The Black Ark wasn't a place.
It was an idea wrapped in steel and shadows.
Hidden far beneath the city, built on the bones of Genesis, it pulsed with forgotten energy.
Zeyren stood at its core.
Without his mask, his face bore fine scars—like broken circuits beneath the skin. A reminder of what he was made from… and what he had become.
He stared at the screen: footage of Lia touching the pod, the white-eyed child opening its gaze to the world.
"She's always been the key," he whispered.
A voice spoke behind him, calm and modulated:
"You were right. The seed responded to her."
Zeyren turned to face a room of four figures—his Hand of Echo.
Seris – A former Genesis researcher, obsessed with unlocking immortal consciousness. Cold, brilliant, and nearly machine herself.
Grimm – An enhanced rogue soldier, body half weaponized, eyes emotionless. Loyal to Zeyren after he "resurrected" him from battlefield death.
Nova – A kinetic assassin who manipulates light and shadows, raised in the Undergrid. Wildly unpredictable, but fiercely devoted.
Jin – A mind-hacker capable of breaching AI and human memory alike. Youngest of them all, dangerous behind a quiet, calculating smile.
Zeyren looked at them one by one. "The world chose Lia and Kairo as its protectors."
He stepped forward, letting his voice drop with venom.
"But it forgot who we are."
"The Genesis Project was never about peace. It was about preparing humanity for what comes next. And we are what comes next."
He raised his hand, and the room lit up with a projection:
A map of New Echelon, laced with blinking nodes.
"The seed is awake. It will draw her closer. And when she arrives... we take back what was stolen."
Nova chuckled. "And if Kairo gets in the way?"
Zeyren's expression sharpened.
"He won't. Not if I make her choose."
The screen cut to black—then displayed one word pulsing like a heartbeat:
ECHO.