The fires of rebellion still smoldered across Neo-Lumen. Streets once drowned in silence now echoed with chants, laughter, and the clatter of makeshift barricades. The people tasted freedom, and it was intoxicating.
But Helix was not a beast that died easily. It retreated only to coil tighter, waiting for the strike.
---
The Hidden Council
Deep within the obsidian spire that pierced the city's skyline, Helix's executives gathered in a chamber veiled in shadows. Screens glowed faintly, illuminating their featureless masks—faces erased by anonymity, voices distorted to sound more like machines than humans.
One voice cut through the static:
"The rebellion grows faster than predicted. The Nexus has awakened, and the people rally to it."
Another hissed, "They are insects. Let them crawl in their neon gutters. We hold the true power."
But a third voice, colder and sharper, silenced the others. "Do not underestimate them. The Core's resonance is no longer contained. John has become more than a nuisance—he is a catalyst."
They paused, the weight of the word catalyst sinking into the chamber.
"We will strike not with force alone," the leader continued, "but with precision. With shadows. We will turn the rebellion against itself."
And with a gesture, the chamber's walls shifted, revealing projections of hidden assets: sleeper agents within the rebellion, experimental weapons hidden in the lower districts, and, most chilling of all—The Wraiths, Helix's most secret creation.
---
Whispers in the Dark
Meanwhile, in the reclaimed districts, John walked among the people. Children cheered at the sight of him, rebels saluted, and civilians offered food and shelter. For the first time, his presence brought not fear of destruction, but hope.
Yet even amidst the neon glow, shadows lingered.
Sora was the first to notice the inconsistencies—rebels giving contradictory reports, supplies disappearing before they reached the front lines, coded messages intercepted but never traced.
"There's a leak," she muttered to John as they walked past a mural of the rebellion painted across a building wall. "Helix is in here with us. Watching."
John clenched his jaw. The Node pulsed inside him, whispering suspicions, feeding his paranoia. He fought to silence it. "We'll root them out. But we can't let this fracture us."
Lana, however, disagreed. "Unity doesn't come from ignoring threats. If we don't find the infiltrators soon, they'll destroy us from within."
The argument simmered, but there was no time to resolve it.
---
The Wraiths Unleashed
Night fell, and with it came Helix's strike.
From the rooftops, they appeared—figures draped in living shadows, their forms shifting like liquid metal, their eyes glowing with unnatural light. The Wraiths moved without sound, cutting through rebel patrols with surgical precision.
Panic spread fast. Fighters who had stood bravely against machines now faltered against foes they couldn't track, couldn't predict.
John rushed into the chaos, his fists blazing with energy. His strikes lit up the streets, revealing glimpses of the Wraiths as they darted in and out of the dark. But each time he landed a blow, they dissolved into mist, reforming elsewhere.
"These aren't soldiers," Nika growled, hurling debris in wide arcs. "They're nightmares."
"They're engineered," Lana countered, her fingers flying across her console as she tried to scan their patterns. "Biotech fused with quantum cloaking. Helix built them to fight in shadows. To break morale."
And it was working.
---
A Battle of Trust
The Wraiths did more than kill—they whispered. They whispered lies in the voices of lost friends, sowing doubt in every fighter's heart.
One rebel turned his gun on another, convinced he was a traitor. Squads fractured, arguments erupted, and chaos spread faster than any bullet.
John felt the Node burning inside him, begging him to take control, to dominate the battlefield with sheer force. But he remembered the rebellion's spark—it wasn't his power alone that would save them.
"Listen to me!" he roared, his voice echoing across the district, amplified by the Node. "They want you to doubt. To turn on each other. But you know the truth: we fight for one another, or we fall alone!"
His words cut through the fear, steadying the rebels. Slowly, trust reformed, and the rebellion fought not against itself, but together against the Wraiths.
Lyra stood shoulder to shoulder with Sora, Nika shielded squads with her gravity fields, and Lana fed tactical data to every fighter she could reach. The rebellion began to push back.
---
A Shadow's Warning
In the end, the Wraiths retreated, melting back into the darkness as quickly as they had come. Dozens lay dead, more wounded, but the rebellion held.
John stood amidst the wreckage, chest heaving, his energy dimmed. One Wraith, its body half-disintegrated, lingered just long enough to speak in a voice that was not its own:
"You think you've won, Catalyst. But shadows always return. And Helix… is everywhere."
Then it dissolved into smoke, leaving only silence.
---
The Dawn After Shadows
The district was quiet at sunrise, but it was not the same as before. The people still stood, still resisted—but now their eyes held unease.
Helix had shown its hand. The rebellion had enemies it could not see, threats it could not predict.
John looked out over the city, his fists clenched. "They want to drown us in fear. But fear only has power if we let it."
Lana met his gaze, her expression firm. "Then we prepare. For every shadow, we'll light a flame. And we'll burn Helix out of Neo-Lumen."
The rebellion was bloodied. But it was not broken.
Not yet.