Darkness swallowed the shop.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
Then a red light emerged from the device in Seraphine's hand.
Ethan immediately grabbed his chest.
The fracture beneath his skin began burning.
"Turn that thing off!" Kai shouted.
Seraphine tilted her head.
"Interesting. It recognizes him."
Kai rushed forward.
Before he could reach her, a powerful force threw him against the wall.
"Kai!" Lena screamed.Ethan stepped forward, but his legs suddenly weakened.
The whisper returned.
Come closer.
His heartbeat accelerated.
Seraphine watched him carefully.
"Can you hear it?"
Ethan struggled to breathe.
"What is that thing?"
She smiled.
"The question isn't what it is. The question is why it recognizes you."
She raised the device.
A thin red beam stretched toward Ethan's chest.
His fracture glowed.
Then something unexpected happened.The beam suddenly changed direction.
It struck the ceiling.
The entire building shook.
Seraphine's smile disappeared.
"Impossible."
Ethan fell to one knee.
Inside his mind, the whisper became clearer.
Do not let her open the door.
He looked up.
"What door?"
Seraphine stared at him.
For the first time, she looked genuinely surprised.
"Who are you talking to?"
Ethan didn't answer.Kai struggled to stand.
"Seraphine! Whatever you're trying to do, stop!"
She glanced at him.
"You know what this device is capable of."
"I know what happens when you use it."
"Then you understand why we need him."
Kai wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
"He isn't your property."
Seraphine laughed softly.
"Nobody said he was."
She turned toward Ethan.
"We simply want to understand why your resonance survived something that destroyed everyone else."
Ethan slowly stood.Everyone else?"
Seraphine opened the case again.
Inside was a collection of photographs.
She removed one and placed it on the table.
It showed a young man standing in front of a laboratory.
His face was partially damaged in the photograph, but his eyes were visible.
They were glowing blue.
Ethan stared.
"Who is that?"
Seraphine answered quietly.
"Someone who came before you."
Kai's expression changed.
"Put that away."
"Why? Afraid he'll discover the truth?"Ethan looked between them.
"What truth?"
Seraphine picked up the photograph.
"Your ability isn't unique, Ethan. But your reaction to the fracture is."
She paused.
"The previous subject survived for eleven minutes after his resonance collapsed."
Ethan felt a chill.
"What happened to him?"
Seraphine's eyes remained fixed on his.
"He disappeared."
A sudden sound came from behind them.
The unconscious man on the floor began moving.Lena turned.
"He's waking up again!"
Kai immediately rushed toward him.
"Everyone get back!"
The black mark on the man's neck had spread toward his jaw.
His fingers curled.
Then his eyes opened.
Completely black.
Seraphine looked irritated.
"Not now."
The man sat upright.
A deep vibration filled the shop.
The shelves rattled.
Ethan felt the presence again.
It was stronger.Much stronger.
"Help..." the man whispered.
His voice suddenly changed.
"Connection incomplete."
Seraphine raised the device.
"Shut it down!"
The man screamed.
A wave of energy erupted from his body.
The windows shattered.
Ethan was thrown against a wooden counter.
Lena fell beside the entrance.
Kai tried to restrain the man, but the energy pushed him backward.
Seraphine dropped the device.
It struck the floor.A crack appeared across its surface.
The red light disappeared.
For a moment, everything stopped.
Then the man looked directly at Ethan.
"Open..."
His lips trembled.
"...the door."
Ethan froze.
"What door?"
The man's chest began glowing.
Kai shouted.
"ETHAN! MOVE!"
But Ethan couldn't.
He felt something pulling at the fracture inside him.
It wasn't forcing its way in.It was inviting him.
A strange image flashed through his mind.
A massive black door.
Nine symbols carved into its surface.
And behind it, something breathing.
Then the vision disappeared.
The man's body collapsed.
Silence returned.
Seraphine slowly picked up the broken device.
Her expression had completely changed.
"You saw it."
Ethan looked at her.
"Saw what?"
She studied his face.The door."
Kai immediately stepped between them.
"Enough. You're leaving."
Seraphine closed the case.
"You don't understand what you've awakened."
Kai's voice became dangerous.
"And you don't understand what will happen if you stay."
For several seconds, they stared at each other.
Finally, Seraphine walked toward the exit.
Before leaving, she looked over her shoulder.
"One more thing, Ethan."
He said nothing.
"The person in that photograph wasn't the first subject."She paused.
"He was the last one who survived."
Then she disappeared into the night.
Several minutes later, Adrian arrived.
He examined the broken device and the unconscious man.
When he saw the photograph lying on the table, his expression darkened.
"Where did you get this?"
Ethan answered.
"Seraphine."
Adrian stared at the photograph.
"She showed you this?"
"She said someone came before me."
Adrian slowly folded the photograph.
"His name was Elias."Kai crossed his arms.
"You knew him?"
Adrian nodded.
"I was there when he disappeared."
Ethan stepped forward.
"What happened to him?"
Adrian looked at Ethan's glowing fracture.
Then he delivered the answer.
"Elias was the first person to open the door."
A long silence followed.
Ethan swallowed.
"And what's behind it?"
Adrian looked toward the dark street.
"Something the entire organization has spent decades trying to keep asleep."