The rain didn't stop.
It never did in this city.
Adam stood in the middle of the street, motionless. Water streamed down his face, dripping from his jaw, soaking into the asphalt beneath his feet. His breathing had steadied… but something deeper had shifted.
The signal.
It had been real.
Not imagination. Not desperation.
A connection.
Broken—but alive.
"…Lia."
He closed his eyes.
For a moment, the world faded.
Then—
Nothing.
The link vanished again.
Adam's jaw tightened.
"They didn't erase you…"
A pause.
His eyes opened—cold, focused.
"They took you."
Not random.
Not chaos.
Targeted.
Far beneath the city—
Darkness.
Controlled.
Lia's eyes snapped open.
White walls. No doors. No shadows.
A cage without edges.
Her breathing quickened.
"…where am I…?"
"Synchronization at 42%."
The voice came from inside her.
She flinched.
"…no…"
Her body felt delayed—like something else was learning how to move through her.
Her hand drifted slowly—
Resting against her abdomen.
She froze.
A flicker of awareness.
A memory—
Doctors. Voices. Words she hadn't understood at the time.
"It's not just her…"
Her breath hitched.
"No… no, no…"
"Dual signal confirmed."
Silence.
Then—
"Primary subject unstable. Secondary signal adapting."
Her eyes widened.
"Stay away from me…"
Pain exploded in her skull.
Her scream echoed through the white void.
Above—
Adam was already moving.
Fast.
Precise.
No hesitation.
He wasn't escaping anymore.
He was hunting.
"They planned this…" he muttered.
His mind replayed everything.
The escape.
The open doors.
The ease.
"They let us go… because of her."
A pause.
His voice dropped.
"…because of what she carries."
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
"Good."
Adam stopped instantly.
Not surprised.
Just ready.
The woman in the white coat stood a few meters away—real this time. Not a screen. Not a voice.
Present.
Adam's eyes locked on her.
"…you."
She studied him carefully.
"You felt it."
Not a question.
Adam didn't answer.
"Where is she?"
The woman didn't respond immediately.
Instead—
"Tell me what you felt."
A beat.
Adam hesitated.
"…two heartbeats."
Silence.
That was enough.
The woman closed her eyes briefly.
"…then we're already late."
Adam stepped forward, anger rising.
"Stop talking in riddles."
Her gaze snapped back to him—sharp now.
"They didn't take Lia," she said.
A pause.
"They took what's inside her."
The rain intensified.
Adam didn't blink.
"…explain."
The woman exhaled slowly.
"The entity you're dealing with… it doesn't just choose hosts."
A beat.
"It evolves."
Another pause.
"And right now—"
Her eyes darkened.
"—it's found something new to grow into."
Adam's expression didn't change.
But something inside him did.
Dangerous.
"Is she alive?"
The woman held his gaze.
"Yes."
A pause.
"For now."
Far below—
Lia's body went still.
Her breathing slowed.
Then—
Her eyes opened.
Not fully hers.
"Synchronization at 51%."
A faint smile formed.
"…Adam…"
Back in the rain—
Adam turned away slightly.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Then—
Decision.
"What's the plan?"
The woman watched him carefully.
Measuring.
"You don't ask if it's possible."
Adam's voice came low.
"I don't care if it is."
A pause.
"I'm getting her back."
Silence stretched between them.
Then—
For the first time—
A faint smile touched the woman's lips.
"Good."
She stepped closer.
"Because if we fail…"
A beat.
"…you won't just lose her."
Adam didn't react.
"You'll lose both of them."
The rain poured harder.
The city blurred.
The world narrowed.
Two people.
One goal .
One war about to begin.
Adam looked at her.
"Tell me where."