Location: Tavara – Nightfall Estate, Outer Garden
The moon cast a pale glow over the manicured gardens of Nightfall Estate, where silence reigned… until it didn't.
Seren stood alone beneath the ancient whispering willow, her hand resting on its bark. The visions from Kordha echoed in her mind, voices that weren't hers calling from some forgotten depth within. The words of the spectral guardian—"You carry her echo"—rattled her foundation.
Was she just a vessel… or was she something more?
Behind her, footsteps approached.
Damien didn't speak as he arrived—he simply offered her a coat. She accepted it silently, still staring at the tree.
"You felt it again, didn't you?" he asked.
"I don't know what I felt anymore," she replied. "But something in me… shifted. I remember flashes—of places I've never been. Names I shouldn't know. A lullaby in a language no one speaks anymore."
She turned to him.
"What if I'm not Seren? What if I was never meant to be?"
Damien stepped closer, cupping her face. "You are who you choose to be. Whatever's inside you—whatever legacy they buried—it doesn't own you. You decide what happens next."
Her eyes welled. "What if choosing me puts you in danger?"
He leaned in, forehead to hers. "Then I'll face it willingly."
---
Location: Tavara – Underground Base, South Haven Sector
Meanwhile, in the dark corners of the capital, something stirred.
Dr. Ayla Rosethorne, geneticist and once ally to the Kane family, ran final diagnostics on a secured lab chamber. Within it—subject #93A.
She studied the screen. "Brain activity has increased exponentially since the Kordha Seal was disturbed."
A man in shadows stepped into view—tall, cloaked, his presence cold.
"Is she waking?" he asked.
"She's evolving. But I don't think it's random. She's syncing with someone... or something out there."
The man nodded. "Then it's time to make contact."
He pressed a button. The chamber hissed open.
Inside was a girl—no older than twenty—hovering midair, surrounded by blue and violet energy, her eyes glowing with both fury and sadness.
The girl opened her mouth. Her voice echoed in languages long dead.
> "They are coming for me… I must remember who I was… before they seal me again."
---
Location: Tavara – Nightfall Estate, Strategy Hall
Victor Kane studied the new intelligence on his tablet. His eyes narrowed as a dossier appeared—Project Eden, Subject 93A.
"Damien," he said, calling through the comms. "We've got a problem. The Third Force isn't unknown anymore."
"What do you mean?" Damien asked.
"She's not hiding anymore. She's reacting. And someone's been keeping her alive underground all these years."
Nora joined the call, her voice steady. "You think she's tied to Seren?"
Victor paused. "I think… she is Seren. Or maybe… Seren is just part of her."
---
Location: Underground Base, Chamber 93A
The girl opened her glowing eyes.
"I know his voice…"
She touched her chest. "He once called me light… before they turned me to shadow."
---