The tension in Zarek Technologies' command center was a living thing.
Alarms hadn't sounded. No monsters had spilled from broken earth. But something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
Rowan stood behind Evelyn and Ava, staring at the holographic map. The blinking red dot on the coast of Havenfield was pulsing again—one of the rift sites previously declared dormant.
"Residual corruption signature," Ava murmured. "Matching seventy-two percent of Lucian's corruption frequency from the last sync."
Evelyn's jaw was tight. "And the rift was sealed three months ago."
"It's reactivating," Quinn said from his position at a secondary console. "But there's no pressure build. No signs of creature incubation."
"That's not a breach," Ari muttered. "It's an invitation."
Lucian, seated beside Rowan, stared at the readout. "If it's inviting something, it's not us."
"No," Rowan said slowly. "It's inviting you."
---
Zarek Field Briefing Room
The entire squad, minus Rowan and Lucian, assembled in the strategy bay.
"You're not going," Evelyn told Lucian bluntly. "Neither of you. Not until we understand the impact of that last sync."
Rowan opened his mouth to protest, but Ava raised a hand. "You collapsed, Rowan. Lucian destabilized the shard. We're not risking either of you until we have a plan."
Lucian scoffed. "So we sit while others go blind?"
"You've done your part," Evelyn replied. "Let the others test the ground."
Ari rolled her neck. "Guess we're the guinea pigs."
Quinn nodded curtly. "Mission window: four hours. Limited exposure. Scan, record, withdraw."
From the side of the room, Elias Vane adjusted his gloves quietly.
"You'll accompany them," Evelyn said to him. "Your corrosion control will be vital if the terrain destabilizes."
Elias gave a silent nod.
---
Observation Deck
Rowan watched the VTOL deployment through the reinforced glass. Ari, Quinn, and Elias disembarked quickly, boots hitting hardened soil. The rift shimmered a dull blue-white, like glass fogged from the inside.
"No pressure build," Quinn reported. "Field is stable."
"Copy," Ava said. "Scan the edges. No entry until we get consistent readings."
The team fanned out. Elias lingered closest to the rift, holding out a gloved hand. His ability shimmered faintly—an acidic haze briefly encasing a thin stream of energy leaking from the rift's edge.
"It's not leaking," Elias said softly. "It's breathing."
Rowan turned to Lucian, who stood behind him like a coiled spring.
"Did it feel like this… when you saw the shard?" Rowan asked.
Lucian nodded slowly. "Exactly like this. Like it's watching."
---
Later that day, long after the squad had departed, Lucian sat alone in the small viewing bay outside one of the isolated terminals. Footage from the rift replayed in silence—frame by frame. His finger hovered over the pause button as the screen flickered, capturing a momentary distortion in the humanoid figure.
It tilted its head.
Not randomly. Deliberately.
Lucian stared. The movement mimicked how he often tilted his head while listening.
He rewound again. Slowed the playback.
There it was: the same subtle habit. His habit.
He didn't even hear Rowan approach.
"Couldn't sleep?" Rowan asked gently, taking a seat beside him.
Lucian shook his head. "It's not just echoing my energy signature. It's echoing me."
Rowan's eyes narrowed. "Like it knows you."
"Or remembers me," Lucian murmured.
---
Containment Chamber — Later
Lucian hit the reinforced wall with a burst of kinetic force. The impact echoed, cracks spidering through the artificial surface.
He punched again, harder.
"Lucian," Rowan's voice came from behind him.
Lucian turned, sweat trickling down his brow. "I can't just sit here while they step into something I caused."
"You didn't cause this," Rowan said, walking to him. "You connected to it. That's different."
"Different doesn't mean better."
Rowan placed a hand on his shoulder. "They need you in one piece. And so do I."
Lucian met his gaze—and softened. A beat passed between them, heavy with unsaid fear.
Then Rowan added, "Besides, Elias is with them. He's stable."
Lucian huffed. "He's unsettling."
"He's precise. Like you, actually."
Lucian scowled. "Don't compare me to the Poison Ghost."
Rowan smiled faintly. "Too late."
Lucian exhaled, turning away. "He doesn't talk. He just... stares."
"And yet he still managed to shut you up with a sentence."
That earned Rowan a sharp look, but the tension bled from Lucian's shoulders.
---
Rift Site: Havenfield
Ari approached the edge of the rift, her scanner buzzing.
"This thing's humming. Like it's... processing us."
