Rael’s steps were heavy as he walked through the shadows of the night, his mind plagued by the cryptic words that lingered in the air like smoke. Ethan’s warning rattled in his mind, making him feel like a fragile puppet caught in a web of schemes he couldn’t understand. He had always trusted his instincts, but now they felt clouded by uncertainty, a feeling he wasn’t accustomed to.Beside him, Nova walked with purpose, her silence both reassuring and unnerving. She was his anchor, the one person he could always count on, but even she seemed preoccupied, her eyes scanning their surroundings as if waiting for something to jump out from the darkness.“We can’t keep going like this,” Nova said suddenly, her voice breaking the oppressive silence between them. “We need answers. Real answers.”Rael nodded, his mind racing. Ethan’s appearance had thrown a wrench into everything. The pieces were slowly falling into place, but the puzzle was too complex, too entangled. It felt like every step

The moon sat high and sharp over the city, casting long shadows through broken towers and metallic skeletons of buildings. District 9 was quiet—eerily so. Rael and his team moved like a trained phalanx across rooftops and back alleys, clothed in shadow and silence.The southern tunnel wasn’t listed on any of the city’s maps. Mara had found it by accident years ago, during one of her early recon missions, and kept it a secret. Tonight, that oversight would save them.Nova walked just behind Rael, rifle cradled in her arms. Mara followed, whispering status updates through her comm-link. Juno and Elias took point and rear, eyes scanning for motion. Toma was already in the system, feeding Rael internal maps of the Core’s labyrinthine structure.Rael stopped at a rusted service door embedded in the foundation of a derelict hospital. The hinges groaned as Mara bypassed the lock with a pulse card.Inside was pitch black. The team activated low-light vision and descended narrow steps into the