The drop ship groaned as it tore through the lower stratosphere. Winds buffeted its wings, and flashes of lightning sparked against the hull like the sky itself was rejecting their ascent.
Inside, Marcus stood at the open hatch, the wind tearing at his jacket, eyes fixed on the monolith hovering above the cloudline: the First Atmospheric Beacon.
It wasn't just a machine.
It was a cathedral.
Black spires jutted from its surface like thorns, each one venting mist into the skies below. Red mist. Rain. The same viral precipitation that had ended civilization in seven minutes. Now, Marcus saw the source with terrifying clarity.
[Objective: Disable Atmospheric Beacon – Priority Alpha][Risk Assessment: 97% Lethality for Non-Warden-Class Entities]
Lucien gripped the side rail, glaring at the beacon. "So this thing's been feeding the rain ever since Day Zero?"
"Not feeding," Astra corrected from the cockpit. "Breeding. The rain isn't a weapon. It's a womb."
Marcus didn't answer. His system was already humming, resonating with the signal the Beacon was emitting. Somewhere inside that monolith… was a key.
Ember stood beside him, visor down, her new armor forged from Seraph tech. "You sure about this, Marcus? Once you jump, there's no backup."
He nodded.
"I'm done waiting for death to come to me."
He jumped.
The air screamed around him as he fell, wind carving away all sound, all thought—until the Beacon loomed in front of him, and a hatch opened like a yawning maw.
Marcus crashed through, landed in a crouch, and rose to his feet.
Silence.
The interior was organic. Flesh fused with machine. Pulsing veins ran through steel walls. The air stank of ozone and decay.
[Signal Identified – Architect Code Fragment Detected][Warning: Legacy Consciousness Residue Active]
Then he heard it.
A voice.
"…Marcus…"
His blood ran cold.
It was Kaylee's voice.
He spun—but there was only darkness. Then a shape stepped forward.
A girl.
His student.
Her body whole. Her smile soft. Her eyes glowing red.
"No," he whispered. "You're not her."
The illusion flickered, distorting.
"I remember your scream," the thing said. "I remember your guilt. And I wear her face because you let her die."
Marcus stepped back. But the system inside him surged with clarity.
[Empathic Echo: Activating Anchor - Kaylee Brennan][Mental Integrity Stabilized]
He clenched his fists.
"I didn't let her die. I survived her death. And I'll carry her forward."
The illusion shattered.
In its place stood a Herald—a creature of bone and glass, stitched together by memory and data. It lunged.
The fight was brutal. Fast. The Herald moved like a memory come to life, adapting to his movements with each strike. But Marcus wasn't just fighting with muscle.
He was fighting with meaning.
He used Ember's training. Lucien's tactics. Kaylee's tenacity.
Each move, each dodge, each counter—echoed with the people who shaped him.
And when he finally drove his fist through the Herald's core, it screamed not in pain, but in confusion.
[Enemy Signature Deleted – Architect Fragment Neutralized][Beacon Control Override Acquired]
The room began to collapse.
Marcus sprinted toward the control node, slammed his hand onto it.
[Atmospheric Beacon Deactivation Confirmed][Rainfall Cycle Suspended – Global Pattern Disrupted]
Back in the drop ship, Lucien shouted, "He did it! Look at the skies!"
From horizon to horizon, the clouds cracked. The red haze faded.
For the first time in a long time, sunlight touched the Earth.