Location; Silverbridge Estate, Tavara – Two Weeks Later
Sunlight spilled across the marble balconies of the Silverbridge Estate, washing away the shadows of the storm that had nearly consumed everything. The mountain where Avalora Station once stood was now a sealed tomb, its secrets buried beneath tons of earth and silence.
But the world outside was changing.
Nora stood at the edge of the rose garden, wind stirring her dark hair as she gazed across the valley. The city below pulsed with renewed life—calmer, yet wary. Genesis was gone, but the scars it left ran deep.
Footsteps approached behind her.
"You're still not used to peace, are you?" Damien said softly, joining her.
She smiled faintly, eyes still on the horizon. "Feels foreign. Like a dream you know will end."
He brushed a strand of hair from her face. "This time, we make sure it doesn't."
They had returned heroes—quietly. The mission was never meant to be public. Only a few knew what had truly occurred beneath the Iron Cliffs. Nora's father, Elias, was recovering inside, kept under the tightest protection the world could offer. His mind—though weakened—still held wisdom that could shape futures.
"I keep thinking about the people who died," Nora said. "The scientists. The ones Aveline turned. The lives Genesis almost rewrote."
Damien took her hand. "We honored them by making sure it ends with us. That's what matters."
She nodded but didn't let go of the heaviness inside her.
Back inside the estate, Elias sat in a sunlit lounge, wrapped in a blanket with a datapad resting on his lap. He looked older now, every strand of gray hard-earned.
"You should be resting," Nora said as she entered.
He looked up with a weary smile. "Rest is overrated. I've slept long enough in the shadows."
Damien stepped in behind her. "Any memory loss?"
"Some gaps," Elias admitted. "But the failsafe worked. The Genesis code is locked—permanently. It can't be replicated or reverse-engineered."
"Good," Nora said firmly. "Then it's time we start living."
But Elias hesitated. "There's something I didn't tell you."
Both Nora and Damien froze.
He looked at them solemnly. "Genesis was only the beginning. There was another project… a contingency. Aveline didn't work alone."
Nora's heart skipped. "You're saying someone else is out there?"
Elias nodded. "The organization funding Genesis—Argon Consortium. They wanted to use the code to alter elite bloodlines, engineer power, create dynasties immune to disease, failure, even mortality. When Genesis failed, they went dark. But they're not gone."
Damien's jaw tightened. "So this isn't over."
"No," Elias said, placing the datapad down. "But we've bought time. Enough to prepare."
Silence hung in the room.
Until Nora spoke. "Then we train. We build. We expose them when the time comes. But until then, we live."
Elias smiled with pride. "Just like your mother would've said."
That night, Damien and Nora retreated to the east wing—far from strategy rooms and encrypted meetings. The room glowed with soft golden light, warmth soaking into their bones.
"I missed this," Nora whispered as she slid into his arms. "Just us. No missions. No weapons."
Damien kissed her forehead. "I swore I'd give you a world worth waking up to."
"You already have."
They lay in silence, wrapped in each other, as the world outside spun a little slower.
But destiny had other plans.