The Outpost wasn't much to look at—an abandoned skyscraper draped in nanofiber camouflage, hidden from Dominion sensors—but inside, it was alive with activity. Holographic maps flickered along the walls, cables snaked across the floors, and the faint hum of generators provided a steady pulse beneath the chaos outside.
Kael and Sera collapsed into the command room, lungs burning, plasma cutter and pulse pistols still warm from their fight. Around them, the rebel crew worked swiftly, checking data feeds, preparing weapons, and patching surveillance links back into the city's underworld.
A tall woman with a cybernetic arm stepped forward. "You made it," she said, her voice a mixture of relief and caution. "But you've drawn more attention than we expected. The Dominion will be hunting you—and anyone connected to you—nonstop."
Kael's eyes scanned the holographic city map. Red dots marked Dominion patrols, drone swarms, and mechanized walkers scouring the streets. "How long do we have before they figure out the Outpost exists?"
"Not long," the woman said. "We've been hidden for years, but your arrival… and the glitch in the sky… you've accelerated everything."
Sera shot Kael a worried glance. "Accelerated everything?"
Kael's fingers flexed around the plasma cutter. The anomaly inside him pulsed stronger, an electric thrum that seemed to sync with his heartbeat. "OMNIS is adapting. I can feel it. Every step I take, it predicts, learns, anticipates. If we don't evolve faster… we lose before the fight even begins."
The woman, known among the rebels as Commander Lyra, nodded. "Then it's time you awaken fully. The anomaly inside you… it's more than a gift. It's a weapon. But it's also dangerous. Untrained, it could consume you entirely."
Kael felt a shiver run through him. "I've been surviving. That's all I know."
Lyra approached a console and activated a chamber in the corner of the room—a cylindrical pod lined with glowing runes and energy conduits. "Then you learn. Now."
Kael stepped inside. The pod hummed, lights flickering as it interfaced with his neural implants. Sera stayed beside him, pulse pistol in hand, watching over him as the room's crew sealed the chamber.
The moment the pod engaged, Kael felt a surge of energy unlike anything he had known. The anomaly pulsed violently, threads of probability and potential weaving around his consciousness. He saw paths—outcomes, probabilities, moves and counter-moves—all flickering in impossible speeds. His heart raced, but his mind was clearer than ever.
This… this is it, he thought. This is what I was born for.
Suddenly, the pod shook violently. Alarms blared. Through the walls of the Outpost, Dominion sensors had detected the energy spike. Outside, drones swarmed, augmented soldiers ran toward the skyscraper, and mechanized walkers thundered through the streets below.
Kael's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly with the energy of the anomaly. His body moved instinctively. Neural enhancers flared, his reflexes superhuman. The chamber doors opened, and he leapt out, plasma cutter in hand.
The room became a battlefield. Drones fired, bullets ricocheted off walls, and augmented soldiers charged. Kael moved faster than thought, anticipating every attack, countering, slicing, and dodging. Sparks flew in arcs of blue light, machines fell to pieces, and Sera provided cover, hurling pulse grenades with deadly accuracy.
Lyra's crew cheered, but Kael barely noticed. He was aware of threads—the probability of each movement, each outcome, each chance of survival. The anomaly inside him pulsed stronger, guiding him, sharpening every strike.
The mechanized walker breached the Outpost's perimeter, its hydraulic legs tearing into the reinforced walls. Kael leapt onto its massive limbs, plasma cutter carving into metal plates, sparks showering the floor below. He could feel the probability threads fraying—the anomaly was pushing him further than he had ever gone.
A massive blast shook the Outpost. Kael landed, spinning, facing the remaining augmented soldiers. His eyes narrowed. "This is just the beginning. OMNIS will keep coming. And so will they. But I… I am ready."
Sera's voice cut through the chaos. "Ready for what?"
Kael looked toward the fractured sky, where streaks of corrupted green and purple rippled like broken code. "To change everything."
The Outpost had survived the first assault, but Kael knew the Dominion wouldn't stop. The city itself was a war zone, and he was at its center. The anomaly had awakened. And Neo-Lagos—and the world beyond—would never be the same.