LOGINCold air roared into the cabin as Elias hurled himself out of the open hatch. The night sky swallowed him instantly, wind tearing at his body.
But he didn’t fall.
A golden flare burst beneath his boots as he landed on the jet’s wing with supernatural balance — the purge inside him anchoring every movement.
The sentinel turned its head toward him.
Two red eyes glowed through the mask.
It stood tall, unmoving, sword still embedded in the wing. Its black armor absorbed the rushing wind like it was standing on solid ground.
Elias steadied himself and shouted over the storm,
The sentinel pulled the blade free.
The metal shrieked.
Lena screamed inside the cabin as the jet lurched violently to the side, sparks spitting from the damaged panel.
Alexander grabbed the wall to steady himself.
“I’M TRYING!” Cassandra yelled back. “BUT IF THAT THING TEARS OFF THE WING, WE’RE ALL DEAD!”
On the wing, the sentinel lunged.
Elias threw up his arm — golden energy surged around his skin like armor. Metal clanged against power. The impact sent shockwaves through the entire aircraft.
BOOM.
Wind ripped across the cabin. Lena held onto Alexander as the jet dropped several meters before Cassandra stabilized it again.
Alexander ran to the hatch.
“ELIAS!” he roared into the night.
On the wing, Elias slid backward under the sentinel’s inhuman strength. Sparks flew as he dug glowing fingers into the metal to stop himself from being thrown off.
The sentinel swung again.
Elias ducked — the blade sliced through the wingtip, sending fragments spiraling down into the darkness below.
Lena cried out. “The wing is breaking—Alex, he’ll fall—”
Elias snarled, golden veins flaring bright.
“NOT TODAY!”
He slammed his palm into the sentinel’s chest.
…but the sentinel barely moved.
It tilted its head — as if analyzing the blow — then grabbed Elias by the throat, lifting him off the wing.
Lena screamed, “ELIAS!”
Elias’s feet dangled over the rushing void. His eyes burned brighter, gold bleeding into the whites.
“LET—ME—GO—!”
His hands ignited in pure purge energy as he tore at the sentinel’s grip. The air shimmered with heat. The metal of the helmet began to sizzle.
Inside, Cassandra stared at the readings.
Alexander grabbed a harness from the emergency locker.
“What are you doing?!” Lena gasped.
“I’m going out there.”
“NO, ALEX, YOU CAN’T—”
He grabbed her chin and kissed her fast, desperate, trembling.
And before she could stop him, he clipped the harness to the anchor bar and leapt out the hatch.
The wind slammed into him like a sledgehammer. He clung to the metal, crawling toward the wing through sheer force of will.
“ELIAS!” he shouted.
The sentinel turned its head toward Alexander — momentarily distracted.
Elias took the opening.
His hand ignited in gold.
The metal cracked.
A distorted voice echoed from inside:
“Message… for the vessel…”
Elias froze.
Alexander shouted, “DON’T LISTEN TO IT!”
The sentinel tightened its grip around Elias’s neck.
“From Sable…”
Elias struggled, eyes widening.
Lena pressed closer to the open hatch, tears flying off her cheeks in the wind.
“ELIAS, PLEASE—DON’T LET IT GET INTO YOUR HEAD—”
The sentinel leaned closer, voice hissing like static.
“Sable says…
You belong to her now.”
Elias’s pupils constricted.
The gold in his veins flared violently.
Alexander reacted instantly.
“No—NO, ELIAS, FIGHT IT!”
But the sentinel wasn’t finished.
“Sable says…
Lena’s breath caught.
“What—what does she say—?”
The sentinel turned its head toward her — even through the storm, she felt its gaze lock onto her soul.
“Sable says…
You’re next.”
Lena’s knees buckled.
Elias’s rage exploded.
A roar tore from his throat — not fully human — and a blinding blast of golden energy erupted from his body.
The sentinel was flung off the wing like a ragdoll, plummeting into the night.
But Elias didn’t stop.
The purge didn’t let him.
He stood on the wing — glowing brighter and brighter — lightning crackling around him.
Alexander shouted desperately,
Elias’s head snapped toward him.
His eyes were no longer green.
Not even gold.
They were white-hot.
Overloaded.
Losing control.
“RUN,” he growled, voice distorted.
The wing shook violently beneath them.
Lena screamed, reaching out.
“ALEX—ELIAS—PLEASE—COME BACK INSIDE—”
But the purge in Elias surged again—
And the night sky lit up in gold.