Quinn narrowed his eyes. "What does that even mean?"
Elias spoke from behind. "It means we're not looking at a tear anymore. We're looking at a door."
He extended his hand again, letting a stream of corrosive mist waft outward. Instead of melting or corroding the surface, the mist was pulled in—absorbed. The rift shimmered where it touched.
Then the figure appeared.
Flickering like static, it remained still—yet its presence was palpable. Elias took a step back, gaze steady. "It's aware. It sees us."
Back at Zarek, Rowan suddenly gripped the edge of the console, his knuckles turning white as he bent forward with a sharp inhale. A thin, sudden trail of blood slid from his nose, dripping silently onto the metal floor.
"Rowan?" Ava asked, her voice instantly alert.
He didn't respond right away—his pupils were dilated, and his breaths came fast. The sound around him dimmed as if he were submerged underwater.
Lucian reached his side in a heartbeat, grabbing his shoulders firmly. "Hey—breathe. Stay with me."
But Rowan was unresponsive for a second too long. Panic flared in Lucian's chest.
"Look at me," Lucian said, lowering his voice and cupping Rowan's face with both hands, wiping at the blood beneath his nose with his sleeve. "Come on. Don't fade on me now."
He stepped in closer, grounding Rowan with his presence, his energy instinctively wrapping around Rowan's like a barrier. "You're not alone. Whatever it is—you're not facing it alone."
Rowan blinked hard, breath catching. The bond between them thrummed, stabilizing.
Lucian exhaled when he saw clarity returning to Rowan's eyes. "That's it. I've got you."
But he didn't let go.
Instead, Lucian kept one hand on Rowan's jaw and the other wrapped firmly around his waist, as if afraid Rowan might collapse again. The room buzzed with alert tones, red flashing lights indicating an anomalous energy spike, but Lucian didn't spare them a glance.
"You scared the hell out of me," he said, quieter now, the words just for Rowan.
Rowan leaned into his touch, eyes half-lidded. "It felt like something was inside my head… reaching. Not you. Not the bond. Something else."
Lucian's grip tightened. "Then it touched you through me. Through our bond. Which means I let it in."
"No," Rowan whispered. "It wasn't you. It was—"
The monitors behind them pulsed violently. Rowan flinched again, but Lucian moved with him, shielding his body with his own. He half-turned to the others. "He needs a buffer. Shut down the sync feedback loop. Now."
Ava was already on it. Evelyn gave a clipped order to lock the observation deck.
Lucian glanced down again, his voice steel. "I swear to you, I won't let anything take you. Not from the outside. And definitely not from me."
A low hum rose in Rowan's ears. Images flickered behind his eyes—blurred shapes, a hand reaching through the void, the sensation of something vast and cold brushing against his mind. Not Lucian. Something else.
"It's… syncing," Rowan said hoarsely, the words barely forming. "Not just to you. To us."
A shudder passed through the room as the sensors behind them spiked.
Something had noticed them.
---
Command Center
The figure began to raise its hand.
Lucian stepped toward the monitor. "What is it doing?"
A beat.
It raised its hand in perfect sync with Lucian's.
Mirror-like.
The temperature dropped slightly.
"What the hell..." Ari whispered through the comms.
Rowan's voice was barely audible. "Lucian…"
Lucian stared, breath catching.
The figure's movements were too precise. Too personal.
It wasn't just mimicking Lucian's stance—it mirrored his breathing, the subtle tilt of his shoulders, even the faint twitch of tension in his jaw. The resemblance wasn't superficial; it was intimate. Intrinsic. As if it knew Lucian down to the marrow.
The closer Lucian stared, the more the figure seemed to gain clarity. Its form sharpened. The silhouette became less abstract, resolving into something disturbingly familiar. It wasn't just a copy.
It was him.
Not in armor. Not in uniform. A version of himself, bare and expressionless, with eyes that glowed the same faint violet as his during corruption spikes.
Lucian's breath hitched. "It's... me."
Rowan's voice came quiet and steady. "Or a part of you that didn't stay here."
Lucian could feel a chill crawl down his spine. Whatever this figure was—it wasn't just connected to him. It was of him. And it wanted to be seen.
Evelyn turned from the screen, eyes sharp. "What exactly are you connected to?"
Lucian's voice was hoarse. "I don't know."
Rowan, pale and still clutching Lucian's arm, whispered, "It's not just connected to you… It might be you."