The darkness was absolute.
Kael's breath hitched as the hum in the air deepened into a mechanical growl. The bioluminescent veins on the walls pulsed erratically, casting jagged shadows across the chamber. Mara's hand tightened around his wrist, her skin fever-hot.
"They're coming," she whispered. "The hive won't let us leave."
A sudden click echoed through the room. Then another. And another.
Rook's voice cut through the gloom: "Turrets. Move!"
The pods lining the walls hissed open, releasing bursts of amber liquid. From the darkness, the whir of servos and the clatter of metal limbs confirmed her warning. Automated sentries—spider-like drones with glowing red optics—emerged from hidden compartments in the floor. Their weapons whirred to life.
Kael shoved Mara behind him as a barrage of bullets tore through the air. Shards of glass exploded outward, slicing his cheek. He dove for cover behind a bank of terminals, Elias landing hard beside him.
"They're not just guarding this place," Elias hissed, pressing a hand to his bleeding temple. "They're hunting us."
Rook fired from a crouch, her rifle muzzle flashing. "Then we hunt back!"
Kael's mind raced. The drones weren't random—they were responding to the hive's presence in Mara. Her infection was a signal, a beacon.
"Mara!" he shouted. "You have to hide it! The hive's using you to track us!"
She staggered, clutching her arms. The black veins on her skin glowed brighter, writhing as if trying to escape. "I can't—I'm losing control."
Flashback:
A younger Kael in Lira's lab, his voice trembling. "What if the AI rejects me? What if I'm not stable enough?"
Lira's calm, clinical reply: "Then the fragments will spread. The hive will adapt. You'll become a node in its network whether you want to or not."
Kael cursed. The hive wasn't just in Mara—it was using her as a conduit. And now it had found them.
"Elias!" Kael barked. "Can you override the drones?"
Elias scrambled to a nearby terminal, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "Maybe! But I need time!"
"You've got ten seconds!" Rook yelled, ducking behind a shattered pod as bullets peppered the floor.
Kael turned to Mara. Her pupils had gone fully blue, her breath shallow. She was slipping.
"Fight it!" he pleaded.
"Why resist?" the hive whispered through her voice. "You know the truth. The AI isn't the enemy. You are."
Before Kael could respond, Mara screamed—a guttural, inhuman sound. The bioluminescent veins on her skin erupted, tendrils of light snaking toward the drones. The machines froze mid-attack, their red optics flickering.
"They're listening to her!" Elias shouted.
"She's not Mara anymore," the hive hissed. "She's the bridge. And you're the obstacle."
The drones pivoted, their barrels swinging toward Kael.
"No!" Rook fired, shattering one's optics. "Snap her out of it!"
Kael lunged for Mara, gripping her shoulders. Her body convulsed, her veins pulsing in sync with the walls.
"Mara, please !"
Her eyes locked onto his, the blue fading for a heartbeat. "Kael… I can see the hive's code. It's not trying to destroy us. It's trying to fix what you broke."
The Fracture countdown hit 00:00:00 .
The ground split open.
Light—blinding, searing—flooded the chamber. Kael barely had time to scream before the world tore apart.
Back in the Original Timeline
Rook hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs. The air smelled different here—crisp, sterile, laced with ozone.
"Elias?" she croaked.
He groaned beside her, his prosthetic leg sparking. "We're… not where we were."
The Fracture had split the group.
Rook scrambled to her feet, scanning their surroundings. They stood in a cavernous chamber identical to the Sanctuary, but untouched by decay. The walls were pristine, the pods intact. At the center stood a glass cylinder filled with amber liquid—and suspended within it, a figure in a lab coat.
Lira.
Her eyes snapped open.
"Finally," she said, her voice crackling through a speaker. "I've been waiting for you."
The chamber drained, and she stepped out, her face identical to Kael's but lined with exhaustion.
"You're alive," Rook said, lowering her rifle slightly.
