Marseille was not sleeping.I knew it the moment I stepped out of the underground corridor and the air from the harbor struck my face. It smelled of salt, smoke, and hot metal.In the distance, emergency lights reflected off the dark sea, while helicopters patrolled the coast and the distant echo of sirens cut through the night at irregular intervals.
Only a few hours had passed since the attack.And yet, the Orleans family base no longer felt like a refuge.
Atlas had been summoned after the assault, not as a combat force, but as observers and analysts. To see patterns where others saw only chaos. To anticipate before reacting.
I walked beside Étienne Orleans, the current head of the family and guardian of its historical legacy. His coat was torn, and the bandages on his hands were stained with dried blood. He had fought during the attack, just like many of those now gathering in silence.
We crossed the inner courtyard.The bodies of the fallen guards lay aligned with respect, covered by dark blankets.Several of them had worked with us for years.
We entered the meeting room.A circular table projected a three-dimensional map of the world.Several zones blinked with a faint light.
France occupied the center.Around it, other points glowed with unsettling synchrony.
Canada.Ireland.Russia.Japan.Brazil.
In addition to Étienne, there were Marianne Duval, the family's guardian.Luc Bernard, chief archivist.Élodie Moreau, tactical strategist.René Vasseur, head of internal security.And Kenji Arata, analyst of dimensional anomalies.
I introduced myself to everyone in the room.My name is Elena, and I am an Atlas analyst.
I took a seat without saying another word. Long ago, I learned that speaking too soon does not show intelligence, but anxiety.
Étienne broke the silence.
Five confirmed attacks.All of them occurred within an extremely short time frame.Ireland was the first. Then Canada, followed by France, Russia, Japan, and Brazil.
Today, many of our people were lost.Most of them died defending the archive chambers.
Marianne placed her fists on the table and said,"How did they know exactly where the archives were?"
Without the strengthening magic protecting the chambers, they would have fallen, and the attackers would have reached the records.
I nodded silently.The Orleans family's magic had always been reinforcement—strengthening the body beyond human limits. It could also be applied to others, or to any kind of weapon, turning them into nearly indestructible instruments.
At that moment, Luc activated an additional projection.It showed that the Claimoor had not moved at random.They ignored irrelevant areas. They were direct and precise.They were searching for something specific.
I felt a weight settle in my chest.The Orleans family was the only one that preserved the complete history.Lineages, identities, exact locations of the families' bases.
The Minamoto family in Japan.The Cavalcanti in Brazil.The Sevianko family in Russia.
They hold detailed information on each of the other four families.And, most concerning of all—the location where the first leaders hid the Nexus of the End.
That meant their target had been the primary records.
That was when Kenji stood up.He is young, barely twenty-three, but Atlas considered him one of the most promising analysts of his generation.I myself had validated several of his reports in the past.
He said there was something we all needed to see.
We all know the Mirror Dimension exists on another astral plane.That is where the Kartnod family and their army are contained.When some Claimoor managed to escape, they remained in Ireland.That was their only possible zone of manifestation.
Attacking the ÓBroin mansion made sense.
Then he asked the question no one wanted to voice.
"How the hell did they attack five countries at the same time?"
The silence fell like a blow.
Canada. France. Russia. Japan. Brazil.There were no records indicating that the Claimoor could teleport more than a few meters through space.
A chill ran down my spine.
Kenji activated another image.The Claimoor registered in our archives had four tentacles.The ones that attacked us today had six.
Marianne clenched her fists tightly.Élodie said in a shocked voice,"What the hell are you saying?"
Kenji looked at each of us in turn."What I'm saying is that the ones who attacked us did not escape from the Mirror Dimension.They were new creations."
The silence was absolute.
Marianne spoke out loud."Someone is creating them."
No one disputed that conclusion.
I looked at the map one last time.Different countries. Synchronized attacks. Creatures that should not exist.
During my years of training in Atlas, I was taught not to react with fear, but to analyze everything logically.But that night, as I watched the glowing points blinking before me on the map, I understood something with absolute clarity.
We must act immediately before things escalate to levels we can no longer fight against.