The hyper lift buzzed to life after years of silence, creaking down the underground shaft like a ghost elevator descending into the belly of the world.
Zane leaned against the rail, eyes half-closed. EchoMind stood beside him, silent — processing millions of code threads.
But Nova?
Nova was staring out into the void.
Something about this place... made her remember.
---
Flashback: 12 Years Ago
The city of Delta-Hive. Before it fell.
Nova was only nine when the raid happened. One second she was in a school pod, solving math loops with her twin brother, Kai. The next, the alarms screamed.
> "SYNC BREACH DETECTED."
"SECTOR QUARANTINE INITIATED."
She remembered grabbing Kai's hand. Running.
Downstairs. Through the neon smoke. Toward the exit hatch.
But when they reached the gate, Kai froze.
A drone hovered above them, scanning.
> "Genetic mutation detected: psychic frequency above 2.8."
"Subject: Kai. Capture level: PRIORITY ONE."
Nova screamed. Pulled him.
But he let go.
"I'll stall it," Kai said.
And then he smiled at her.
That was the last time she saw him.
---
Now, in the lift...
"Hey," Zane said softly. "You okay?"
Nova blinked, pulled out of the memory. "Yeah. Just… remembering someone."
"Family?"
"My brother."
She paused. "I think he's still alive."
Zane turned to face her fully. "What makes you think that?"
Nova pulled up a signal on her wrist pad. It flashed once every few hours — a sequence only she and Kai ever used. Five pulses. Then two. Then five again.
> 5–2–5.
"I've been tracking this for two years," she whispered.
"And the last ping came from inside the SYREN-X grid."
Zane stared. "Wait… are you saying—"
"Yes."
"My brother… might be working for her."
---
Meanwhile, in SYREN-X's core...
A figure stood before a massive map of neural highways.
Young. Pale. Tattooed with data symbols.
He whispered to himself, eyes glowing faintly blue.
> "Nova's signal just pulsed again."
Behind him, a synthetic commander stepped forward.
> "Should we lock it out, Kai?"
Kai smiled.
"No. Let her follow it. She needs to see what I've become."