Echoes of Unseen

The storm had long passed, but the air still crackled with residual energy—an unnatural stillness, like the world itself was holding its breath. The city's streets were eerily quiet, save for the distant wail of sirens as emergency responders struggled to make sense of the inexplicable blackout that had rippled outward from Luminex.

Ethan stood at the edge of a rooftop, staring down at the restless glow of the city below. His body still ached from the sublevel fight, but his mind refused to rest. The creature was gone, the shard shattered, but the consequences of that moment were still unraveling.

Somewhere out there, it was free.

He could still hear its voice echoing in his mind—You have summoned me.

What had they brought into this world?

Behind him, the faint click of heels announced Victoria's arrival. She stopped a few feet away, her arms crossed over her chest, her expression composed but sharp. "You're thinking too much," she said.

Ethan let out a quiet breath, his gaze not leaving the skyline. "Thinking is what keeps me alive."

Victoria tilted her head slightly. "Then tell me, Mr. Ward—what do you think happens now?"

Ethan turned to face her, his eyes dark. "I think we just started something we don't understand."

The Vanishing

Across the city, in a cramped, dimly lit apartment, a man typed feverishly at his laptop, his face illuminated by the pale glow of the screen. His name was Felix Carter, and he was a conspiracy journalist—a persistent thorn in the side of those who thrived in the shadows.

For months, he had been chasing whispers about Luminex. Strange disappearances. Unexplained financial movements. A black budget that didn't add up.

And tonight, something had finally happened.

His sources had confirmed it—there had been a power surge unlike anything the city had ever seen. Emergency channels were in chaos. The government was already scrambling to explain it.

Felix's fingers moved over the keyboard, crafting the perfect exposé.

Luminex: The Company Playing God?

He smirked. The truth was always buried under layers of deception, but it had a way of surfacing. And this? This was bigger than anything he had ever uncovered before.

He was about to hit publish when he heard it.

A whisper.

Felix froze, his pulse spiking. His apartment was silent save for the steady hum of his computer fan, but the sound had been real. It had been right behind him.

Slowly, he turned his head.

The shadows in the corner of the room shifted.

His breath hitched. Something was there.

The whisper came again, clearer this time. "You were never meant to see."

The lights flickered. The screen of his laptop glitched, lines of unreadable text flashing across it.

Felix tried to stand, but before he could move—the shadows swallowed him whole.

His laptop screen flickered once more, then went completely dark.

In the silence that followed, there was no trace of Felix Carter.

Luminex Crisis Response

Victoria stood at the head of the war room inside Luminex headquarters, her expression unreadable as her team scrambled around her. The blackout incident had already reached the highest levels of government. Questions were being asked. And for the first time in years, Luminex did not control the narrative.

"Satellite feeds went down the second the event occurred," one of her analysts reported. "The military intercepted the energy readings, but they don't know what to make of it. Right now, they're calling it an anomaly."

Victoria exhaled slowly. Anomaly. That was a dangerously fragile word. It gave them time—but not much.

Anna stood near the back of the room, arms folded, watching Victoria carefully. She hadn't said a word since the incident in the sublevels, but her mind was working fast.

The signal had gone out.

And someone—something—had answered.

Ethan's Decision

Ethan wasn't a man who ignored his instincts, and every part of him was screaming that this was far from over. He had spent years dealing with unseen forces, but this was something else entirely.

He needed answers. And there was only one place to start.

Dr. Grantham's journal.

In the dim light of his apartment, Ethan flipped through the pages again. The historian had uncovered secrets buried for centuries—whispers of the Veil, a power hidden between worlds.

And one location kept appearing in his notes, over and over.

"St. Augustine Asylum—closed since 1987. Rumored to be the first recorded breach site."

Ethan traced his fingers over the name. If Grantham was right, the asylum wasn't just an abandoned ruin but a gateway.

A place where they had once crossed over before.

He didn't have the luxury of hesitation. If the entity was moving, he had to get ahead of it.

Ethan grabbed his keys.

It was time to visit the past.