Zorren Kael never paced.
Pacing implied anxiety. Or indecision. Or some sort of mortal flaw like "having emotions." No, Zorren stood still completely still like a man who had already made his move five steps ago and was now politely waiting for the universe to realize it had lost.
Right now, he was standing in the private war room of ASTRA-NOIR, staring at a hologram that looked like a piece of art sculpted from regret.
It showed Liam Vale, frozen mid-strike, mirrored in fractured data from the Spire mission.
"Run it again," Zorren said.
Ardent Ysae pressed a few keys with fingers that looked more like they should be holding wine glasses at a funeral. "Same result. Pulse interference during Spire infiltration caused a temporal bleed. We registered four overlapping chronosignatures. One was Eira Voss."
"And the others?"
"Undetermined. All Apex-level energy."
Zorren's gaze sharpened. "Haldran protocol is destabilizing."
"I would say it's 'working as intended,' but I wasn't on the original project team. Ethics reviews tend to redact the fun bits."
Zorren folded his hands behind his back. "We need a contingency."
"I assume you mean something quieter than 'blow him up.'"
Zorren's eyes narrowed a millimeter.
"Noted," Ardent said.
The lights flickered once.
Across the room, the monitor buzzed.
Zorren turned slightly. "Is it time?"
Ardent hesitated. "The… Crown channel just activated."
That stopped even Zorren for a second.
"Impossible."
"I checked it three times. It's authentic. He's alive."
The room dimmed as the screen filled with static, then slowly resolved into a blurry, glowing figure.
A voice smooth, deep, and laced with something ancient filled the space.
"Zorren. Did you think a little genetic pruning would stop me?"
Zorren didn't flinch. "Vex."
Vex Haldran didn't appear fully just a silhouette, crackling with red neural lightning, his features obscured like the universe was protecting everyone from his full reveal.
"Your little experiment is blooming nicely. My child is alive."
"He is not your child," Zorren said sharply.
"He is mine more than he is yours. You bred him in a vat and named him after my project."
"You were dead."
"I was asleep. There is a difference."
Zorren's hand clenched behind his back.
"Now," Vex continued, voice velvet-wrapped venom, "I want him back."
"You'll get a bullet instead."
Vex laughed, and it sounded like reality cracking.
"You built your kingdom on my bones, Zorren. And now your throne is shaking."
Then he vanished.
No dramatic warning. No explosion. Just silence.
Zorren exhaled through his nose.
Ardent looked mildly less smug than usual. "So… that's bad."
"Get Dreya."
"She hasn't spoken since the last Pulse Event."
"She will."
Meanwhile, Liam stood under the cold spray of a shower in an outpost two levels below ASTRA-NOIR's tracking range. His stolen safehouse had one working light, two cans of ration beans, and a water system that coughed like a smoker with regret.
He didn't care.
He just needed to breathe.
To think.
To not dream about the words You are the trigger echoing in Eira's voice on loop.
Nova's voice came through the hidden earpiece he hadn't turned off. She wasn't supposed to know he was still listening. That's what made it feel like a confession.
"Wherever you are… I hope you're not alone. Because this thing we're caught in? It's bigger than all of us. And I'd rather have you alive and angry than missing and right."
He said nothing.
Not out loud.
But his hand drifted to his chest, where the pulse had started vibrating—soft, slow, almost like it was waiting for a signal.
And in the corner of the room, his reflection in the cracked mirror smiled at him.
Only… he wasn't smiling.
The mirror was.
And it whispered:"The Crown is awake."