afford to awaken again."
She turned sharply.
"Begin the hunt for Zen Aydren. Bring him in alive. And find the stone."
Her voice dropped to a whisper, meant only for herself:
"The world won't survive another Stone's Energy War.