District 6 was silent.
Not quiet—silent. No power. No wind. No motion. Just rows of empty streets and buildings that looked hollow, like the life had been scraped out of them with invisible claws.
Jalen, Reyka, and Ari moved carefully through the ruins, the only sound the soft crunch of gravel beneath their boots. Reyka held her scanner up, its readings flickering erratically.
"This whole sector's been nullified," she muttered. "No energy signatures, no heat, nothing."
"It's like the district died," Ari said.
Jalen's eyes glowed faintly. "Or like it's dying right now."
A soft hum drifted through the air.
They froze.
Ahead, a single streetlamp flickered on—not with normal light, but with a dim, grayish glow that pulsed like a heartbeat. Beneath it stood a figure.
Tall. Motionless.
Cloaked in shadow that moved unnaturally, bending away from the light. Its face was obscured by a jagged black mask, and its presence was wrong—like gravity bent around it.
Jalen stepped forward. "Null."
The figure tilted its head.
"Jalen Grey," it said. Not spoken—felt. Like the words crawled into their skulls.
"You shouldn't exist," it continued. "The Core ended. You should have burned."
"I did," Jalen replied. "But I came back."
Null raised a hand—and the world bent.
Reyka screamed as her gear sparked and died in her hands. Ari staggered, her gauntlets flickering before powering down completely.
Jalen stood his ground, the ember in his chestplate pulsing. He could feel Null trying to strip his energy away—but something resisted. The shard was holding.
Jalen lunged.
Flames burst from his fists as he flew forward, striking Null with a blast that lit the entire street. The shockwave tore through the buildings, shattering glass. Null staggered—but didn't fall.
Instead, he absorbed the fire.
And then returned it.
A wave of black flame engulfed the street, swallowing everything. Jalen threw up a barrier of Ember energy, gritting his teeth. Reyka dove behind him. Ari rolled under debris, cursing as her now-useless gauntlets sparked again.
"You fight with light," Null said. "But light creates shadow. And shadow is mine."
With a pulse, Null disappeared into the air—vanishing like smoke in the wind.
The street was left smoldering, buildings half-collapsed. The silence returned.
Jalen dropped to one knee, breathing hard.
"He's not just draining powers," Reyka said. "He's copying them."
Ari looked around. "And next time... he won't just be testing us."
Jalen stood again. "Then we can't wait for next time."
He looked toward the horizon, where the clouds were darkening again.
"He's going after the Rift scar. And if he reaches it—he could unravel everything."