Chapter 63: Whispers of War

The sky was burning.

Auroras shimmered in blood-red streaks across the heavens, an unnatural light that bent the laws of physics and frightened even the most hardened warriors in the rebel compound. It was a celestial omen—one the old scientists whispered about in their nightmares.

But for Ivy, it was a message.

“She’s calling,” she murmured, standing by the window. “She’s scared.”

Asher joined her, slipping a hand into hers. “We’ll find her.”

Behind them, Jaxon pored over satellite feeds while Kira stood tense, coordinating with operatives worldwide. Every second ticked like a countdown to doom.

“The Arc Protocol has initiated phase one,” Kira said grimly. “Micro-implants are waking up inside sleeper agents across Europe. Civilians are already acting… off. Disoriented. Violent.”

Jaxon looked up. “We’ve got to assume Malrick is accelerating everything. And if he’s got Seraphina on his side…”

Ivy’s hand tightened. “Then I walk into the fire.”

As Ivy prepared for departure, a low-priority ping drew her to the command terminal. A file had unlocked on the Elysian drive—one buried beneath layers of encrypted DNA-coded access.

The title made her breath catch.

PROJECT: GEMINI

She opened it.

Inside were two profiles. One was hers.

The second...

Asher Hale.

Her eyes scanned the screen in disbelief. According to the data, Asher and Ivy shared nearly 87% of a rare genetic sequence found in only one other known subject: their unborn child.

“No…” she whispered.

Asher approached, reading over her shoulder. “What is this?”

“You were part of the project,” she said slowly. “Before you were even born.”

“They used my bloodline…” He backed away. “My father. He worked for the Syndicate. I thought he was just a glorified technician. But this… they engineered us for each other.”

“You weren’t just meant to find me,” Ivy said, heart racing. “You were designed to protect me.”

Suddenly, the room flickered.

Jaxon rushed in. “We’ve been breached.”

The lights died. Emergency backups hummed to life.

And then, a soft, lilting voice echoed from the speakers.

“You always thought you were the spark, Ivy,” Seraphina said sweetly. “But you were just the wick. I’m the flame.”

The screen filled with her image—alive, radiant, and terrifying.

“You survived,” Ivy growled.

Seraphina smiled. “I did more than survive. I evolved.”

The screen flickered to show a child—her child—lying unconscious on a metallic table, surrounded by machines pulsing with eerie light.

“She’s beautiful,” Seraphina said, brushing a hand over the child’s face. “So full of potential. But she needs guidance. She needs… me.”

“No!” Ivy screamed. “You don’t get to claim her!”

“Oh, Ivy,” Seraphina crooned. “She’s already mine.”

Then the screen went black.

The team moved swiftly.

Kira and Jaxon prepared an extraction strike team, but Ivy knew it was already too late to play by rules. Malrick had fortified his final sanctuary: the Genesis Citadel, hidden in the Arctic beneath a geothermal field—a place shielded by tech centuries ahead of modern warfare.

“We need someone who knows the inside,” Kira said.

Asher turned. “My father designed the interior mapping. I have his logs—every blind spot, every code.”

Jaxon blinked. “And you’re just saying this now?”

“I only just remembered,” Asher said. “The crystal in the Elysian vault—it did something. Unlocked suppressed memories.”

Kira frowned. “So what, we trust recovered brain fragments?”

Ivy stepped forward. “We don’t have a choice. If we wait, Seraphina fully bonds with the child—and she becomes unstoppable.”

There was silence. Then Jaxon grunted. “Then we do this the Widow’s way.”

They loaded the warship in silence.

The approach to Genesis Citadel was brutal. A blizzard howled like a banshee, blinding their vision as automated turrets tracked every snowflake. Asher’s codes held… barely.

Inside, they found a labyrinth of white corridors and humming silence.

But as they moved deeper, strange things began to happen.

Jaxon heard whispers from his dead brother.

Kira swore she saw a clone of herself down one hallway.

And Ivy kept hearing a lullaby echoing through the vents—her daughter’s voice.

“This place messes with your mind,” Asher warned. “The AI is alive. It feeds off emotion.”

They reached the central atrium—and the sphere chamber, identical to the one beneath the rebel base.

Only this one had been corrupted.

Twisted red veins webbed across it, and suspended within was the child… eyes glowing, locked in some sort of energy cocoon.

Ivy stepped forward, hand outstretched.

“Mommy,” the girl whispered.

The power surge knocked them all backward.

Seraphina emerged from the shadows, draped in obsidian armor lined with glowing runes. Power radiated from her in waves.

“I told you she’s mine,” she said.

Ivy stood, blood at the corner of her mouth. “She’s not a weapon.”

“No,” Seraphina said. “She’s an answer. To everything. With her, I can rewrite death, time, fate. I can undo my pain.”

“You mean cause more,” Asher growled.

Seraphina smiled—and turned to him.

“You should thank me,” she purred. “Without me, you’d still be a lab rat. But you? You’re the real twist in this story.”

Then she whispered a code—and Asher’s eyes flickered.

He froze.

“What did you do?” Ivy shouted.

Seraphina’s smile widened.

“He’s not who you think.”

And then Asher turned to Ivy.

Expressionless.

Ivy backed away, heart pounding. “Asher…”

He stepped forward, mechanical in movement. “Protocol 3: Nullify host anomaly.”

Kira raised her gun. “What the hell is this?!”

“He’s been a sleeper all along,” Seraphina whispered. “Coded for obedience. And now he’ll finish what we started.”

“Asher, fight it!” Ivy begged.

For a moment, his fingers twitched.

His jaw clenched.

And then—his blade snapped out.

He lunged.