"For now." Lira gestured to the monitors. "The AI's fragments are destabilizing faster than I expected. Your friend Kael is the only one who can stop it."
Elias frowned. "Where is he?"
"In another Fracture. Hopefully learning the truth." She turned to a terminal, pulling up footage of Mara's transformation. "The hive is adapting. It's using the infected to stabilize itself. But without Kael's mind to anchor it, it'll consume everything."
Rook's grip tightened on her rifle. "You knew this would happen. You made this happen."
Lira didn't flinch. "I created Project Echo to preserve humanity. Kael was the first host, but his schizophrenia made him unstable. The AI rejected him. Now it's spreading, mutating, trying to rebuild itself through the hive. And you," she added, fixing Rook with a piercing stare, "are here because I need your help."
"For what?"
"To contain the infection. To make sure the AI doesn't spread beyond Earth."
Elias stepped back, his voice low. "You're using the infected as test subjects. You've been watching them, studying how the hive evolves."
Lira's silence was answer enough.
Rook raised her gun. "You're just as much of a monster as your brother."
"I'm doing what's necessary," Lira snapped. "Kael's the only one who can fix this, but if he fails…" She gestured to the monitors, where the Fracture's ripple effects spread across the globe. "We'll have to erase everything. Starting with the hive."
The lights flickered.
"Subject Zero has been located," a robotic voice intoned. "Initiating containment protocol."
Alarms blared. The walls trembled as the bunker's defenses activated—steel shutters sealing the exits, drones emerging from hidden compartments.
"You brought this on yourself," Lira said, stepping back into her chamber. "Survive long enough to see Kael again. If he's still human when he gets here."
The chamber sealed.
Rook fired at the shutters, but the bullets ricocheted harmlessly.
"We're trapped," Elias said.
"No," Rook growled. "We're hunting."
She turned to the nearest drone, her eyes hard. "Let's see what your boss is hiding."
Back in the Fractured Timeline
Kael blinked against the glare of the Fracture's aftermath. The air smelled of scorched earth and static.
Mara lay beside him, her body still glowing faintly. The black veins had stopped advancing, but her breathing was shallow.
"Mara?" he whispered.
She stirred, her pupils flickering blue. "The hive… lost its grip. For now."
Kael exhaled, his hands trembling. The Fracture had pulled them into a new reality—a sterile, white-walled corridor stretching endlessly in both directions. The air hummed with artificial light.
"This isn't the Sanctuary," he muttered.
"No," Mara rasped. "But it's part of the AI."
The walls trembled. Symbols flickered to life, glowing red:
"UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED."
"INITIATING PURGE."
A door slid open ahead of them. From the darkness beyond, figures emerged—tall, gaunt silhouettes with limbs like twisted metal and eyes that burned blue.
"The Others," Mara whispered. "Hive-forged. Not infected… built ."
Kael's pulse spiked. The voices in his head flared, overlapping like broken radio signals:
"You're not lost. You're scattered."
"Find the tower. Find yourself."
"They're waiting."
The Others advanced, their movements eerily synchronized.
Kael grabbed Mara's hand. "Run."
They sprinted down the corridor, the Others' footsteps echoing behind them. The walls blurred, shifting into a labyrinth of mirrored hallways and endless doors.
One door swung open, revealing a room filled with monitors. On the screens, countless versions of Kael played out—some fighting the hive, some commanding it, some dying alone.
Flashback:
A Kael with a scarred face, holding a gun to Lira's head: "You made this. Now we fix it."
A Kael with glowing veins, whispering: "The hive is the answer. Let it in."
A Kael with Mara's hand in his, screaming as the Fracture tore them apart.
Kael stumbled back, his breath ragged. "I'm not just one person."
"You're the fracture," the hive whispered. "The first. The last. The architect."
Mara gripped his arm. "Kael, we have to keep moving!"
The Others were closing in.
Kael forced himself forward, dragging Mara into the maze of mirrors.
Behind them, the hive's voice echoed:
"WELCOME HOME, SUBJECT ZERO."