We crossed the boundary into the city just after nightfall. The streets were quiet—too quiet. Buildings loomed like hollowed husks, stripped of light and life, casting long shadows that followed us with unnerving patience. The city of Atlanta wasn't dead, not yet—but it was holding its breath.
Our first goal was to secure a vantage point. Get high enough to see what we were really up against.
"I think that tower works," Jacob said, pointing toward a half-collapsed skyscraper nestled in the heart of the urban ruins.
We moved cautiously, checking our corners, staying in cover. By the time we reached the building's perimeter, Booker had regained consciousness. He sat up groggily in the back of the van, blinking hard like he was still stuck between dreams and reality.
"For safety," Jacob said quietly, locking a suppression cuff around Booker's wrist, a tech restraint designed to dampen metahuman abilities. "Just in case."
I nodded but said nothing. Everyone else exchanged glances—small, silent things they didn't think I'd notice. But I did. They were uneasy. Not just because of Booker... but because of me. Ever since the confrontation at the facility, ever since I lost it.
They didn't say it aloud, but I saw the hesitation in their eyes, like they were wondering if I was still in control. If I were still Kaleb. Or if the thing Chrono warned me about had already begun to take root.
We reached the building and began our climb inside, avoiding the unstable sections. At one of the higher floors, we spotted them again.
The androids.
Swarms of them patrolled the ground below, moving in synchronized formations, like they shared one mind.
"Magnificent," Chase muttered, raising his glasses to scan them. "Are they… thinking for themselves?"
"I don't think so," I said. "When I faced one back near the lab, it was mimicking the movements of the others. There's a link. They're reacting to each other."
Chase took notes, muttering to himself as he tapped away at his tablet.
Then Rev suddenly dropped low and hissed, "Get down!"
We followed instantly, ducking behind a collapsed window frame just in time to avoid the hum of something slicing through the air above. A legion of androids flew overhead, blotting out the moonlight. The sky darkened with their formation.
They weren't just patrolling.
They were hunting.
And worse… they weren't searching randomly. They were scanning and sweeping with purpose. Looking for someone.
Looking for us.
We moved quickly into the nearest abandoned structure, staying silent and low until the sound faded. The building was unstable, its insides gutted and stripped of anything useful, but at least it gave us cover.
"That was close," Maddie whispered.
"Too close," I replied. "But we've got a good view from here. Let's head up."
It took time. Hours. The elevator was dead, its interior eaten away by rust. Jacob groaned when he saw it.
"Of course, the elevator's broken."
Chase, ever the tech wizard, stepped forward without hesitation. "Don't worry. I've got this."
He pulled a strip of reactive metal from inside his coat and rubbed it along the corroded shaft housing. A low vibration filled the air, followed by the faint crackle of active nanotech. The lift's insides shifted, metal reforming into a functioning platform that rose with a hum.
"Of course you do," Jacob muttered.
By the time we reached the top, the sky had turned a hazy blue-gray. From this height, we could see at least nine miles out. The city stretched like a maze of broken glass and rusted steel, riddled with android activity. Red pulses of light flashed at several fixed points—labs, perhaps. Factories. Outposts.
Chase began scanning the horizon. The rest of us gathered to plan.
We needed to stop the Harbingers before they finished constructing any more Nullwave devices. The ones they already had were dangerous enough, but if they succeeded in weaponizing them for mass deployment, we'd all be sitting ducks.
Then Chase went still.
"Uh… Kaleb," he said slowly. "Your brother is emitting the same energy frequency as a couple of those labs."
Booker, sitting near the wall, turned his head slightly.
Chase narrowed his eyes. "These Nullwave Disruptors are powered by highly concentrated gamma radiation. Whatever's inside him… It's tied to that signal."
I took a step forward, a chill crawling down my spine. "I tried to remove it," I said, "but he—" I stopped. Something clicked in my mind. "Wait. Why haven't you said a word this whole time, Booker?"
He just stared at me.
His expression wasn't hostile. But it wasn't familiar either.
I crouched down in front of him. "Are you even my brother?"
His pupils dilated. For a moment, I thought I saw recognition, fear, something—then he squinted, voice cracking like it was trapped beneath something massive.
"Help… me…"
Chase moved fast, injecting something into Booker's neck. I stood and grabbed his arm.
"What the hell did you just do?"
"Getting rid of that blight inside him," Chase said. "I've been running a detox algorithm. This compound is designed to target the signal in his blood."
Booker let out a horrible, guttural scream as he began convulsing. His body jerked violently, eyes rolling back. The suppression cuff shorted out.
Then the building began to shake.
A piercing hum cut through the air. The ceiling above us exploded inward as an android came crashing down, scanning the room with red eyes.
Then it buzzed—loud and sharp.
It had locked onto us.
"Move!" Rev shouted.
We scattered as the android unleashed a barrage of energy bolts. I dove behind a support beam, retaliating with a pulse of energy that dented its armor but didn't stop it. Maddie hurled a shield of kinetic energy to protect Jacob as he lined up an explosive charge.
Before the explosion went off, two more androids burst through the floor below, slicing through the room with brutal precision. One struck me in the side, flinging me across the roof.
Then the floor gave way entirely.
We were all thrown out of the building—scattered in every direction like leaves in a storm.
Jacob flew alongside me, twisting midair. "Kaboom!" he shouted.
A controlled blast erupted from his hands, slowing his fall. He crashed into a nearby apartment building, shattering the window and tumbling onto the floor below.
I altered my descent with a last-second burst of energy and flung myself toward the same opening.
We both hit hard. Dust and plaster exploded around us as we rolled across the floor, gasping for breath.
I groaned, pushing myself up. "You good?"
"Y-yeah," Jacob coughed, brushing off debris. "That could've gone worse."
I looked around. The room was empty, abandoned years ago. The only sound was the fading echo of battle somewhere above us.
But something was wrong.
The walls around us began to shimmer.
Flicker.
I stood, heart racing. "You see that?"
Jacob frowned. "What—"
Then he disappeared.
The room warped again, and suddenly I was alone.
The air felt thick, heavy. Then the light shifted, and the walls around me cracked like mirrors.
I wasn't in the apartment anymore.
I was nowhere.
A familiar golden-red thread circled me—just like before.
And then a voice returned, soft and cruel.
"You still don't understand, do you?"
Chrono.
The illusion reformed around me. Maddie was screaming as she disintegrated. Booker is being crushed under collapsing rubble. Chase's skull ruptured from pressure. Jacob was melting away, arms outstretched for help.
It was the same loop from before.
But this time, I was the one killing them.
My hands are glowing. My laughter is hollow. My voice shouts commands to the Nexus inside me.
"No," I whispered. "This isn't me. This won't be me."
The scene flickered again. I was surrounded by destruction. My corrupted self hovered above the skyline, crowned in black-red energy.
Chrono's voice boomed from everywhere.
"You are closer than you think. Every second you deny it… It grows."
I screamed—and shattered the illusion again with raw energy.
Then silence.
Then breathe.
Then… reality.
I was back in the apartment. Jacob was staring at me, pale and sweating.
"You okay?" he asked.
I nodded slowly, the air returning to my lungs. "Yeah," I lied. "Just… dizzy."
But I wasn't fine.
Something had changed.
The Dark Nexus wasn't sleeping anymore. It was stirring.
And now, we were scattered across Atlanta, hunted, exposed.
Worse?
Booker—whatever was happening to him—was the key to something bigger.
We needed to regroup.
Because if we didn't, Chrono's vision wouldn't just be a warning.
It would be prophecy.