"I'm Ezra," he said, offering his hand. She took it, shaking with surprising enthusiasm.
"You could learn a thing or two from him, Eli," she teased, flashing a bright smile in Eli's direction.
Ezra blinked between them, sensing something unspoken pass in the air.
"I'm not even from this faction, you see," she continued, her voice light but confident. "But I decided to join for the thrill. A Category II or III rift is predicted to open up around here, and we're doing everything we can to keep the damage under control."
She gestured toward the machines scattered around the area—compact, glowing devices emitting a soft hum as they pulsed with energy, monitoring the Rift's instability.
"It's been flaring up all morning," she added, glancing toward the perimeter. "We're hoping to suppress it before it tears fully open. But you know how unpredictable these things are."
Ezra nodded, glancing at the shimmering air just beyond the barricades. "Yeah… I've never actually seen one happen up close."
She grinned. "Lucky you. You might just get front-row seats."
Without giving Ezra a chance to protest, she grabbed his arm and dragged him toward a sleek black vehicle stationed nearby. She yanked open the doors, and Ezra froze, mouth slightly agape as he stared inside.
"What the…"
Ezra stepped in hesitantly, his eyes widening the moment he crossed the threshold. The interior was nothing like he'd expected. It was impossibly spacious—far larger than what the outside of the vehicle could've contained. Rows of sleek monitors lined the walls, each displaying real-time maps, surveillance feeds, and streams of coded data that moved too quickly for him to make sense of.
People in uniform sat at workstations, typing furiously, headsets secured over their ears as they exchanged rapid, low-voiced updates. The whole space hummed with tense, organized chaos.
"Okay… how?" Ezra finally managed, his eyes darting around the room. "How does all of this even fit inside the car? No—why does it feel like we just walked into an entire operations center?"
The woman smirked as if she'd been waiting for the question. "Awakened Klein's resonance," she explained with a shrug, as though that made perfect sense. "Spatial distortion. Basically, it allows for internal expansion without altering the external dimensions. Makes hiding military bases in plain sight a lot easier."
As if to make her point, she grabbed a timid-looking young man from his seat, spinning him around with a playful grin. "This one's the genius behind the core system. Say hello."
The young man blinked at Ezra, looking flustered. "Uh… hello."
Ezra blinked, still trying to wrap his head around what he'd just walked into. "Right… hello," he muttered awkwardly.
Amara didn't respond. She stepped deeper into the van, positioning herself behind a group clustered around a glowing screen. A single dot blinked steadily on the display, growing clearer with each passing second. One of the operators gave her a sharp nod. Without hesitation, Amara turned and stepped back out into the night.
"Lights on," she commanded.
A series of towering floodlights powered up with a deep hum, casting blinding beams across the area. Shadows peeled back, and the surrounding ruins and wreckage came into full view.
For the first time, Ezra could see just how bad the situation really was.
Ezra trailed behind her, his eyes immediately drawn to Eli, now fully geared up. Twin blades rested on either side of his hips, a sleek black gun strapped to his thigh. He adjusted his earpiece, his expression calm but razor-sharp, as if he'd done this a hundred times before.
"Are the rest coming?" Eli asked, his voice steady, eyes scanning the horizon.
Before Amara could answer, the sky above them shifted. A massive barrier surged to life, dark and radiant, stretching from the unfinished wall behind them all the way to the farthest edge of District 5. It pulsed with a muted glow, sealing the entire area beneath its shimmering dome.
Ezra's breath caught. The barrier felt oppressive, like the air had thickened around him. Nothing was getting in—or out.
Amara's lips curved into a grin, her eyes alight with anticipation.
"Looks like they're here," she said, practically buzzing. "This is my favorite part. Watch closely."
Floodlights snapped on, flooding the area in harsh white, revealing the wreckage of District 5—nothing but rubble and half-standing buildings stretching out before them.
The ground rumbled beneath their feet. Amara grabbed onto Ezra's arm, giggling as the tremors grew stronger. Ahead, a figure emerged from the dust, walking slowly toward them, posture relaxed, as if the chaos belonged to them.
To their right, the real commotion began. Cars and soldiers lifted off the ground, weightless, flailing helplessly as they drifted higher and higher into the air.
"Dane, put them down," Eli called, his tone flat—clearly used to this kind of showboating.
From somewhere behind the hovering SUVs, a voice answered with a laugh.
"Aww, come on, man. Can't I have my grand entrance?"
One by one, the vehicles and soldiers eased back to the ground, landing gently as if nothing had happened.