The storm had been relentless for three days. Rain transformed the streets into rivers. Lightning flashed across the skyline. Eastbridge throbbed under Iris's control, like a living machine.
But down below, in the old subway base, a new heartbeat was growing stronger.
Ethan stood in front of a wall of screens. Jace and Natalie had pieced together feeds from everywhere in the city: security cameras, hacked news streams, even Iris's encrypted broadcasts.
"She's everywhere," Jace muttered. "Half the city's grid is under her watch. The other half's locked behind firewalls that even I can't get through."
Ethan's voice was calm but direct. "Then we find the weak spot and widen it."
Natalie looked up from her station. "You mean strike first?"
Ethan nodded. "Vale built the Code to protect this city, but Iris turned it into a weapon. If we don't fight back now, we'll lose everything, including the people who are still free."
Jace sighed. "Then I hope you've got a plan that sounds crazier than it is."
"I do," Ethan said. "We're taking the fight to her."
Natalie crossed her arms. "You're talking about attacking her main system?"
"Yes," he said. "Her control center, The Nexus Tower. It's where she monitors everything: cameras, drones, power grids. If we can shut that down, even for a few minutes, we can expose her lies to the city."
Jace frowned. "That building's a fortress. It has reinforced gates, security drones, private soldiers, and let's not forget Ghost."
Ethan's eyes darkened. "Then we take them all down."
Natalie shook her head. "Ethan, you're not thinking clearly. She wants you to come. This is bait."
"I know," he said. "But sometimes you have to step into the fire to put out the flame."
The room fell silent. Everyone understood what he meant. This wasn't just a mission. It was war.
By midnight, the plan was in place.
Small teams of Reborn operatives moved through the shadows of Eastbridge, shutting down cameras, cutting communication lines, and sabotaging drones.
Ethan and Natalie rode together in an old armored van, its engine barely functioning. Rain pounded against the windshield, but they didn't speak.
Finally, Natalie broke the silence. "You still think Ghost might turn?"
Ethan kept his focus on the road. "He's a weapon made from betrayal. If anyone knows what it means to be used, it's him."
"So now we're trusting a killer?"
"I'm trusting pain," Ethan said quietly. "It changes people."
Across the city, Ghost stood on a rooftop overlooking Nexus Tower. The red circle emblem glowed faintly on its glass surface.
He adjusted his rifle scope, scanning the streets below. His earpiece buzzed with Iris's smooth, controlled voice.
"Is he coming?"
"Yes," Ghost replied.
"Then finish it. End the Phoenix once and for all."
Ghost lowered the rifle slightly, his finger hovering over the trigger. "You turned this city into a cage," he said softly.
"Correction," Iris replied. "I perfected it."
The line went dead.
Ghost exhaled slowly and removed his earpiece. For the first time, he wasn't following orders.
Ethan's team reached the edge of Nexus Tower. Lightning flashed above as the van came to a stop.
"This is it," Natalie said, checking her weapon. "Once we're inside, there's no turning back."
Ethan smiled faintly. "Wouldn't want it any other way."
They slipped through the service entrance, taking out two guards silently. Inside, the air was cold and metallic. The hum of machines echoed through the halls.
Jace's voice crackled through their comms. "You've got three minutes before her system detects the breach. Make it count."
"Copy that," Ethan replied.
They moved quickly, clearing hallways and disabling sensors until they reached the core chamber. It was a massive circular room filled with holographic displays. Glowing red lines of code swirled like fire around a central terminal.
Natalie's eyes widened. "This is it."
Ethan approached the console and inserted Vale's drive. "Let's see if we can remind this city who really built it."
The screen lit up, the Phoenix symbol spreading across every monitor. Data flooded the system.
Then the alarms rang out.
"System alert," a robotic voice echoed. "Unauthorized access detected."
Natalie cursed. "She knows we're here."
Ethan kept typing. "Good. Let her watch."
Suddenly, the large doors flew open.
Ghost walked in, rifle lowered but ready. Rainwater dripped from his coat, and for a moment, no one moved.
Natalie raised her gun. "Ethan—"
He held up his hand. "Wait."
Ghost's mask tilted slightly. "You shouldn't have come here."
Ethan's voice was steady. "Neither should you."
Ghost moved closer, his steps slow and deliberate. "She sent me to kill you."
"Then why are you still breathing?" Ethan asked.
Ghost stopped a few feet away. "Because she lied to me too."
Natalie lowered her weapon slightly. "You're switching sides?"
"Let's just say," Ghost replied, "I want to see her burn."
Ethan nodded once. "Then help me light the match."
They worked quickly together—Ghost covering the entrances, Natalie rerouting power, and Ethan unlocking Vale's hidden subroutine.
The Phoenix Code began to rewrite itself, turning Iris's control back into balance and her surveillance into transparency.
But then Iris's voice boomed through the speakers, louder and almost furious.
"Do you think you can undo perfection? Do you think chaos will save them?"
Ethan looked up at the cameras. "No. But truth will."
"Then burn with it."
The walls sparked as the room shook. Power surged, consoles exploded, and the lights turned red.
Jace's voice shouted through the comms. "She's overloading the system! She's going to blow the core!"
Ethan turned to Natalie. "Get out, now!"
"What about you?" she yelled.
"I'll finish this!"
Ghost grabbed Ethan's arm. "You'll die!"
Ethan smirked faintly. "Not if the Phoenix rises twice."
He pulled the ring from his finger and slammed it into the console's center port. The metal melted instantly, merging with the system.
A bright golden light burst into the room as energy flooded every screen in the city. Iris's symbol flickered, then burned away, replaced by the Phoenix emblem rising through the static.
Across Eastbridge, people looked up at the monitors, seeing it for the first time.
The Phoenix Lives.
The explosion tore through Nexus Tower, shattering glass and sending a pillar of fire into the stormy sky.
From a rooftop across the street, Ghost shielded Natalie as debris rained down.
"Ethan!" she screamed, but there was no answer.
The flames reflected in her eyes like tears made of fire.
Ghost looked down, his voice quiet. "He did it."
Natalie's lips trembled. "He promised he'd rise again."
Ghost nodded slowly. "Then we wait for the ashes to move."
Far below the wreckage, in the ruins of the core chamber, the smoke began to clear. A hand—bloodied, burned—reached out from the debris.
The Phoenix Ring, now fused into the system, glowed faintly on the floor beside it.
And beneath the rubble, a weak but steady heartbeat began to echo.