The temporal disjunction core was secure.
The anomalous codex fragment, sealed.
The primary mission had been accomplished.
But Kael knew something still wasn't right.
—
Back at their temporary shelter — a half-destroyed house near the docks — the group reorganized their equipment for the return jump.
Patricia verified the evacuation routes.
Isadora checked the supplies.
Marie and Camila erased any tracks they might have left.
Amina and Samantha scanned the area for new distortions.
Kael stood silent, observing the mist beginning to blanket the streets.
An abnormally dense mist.
—
Nikita approached.
— Bad feeling... — she muttered, glancing around.
Kael merely nodded.
It wasn't fear.
It was something older.
Darker.
—
The scanner's reading shifted.
Samantha alerted:
— Movement...
— Western sector of the city.
— Something... out of pattern.
Claudia crossed her arms.
— Soldiers?
Amina shook her head:
— No. This is... something else.
Kael understood.
The Abyss wouldn't give up so easily.
It had lost the core.
But it would leave its final signature before departing.
—
Kael gathered the group.
— Change of protocol.
— Prepare for immediate jump.
Patricia opened the secure channel to the Portal of the Stone.
The return would be riskier.
But the priority was clear: bring the core and the codex back safely.
—
As they activated the jump, Kael cast one last glance through the shattered window.
In the mist, for a fleeting moment, he saw:
A still silhouette.
Tall.
Draped in a cloak so dark it seemed to swallow the light around it.
No face.
No form.
Only presence.
The Abyss was watching them.
Kael closed his eyes.
He made himself a promise:
> No matter how dark the roads grow,
the Stone will walk until the end.
The jump completed.
The Command Base welcomed them back.
But the silent war had only just begun.