Julian stepped out of the hideout, his senses sharpened. "The western gate is closest," he muttered to himself, then activated his skill.
With a crackle of energy, his body surged forward in a flash of lightning, cutting across the silent ruins.
Julian scanned the area carefully, his eyes narrowing as he crouched behind a broken wall. The wind carried a faint scent of chemicals, remnants of the gas that had changed everything.
Dozens of figures stood in eerie silence, perfectly aligned in straight rows. Their movements were rigid, mechanical. Their eyes, those glowing, crimson eyes, stared blankly ahead, awaiting orders like puppets without strings.
Julian's jaw tightened.
"They're being controlled... completely," he muttered under his breath.
Then, he spotted familiar faces.
Mira... and Cassian.
