Location: Sovereign Depth – Below Elara
The moment Cassiel opened her eyes, the chamber responded.
Lights ignited around the ancient pillars. Air became electric—crackling with pressure that bent gravity itself. The containment pod hissed, then slowly disengaged its magnetic seals.
Alethea took a cautious step back.
"Cassiel," she said, her voice steady. "Do you know who you are?"
The girl floated downward, bare feet touching the floor without a sound. Her hair shimmered like stardust, cascading down her back, and her golden eyes never blinked.
Then, softly—
"I remember fire."
Alethea stiffened.
Cassiel tilted her head. "And I remember you."
Alethea's brows furrowed. "You've seen me before?"
"No," Cassiel said, stepping closer, "but I was made to balance you. Where you are light wrapped in rage… I am rage cloaked in silence."
She placed her hand on Alethea's chest.
"You carry the throne. I carry the judgment."
---
Location: Elara Estate – Surveillance Deck
Marco and Omega watched the seismic readings spike again.
"She's awake," Omega confirmed.
Marco's eyes narrowed. "What does she want?"
Seren's voice cut in from behind. "Cassiel doesn't want."
They turned to her.
"She decides. That's what the Protocol HALO was for. If the world reached critical imbalance—Cassiel would awaken to cleanse and correct."
Marco's jaw clenched. "And Alethea?"
Seren looked grim. "She's not just the queen anymore. She's the variable."
---
Location: Sovereign Depth – Inner Chamber
Alethea tried to control her breathing.
Cassiel stepped around her, studying the chamber, reading the floating holograms of past wars, simulations of planetary collapse, and experiments long erased from the surface.
"You were made to survive," Cassiel said, voice almost melodic. "I was made to remember what they did."
"To us?"
Cassiel's gaze turned sharp. "To everyone."
She walked to a console and pressed her palm to the interface.
Files unlocked.
Alethea's heart dropped.
PROJECT HALO
Contingency Protocol: If Sovereign Core (E-00) shows signs of emotional instability or breaks command structure, Omega-09 (Cassiel) will be activated.
Mission: Terminate all Echo Variants. Stabilize Global Power Order. Reset Civilization Architecture if necessary.
Alethea whispered, "You're a weapon…"
"No," Cassiel said softly. "I'm the last verdict."
A pause.
Then Alethea asked the question that had haunted her for hours.
"Will you kill me?"
Cassiel looked at her.
And smiled faintly.
"Not yet."
---
Location: Elara War Room – 1 Hour Later
Cassiel walked into the war room like she owned it.
Every operative froze.
Even Omega faltered.
Seren stared at her—equal parts awe and terror. "She's real…"
Cassiel sat calmly across from Marco and Alethea.
"The world is off-balance," she said, sliding a drive across the table. "What Nyx did in Prague was only one node in a larger network."
Omega plugged in the drive.
Dozens of red dots spread across the map—dormant factions, war programs, rogue AI colonies, and bio-engineered war children marked as "Awaiting Awakening."
Cassiel continued, "They've been activated one by one. You're not fighting an enemy."
"You're fighting a reset."
---
Location: Unknown – Black Room
Deep underground, far from Elara, a chamber buzzed with life.
Inside, screens flickered to life.
And one name blinked repeatedly:
Subject ZETA-1: Nyx Clone Variant Re-Engineered
Status: IN STASIS… WAKING
A tall woman stood before it, her face obscured by a silver veil.
"They think the storm has passed," she whispered.
Behind her, rows of clones floated in liquid tanks—each one a twisted replica of a Project Echo child.
"But the throne is cracked. The crown is unstable. And soon…"
She smiled.
"…all glass shatters."
---
Location: Elara – Observation Tower
Night fell again.
Alethea stood by the glass window, arms folded.
Cassiel joined her quietly.
"Do you ever wish they'd never made you?" Alethea asked.
Cassiel answered without emotion. "I was never given the concept of wishing."
Alethea exhaled slowly. "Then what do you want now?"
Cassiel looked out at the stars.
"I want to see if your kind can still choose mercy over power."
"And if we can't?"
Cassiel's golden eyes gleamed.
"Then I'll burn what's left and begin again."
---