They came at night.
---
Not one.
---
Not three.
---
Dozens.
---
The Null Sect no longer hid.
---
They descended.
---
Across routes.
Across nodes.
Across everything.
---
The system—
strained.
---
Kael stood at the center.
---
And held.
---
Because now—
this wasn't a fight.
---
This was—
survival at scale.