Kael didn't sleep that night. The neon glow of the city reflected across the windowpane, painting streaks of blue and violet across the hospital walls, but his mind was elsewhere—locked on the whispers, the rift in the sky, and the mark that pulsed beneath his chest. Every instinct screamed that time was already running out. He couldn't explain it, but he felt it: the Nexus was calling, and the call was urgent.
He left the hospital without permission, moving through the night like a ghost, blending with the shadows. The streets were quieter than usual, yet there was an undercurrent of tension, a vibration in the air that set his nerves on fire. He followed the whispers as one might follow a faint, impossible thread through a labyrinth. And the thread led him to District 12, a section of the city known for its tech startups, labs, and cutting-edge research—a place where reality often felt... flexible.
Inside a nondescript building, he found her: Aria Vale, a woman whose reputation preceded her. Brilliant, fearless, and enigmatic, she was a xenotechnologist who specialized in alien artifacts, temporal anomalies, and the kind of physics that should not exist. Kael knew, instinctively, that she had already sensed him.
Aria was crouched over a floating holo-map, fingers dancing through the air as streams of data wrapped around her like ribbons of light. "Ah," she said without turning. "You're late." Her voice was sharp, tinged with amusement, but her eyes—bright, calculating—never left the display. "I've been expecting you."
Kael stepped closer, noting the faint scar under her left eye and the subtle hum of a device strapped to her wrist. "Expecting me?" His voice was rough from lack of use.
"You've been touched by the Nexus," she replied, finally looking at him. "I can see the energy signature. It's… unusual. Dangerous, but unusual. You're what they call a Revenant. But unlike the others, you survived. Most don't."
Her words struck him with a weight heavier than gravity. "The Nexus… what is it? What do you mean I survived?"
Aria's gaze softened just slightly. "It's not just survival, Kael. It's a second life. One they didn't plan for. And right now, you're the only one who can stop what's coming."