Damian stood in the ashes of the central plaza, the world around him reduced to silence and smoke. The rift had sealed with a final, mocking shimmer of violet light, taking Alex and their three children Hope, Grace, and Kai into whatever hellish domain the Architect still commanded. His knees buckled. The pistol slipped from his fingers, clattering against the cracked concrete. Blood from a dozen wounds mixed with the glowing residue of hybrid energy on his skin, but none of it compared to the hollow void where his heart used to be.“Alex…” The name tore from his throat like a broken prayer. He dropped to his knees, fists pounding the ground until his knuckles split. The soul tether that cursed remnant of the Architect’s pact pulled viciously at the edges of his mind, a phantom echo of Alex’s terror, the children’s screams, the overwhelming surge of otherworldly power. He could still feel them. Barely. Faint. Slipping away.Ngozi found him there minutes later, her face streaked wit
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