The room felt heavier now.
Not because of the damage.
Not because of the power.
But because of what wasn't being said.
Nyra stood in front of the man, her gaze steady, her presence controlled—but inside, her mind was moving faster than ever.
She could feel it.
The connection.
Still active.
Still alive.
Still linking her to everything in this place.
"You're thinking," the man said calmly.
Nyra didn't respond.
But he was right.
She was thinking.
Analyzing.
Breaking everything down.
"You've realized something," he continued.
A pause.
"Go ahead."
Nyra's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You've been studying this longer than I thought."
The man nodded.
"Yes."
"How long?" she asked.
Silence.
Then—
"Long enough to know what you are."
Nyra's chest tightened.
"Then say it."
The man studied her for a moment.
Then spoke.
"You're not just an Origin."
The room went still.
Kael's expression hardened.
Ronan's eyes narrowed.
Nyra didn't move.
"Then what am I?" she asked.
The man's voice lowered slightly.
"You're the result of a failed extinction."
That hit.
Hard.
Nyra's breath caught.
"What does that mean?"
The man stepped closer.
"Your kind wasn't just hunted," he said.
A pause.
"It was erased."
Silence.
Deep.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Kael clenched his fists.
"…Who did it?"
The man didn't look at him.
"The same people who are trying to control you now," he said to Nyra.
Her heart slammed violently.
"The hunters…"
The man shook his head slowly.
"No."
A pause.
"They came later."
Nyra's eyes widened.
"Then who—?"
The man's gaze sharpened.
"The Alphas."
Everything stopped.
Ronan went still.
Kael didn't breathe.
Nyra's voice barely came out.
"That's not possible…"
The man's expression didn't change.
"Origins were too powerful," he said. "Too unstable. Too uncontrollable."
A pause.
"They were a threat."
Nyra's chest tightened painfully.
"So they killed them?"
The man nodded once.
"Every last one they could find."
Silence.
Then—
Nyra whispered:
"…Except me."
The man's gaze softened slightly.
"Yes."
A pause.
"Except you."
Ronan let out a low breath.
"…This just keeps getting worse."
Kael didn't speak.
Because something inside him—
Shifted.
Guilt.
Recognition.
Something deeper.
Nyra's voice dropped.
"Why didn't they kill me?"
The man smiled faintly.
"Because they didn't know you existed."
Silence.
Then—
"They thought they succeeded."
Nyra's hands clenched.
Her power flickered slightly.
Not violently.
But dangerously.
"They were wrong."
The man nodded slowly.
"Yes."
A pause.
"And now they're going to realize it."
Nyra lifted her head.
Her eyes glowing faintly.
Cold.
Focused.
Deadly.
"Good."
The Alphas wiped out Nyra's entire bloodline…
so what happens when they realize she survived?