Snow continued to fall, soft and quiet, a stark contrast to the chaos smoldering within the downed aircraft. Seojun stared in disbelief at the figure standing before him. The edges of the man's silhouette flickered like static, as if reality itself struggled to contain his presence.
"You're supposed to be dead," Seojun said, breath visible in the cold air.
The man smiled faintly.
"Death's a matter of perspective."
It was Agent Rho, Seojun's former commander—and the man who had vanished three years ago during the Redgate Incident.
Rho stepped forward, hands raised in a gesture of peace.
"I'm not here to fight. I'm here to stop what you just woke up."
Behind Seojun, Elias stirred with a groan. Hana reached for her weapon despite her injuries.
"Who the hell is he?" she demanded.
"Someone who should not exist," Seojun muttered.
Rho ignored the tension and tossed a small cube to the ground. It opened, projecting a hologram of what looked like the South Pacific island they had just tracked—only now, it was burning. Not in the present, but in a prediction.
"Victor isn't just restoring his consciousness," Rho said. "He's building a God Protocol—a global override signal. If activated, it could hijack every neural-linked device and every Enhanced mind."
Elias blinked in shock.
"Even mine?"
"Especially yours."
Suddenly, static surged again. From the wreckage of the aircraft, one of their encrypted devices exploded in sparks.
Victor's voice bled through once more, clearer this time.
"You always feared the future, Rho. But it's already here."
The mountain beneath them rumbled.
Elias shouted, "He's remotely triggering a landslide!"
The team scattered just as the cliff above them broke loose. Rock and snow thundered downward.
Seojun grabbed Hana and leapt for cover. Rho shoved Elias to safety.
Moments later, silence fell again—but now they were trapped in a ravine, cut off from their escape routes, their systems fried.
And worse—Victor now knew exactly where they were.
"He's forcing us to the island," Seojun growled. "He's turning this into a final game."
Rho looked at him grimly.
"Then we change the rules."