Snow drifted through the torn opening of the jet’s wreckage, settling softly on Alexander’s unmoving body. Lena’s breath fogged the icy air as she tried—failed—to move him.Her voice trembled, desperate:“Alex… please wake up. Alex, don’t do this to me—please—”But he didn’t stir.His pulse thudded beneath her shaking fingers—weak, uneven, but alive.Relief and terror crashed together inside her.Sable watched her struggle with an indifferent curiosity, like observing an injured animal.“Touching,” Sable murmured. “Your devotion is almost sweet.”Lena’s head snapped up, tears freezing against her skin.“What did you do to Elias?”Sable arched a brow. “To him? Nothing. The purge did that on its own.”“Where is he?” Lena demanded.Sable’s lips curled.“Alive.”Lena’s heart stuttered.“But not… himself.”Lena’s breath caught in her throat.“What does that mean?”Sable stepped closer, heels crunching softly in the snow. She crouched gracefully in front of Lena, her gloved fingers lifting
The explosion lit the night sky like a dying star.White light.Golden fire.Thunder cracking across the clouds.Then—silence.A heartbeat later, the shockwave slammed into the jet.The aircraft lurched sideways—metal groaning, alarms screaming—and dropped like a stone.Lena was thrown against her seat, the belt cutting into her ribs.“Alexander!” she screamed, reaching for him.He grabbed the nearest latch, swinging violently as the jet twisted.“Hold on, Lena!”The world tilted.The floor became the ceiling.Loose equipment flew like bullets through the cabin.Cassandra fought to stabilize the jet, fingers flying across the controls.“We’ve lost the left wing! Engines failing—altitude dropping—brace yourselves!”The lights flickered—darkness—Then emergency red lighting filled the cabin.The jet nosedived.Lena’s stomach lurched into her throat as gravity yanked her downward.She gasped, breath ripped from her lungs.“ELIAS!” she screamed into the night—but there was nothing out
The night sky burned gold.The surge of purge energy ripped across the wing, blinding, violent, alive. Alexander shielded his face as the force slammed into him, nearly tearing him off the metal.“ELIAS!” he shouted, voice raw.But Elias didn’t hear him.Couldn’t.His body glowed brighter—veins lit like molten rivers, hair lifted by static, every breath a shockwave. He looked less like a man and more like a star about to collapse.Inside the cabin, Lena screamed his name, her voice carried away by the roaring wind.“ELIAS—STOP! LISTEN TO ME!”But the purge inside him was drowning everything else out.Cassandra grabbed the cockpit mic, yelling into it,“Elias! You’re overloading the purge core! You need to stabilize—NOW!”He didn’t respond.His feet dug through the wing metal, molten gold dripping from his heels. The aircraft groaned, shaking violently.Alexander crawled toward him, pressing against the wind that threatened to rip him free.“Elias!” he shouted again. “Look at me!”No m
Cold air roared into the cabin as Elias hurled himself out of the open hatch. The night sky swallowed him instantly, wind tearing at his body.But he didn’t fall.A golden flare burst beneath his boots as he landed on the jet’s wing with supernatural balance — the purge inside him anchoring every movement.The sentinel turned its head toward him.Two red eyes glowed through the mask.It stood tall, unmoving, sword still embedded in the wing. Its black armor absorbed the rushing wind like it was standing on solid ground.Elias steadied himself and shouted over the storm,“COME ON, THEN!”The sentinel pulled the blade free.The metal shrieked.Lena screamed inside the cabin as the jet lurched violently to the side, sparks spitting from the damaged panel.Alexander grabbed the wall to steady himself.“CASSANDRA—KEEP US LEVEL!”“I’M TRYING!” Cassandra yelled back. “BUT IF THAT THING TEARS OFF THE WING, WE’RE ALL DEAD!”On the wing, the sentinel lunged.Elias threw up his arm — golden ener
The south exit of the bunker opened into a narrow passageway carved through stone, the air thick with dust and the hum of hidden machinery. Lena stayed pressed against Alexander’s side as they moved, her legs still weak but her mind alert.Elias walked ahead, silent, tense, every muscle rigid. The faint golden glow beneath his skin pulsed faster the closer they came to the open air.Cassandra led them quickly.“Hurry. The purge is reacting,” she said without turning.Elias’s voice was low.“It’s sensing something.”Alexander’s brow hardened. “Sable?”“Or something she controls,” Cassandra replied grimly.The moment they stepped out into the night, a cold mountain wind hit them, carrying the scent of pine and snow. In the distance, faint landing lights illuminated a small, camouflaged airstrip. A sleek black jet sat ready, engines quietly humming.Alexander’s grip tightened around Lena’s hand.“We’re almost there.”But Lena didn’t miss the way his eyes scanned every shadow, every treet
The bunker was quieter now, but only on the surface.Beneath every breath, every heartbeat, tension simmered like a storm waiting to break.Alexander paced the length of the room, jaw tight, shoulders stiff, mind already ten steps ahead. He checked weapons, supplies, maps—then checked them all again.Lena watched him from the side, still pale but recovering.He hadn’t left her side for longer than a minute since she came back to life.Elias leaned against the far wall, eyes closed, breathing slow and controlled as he fought to stabilize the purge inside him. Faint gold pulsed beneath his skin, but he kept it contained—for now.Cassandra typed furiously at the main terminal, the screens filled with encrypted files, satellite paths, and intel from an underground network Lena didn’t know existed.The group was silent… until Cassandra suddenly spoke.“We need to move within the next two hours.”Alexander snapped to attention. “Why?”Cassandra turned toward them, pushing her glasses up the







