The storm outside the Eden Watchtower was relentless—sheets of cold rain crashing against armored glass, thunder rolling like the growl of something ancient. In the topmost level, a figure stood alone, staring into the storm with steepled fingers and unreadable eyes.
Dr. Evander Cael.
He was known in some circles as The Architect. The man behind Eden's early mind-link experiments. A phantom in white coats, whose name had been purged from official records but whispered like a curse among those who'd survived the early tests.
His silver hair was slicked back, streaked with black strands that hadn't yet surrendered to time. One of his eyes was artificial—a gleaming blue lens that pulsed faintly when he spoke.
"Run it again," he said softly.
The assistant behind him, a nervous-looking tech barely out of training, nodded quickly and tapped the console.
A hologram bloomed above them—a wireframe rendering of Carter's brain. Neural patterns flickered like constellations in a dying galaxy. But something was off. Something was missing.
"Do you see that?" Cael asked.
The tech leaned in. "Looks like a corrupted cluster. Possibly a memory hole?"
"No," Cael whispered. "It's not corrupted. It's shielded. He's hiding something."
The tech frowned. "But… neural shielding is illegal. Not even our AIs can breach that."
Cael turned slowly. "Exactly. Which means whoever did this wasn't Eden. Someone's protecting him from us."
His gaze hardened.
"Find out who."
---
Meanwhile, in the Resistance convoy heading toward the outskirts of Sector 8, Emory handed out gear as the hum of hovercraft engines filled the cabin.
"Two teams. Rae and Julian take the perimeter. Damian, you're with me—straight to the vaults."
Julian glanced toward a hooded figure sitting quietly in the back.
"Who's the new guy?"
Emory turned. "Meet Kairo. Code-breaker. Weapons modder. Former Eden engineer."
Kairo pulled down his hood to reveal a sharp jaw, deep-set eyes, and braided hair streaked with copper. A cybernetic tattoo pulsed across his neck—lines of glowing script that changed every few seconds.
Rae arched an eyebrow. "Can we trust him?"
Kairo smiled faintly. "I'm not here for trust. I'm here because Eden erased my family and left me for dead. So believe what you want. But when the bullets start flying, I'll be the one rewriting their firewalls."
---
Back in the containment facility, Sera stood outside Carter's cell, watching him through the glass. Something in his eyes had changed. Less anger. More… calculation.
She pressed her hand to the lockpad, but before the door could open, alarms began to blare.
Red lights flashed. Security guards ran past.
"What's happening?" she called out to a passing officer.
"Containment breach!" he yelled. "Multiple cells—somebody hacked the central gate!"
Sera turned just as the lights flickered—and the glass wall between her and Carter disappeared. Not shattered. Not deactivated.
Gone.
Carter was already standing. Unbound. Unfazed.
"Who did this?" she demanded.
He looked at her—and for the first time, smiled.
"You really think I came here to be caught?"
Before she could reach for her weapon, Carter was gone—vanishing into the chaos like a ghost in the machine.