255 I'M BACK
"That event distracted the League of Heroes from your operation here," he continued. "That comet wasn't random. We moved it. To help your cause."
Sienna looked up slowly.
"Are you saying I would've failed without the Alliance of Evolution?" she asked.
"You decide that for yourself," he replied. "Find your own answers."
Then his gaze sharpened.
"Meanwhile, I need the keys to the portal to Anu."
"What do you want with them?" Sienna demanded.
"You'll need them," he said calmly, "to fight the armadas and armies of Silver City."
Suddenly, Argent shouted, "Hey—you! Get him too!"
He never finished the order.
With a casual wave of the man's hand, Argent was hurled backward—his body launching through the air and crashing hundreds of meters away. All his drones were destroyed instantly.
The battlefield went silent.
The man raised his hand again.
A glowing circle formed in the air before them, space folding inward as a portal opened.
"Come," he said. "Let's go."
He glanced back at Sienna.
"Quantum is waiting for you."
-----
Damen returned to GenSyn to find Isabelline and her team still hiding inside the facility. Everyone else had already fled. They stayed because they had nowhere to go.
The moment Damen stepped into the building, Isabelline emerged.
"Black Halo—what happened out there?" she asked. "Did the armada win?"
"The armada?" Damen laughed softly. "There won't be much of it left after tonight."
Isabelline's eyes widened. "Did you destroy the entire armada by yourself? There were dozens of Rank A+ soldiers… heroes. And it all happened so fast."
"If I had to pick them off one by one, it would've taken time," Damen said. "But something else did that work for us."
"Who helped us?" Isabelline asked.
"The Annunakins," Damen replied, frowning.
Understanding dawned instantly. "Sienna… she opened the portal to Anu?"
Damen nodded. "That's the most likely explanation. It fits her motto—if she can't have this city, neither can the major families."
A soldier stepped forward, her voice tight with fear. "What about us now?"
Damen turned toward the exit. "Come with me," he said calmly. "I'll take you somewhere safe."
-----
Isabelline and her team drove in a convoy toward the wilderness beyond the city. Above them, Black Halo hovered like a dark sentinel, tearing through the Shadow Hounds that swarmed in ever-growing numbers.
Fortunately, the Annunakins were far more interested in the meta heroes and soldiers of the armada. Only a handful diverted to intercept the convoy—and those were dealt with swiftly by Damen.
"Remember to put on your hazard helmets," Black Halo ordered.
The moment they crossed the city boundary, the air itself turned hostile. Radiation saturated the atmosphere—enough to cause permanent damage… even death.
Damen understood now.
This world had become uninhabitable long ago. Only technology—force-field domes over cities and farms—kept humanity alive.
The drive lasted for hours across a blinding white plain, dotted with strange luminescent plants and towering cacti that glowed faintly in the dark.
This was the real world.
The world outside the domes.
Occasionally, violent creatures emerged—mutated beings twisted by radiation, lethal to most.
None of them were a match for Black Halo.
At last, the convoy reached an abandoned village. Massive stone houses stood in ruins, their walls eroded by time and storms.
Isabelline and her team stepped out.
"This is the safe place you promised?" she snapped. "These houses couldn't even protect us from the radiation."
Black Halo smiled. "Follow me."
He led them into one of the stone structures and raised his hand. The wall trembled—then split apart, revealing a hidden opening. An escalator descended into darkness.
"There's an underground base here?" Isabelline asked, surprised. "How did you find it?"
"While scouting the wilderness for a new base," Damen replied. "We discovered a hidden network of tunnels beneath this village. It once sheltered thousands."
His voice darkened slightly. "But they're long gone now."
They stepped onto the escalator.
The chamber sealed shut, and jets of translucent liquid washed over them, clinging to their suits before evaporating into nothing.
It was an anti-radiation decontamination cycle.
Once the process was complete, the platform began its descent.
When it stopped, the doors opened to an enormous cavern—vast enough to resemble an underground fortress.
Houses and buildings were carved directly into the stone walls, their lights flickering back to life. Tunnels branched out in every direction, stretching deep into a sprawling subterranean city.
----
Liorea rushed forward the moment she saw them.
"Thank goodness you're back," she said breathlessly. "Where is Kail?"
Damen froze. He didn't know how to answer.
Isabelline stepped in.
She produced a compact machine—something akin to a ship's control core, its surface etched with unfamiliar runes and circuitry.
Liorea frowned. "What is this?"
"This," Isabelline said quietly, "is what Kail asked us to bring back to you."
Liorea's eyes hardened. "What do you mean?"
Damen released the nightmare machine from his stored space.
Kail was inside.
Half of his body was gone. Whatever had once sustained his life was no longer there.
"No—!" Liorea screamed.
"Kalmer," Damen said sharply. "Do everything you can. We need to revive Kail."
Kalmer and his team of scientists rushed forward, surrounding the machine. Instruments flared to life as they worked with practiced urgency. It didn't take long before the system restarted.
Kail's chest rose.
Then fell.
The breathing was mechanical. Artificial.
In truth, he was already dead.
Liorea collapsed beside the machine, clutching at it.
"Please," she pleaded, voice breaking. "What is his condition? Save him… please."
Kalmer hesitated before speaking."We've placed his body on full life support. The damaged portions… in time, we can graft replacements."
Liorea grabbed his arm. "You mean—you can save him?"
Kalmer shook his head slowly. "That's all we can do for now. His brain shows no activity. We can keep the cells alive, but…"
He swallowed. "He's essentially gone."
"No—!"
Liorea screamed and collapsed to the floor.
Damen stiffened. Kail's condition shocked him—but Liorea's reaction cut deeper than he expected.
"Liorea," Damen said gently, kneeling beside her. "Please… calm yourself."
She looked up at him, her eyes burning with grief.
"How can I calm down?" she cried. "My brother is dying right in front of me!"
"…Your brother?" Damen echoed.
Liorea froze—then reached into her coat and pulled out a small device. The Coracle tracker.
"This," she said, her voice trembling.
Damen frowned. "That device—"
Kalmer stepped in quietly. "Liorea discovered earlier that Kail is her long-lost brother. We ran a DNA test. It was a match."
"What?" Damen breathed.
Before anyone could react further—
Beep.
The Coracle device lit up.
All eyes snapped to it.
Kalmer stared. "Why is it activating now? Kail is already—"
The realization hit them all at once.
"No," Liorea whispered.
Then louder, desperate—hope clawing through her grief.
"He's alive. The Coracle device only responds if my brother is alive and nearby. It has never been wrong."
Damen placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll do everything we can for Kail, I promise. But trusting that device—"
"No," she interrupted fiercely. "It's never wrong."
Damen said nothing more.
This was grief's hour. Reason could wait.
A tense silence followed—until Isabelline stepped forward.
"What about this machine?" she said. "Kail insisted we bring it back to you."
She pushed the device forward.
Kalmer's expression hardened as he examined it. He connected it to their system.
Instantly, the fortress reacted.
Lights flickered. Consoles rebooted. Systems cycled uncontrollably.
"Hell no," Kalmer snapped. "This is a virus—it's infecting our servers!"
"No," Liorea said sharply. "Kail would never send us something to destroy us."
They waited.
Minutes passed. Systems rebooted one by one. The lights stabilized. Power returned.
Then….
…..A hologram shimmered into existence.
It was Kail.
He smiled faintly.
"Hi, everybody," the projection said.
"I'm back."
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