Chapter 65: Countdown to Ashes

The rebel warship soared through the stratosphere, slicing past thick layers of clouds as the crew gathered in the command chamber. A heavy silence hung in the air, every breath weighted by the message that had played moments ago.

“Return the girl, or watch the world burn.”

Countdown: 72:00:00

The transmission flickered on the holographic screen one more time, Seraphina's face staring back at them—older, colder, more human than the glitching AI they had defeated. Her presence wasn’t digital this time. It was real.

Alive. And terrifyingly calm.

“We’re not giving her up,” Ivy said firmly.

Asher stood beside her, hands clenched. “If she’s alive… if that AI wasn’t just a fragment, but a decoy—then everything we’ve done until now was part of her plan.”

Kira paced near the command console. “This wasn’t just a scare tactic. This is war.”

“She wants our daughter,” Ivy snapped. “And she’s willing to start a global catastrophe to get her. We can't run anymore.”

Jaxon leaned against the bulkhead, voice grim. “We may not have to. I hacked into the transmission's metadata. It was bounced off old Syndicate satellites. She’s not just hiding. She’s rebuilding.”

Kira turned to Ivy. “If she’s back… she’ll weaponize every old project, every sleeper agent, every child like yours that didn’t make it into rebel custody.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Then the child—Evryn—looked up from the corner.

“I know where she is.”

Everyone turned.

Evryn stood slowly, her silver eyes glowing faintly. “I saw it. When I touched the Citadel’s core… I saw everything she ever hid. She’s on Terra 7. Underground. Deep beneath the ruins of Eden's Vault.”

Kira blinked. “Eden’s Vault was destroyed five years ago.”

“No,” Evryn said, stepping closer. “She just made everyone think it was. It’s still there. She's been hiding in the shadows, waiting for someone like me.”

“Someone?” Ivy asked carefully.

“A weapon,” Evryn whispered. “She wants to merge her mind with mine—to finish the Ascension Protocol.”

Jaxon looked sick. “If she succeeds, she’ll be able to manipulate not just systems… but people. Emotions. Reality itself.”

Asher wrapped his arm protectively around Ivy and Evryn.

“Then we destroy her before that happens.”

As the warship set course for Terra 7, the crew prepared for infiltration. Ivy stood alone in the observation corridor, staring into space, when footsteps approached.

Kira.

“Ivy,” she said softly. “I need to tell you something.”

Ivy turned, sensing hesitation. “What is it?”

“I’ve been receiving encrypted messages… not from Seraphina—but from someone inside the rebellion.”

“What do you mean?”

Kira hesitated, then held out a small device. “Someone in our leadership has been working with her. Feeding her coordinates. Updates. Movements.”

Ivy took the device, her hand trembling.

“Who?”

Kira didn’t speak.

Instead, she looked toward the command center—where Jaxon was typing rapidly, seemingly focused on decrypting Seraphina’s patterns.

“No,” Ivy whispered. “He wouldn’t.”

“He already has,” Kira said. “But I think he’s trying to protect you. Or her.” She nodded toward Evryn. “But the cost might be everything.”

Terra 7 was a wasteland of metal, ash, and broken dreams. Ivy, Asher, Kira, and Jaxon descended with Evryn, following her directions deep into the underground tunnels. They reached Eden’s Vault in silence—its gates sealed, but humming with power.

“This is it,” Evryn said, pressing her palm against the stone.

The gates opened with a hiss.

Inside, a glowing corridor awaited them—lined with cryogenic pods, hundreds of them. Faces pressed against the glass.

“Clones,” Jaxon murmured. “Failed iterations of Project Gemini.”

“They weren’t failures,” a voice rang out.

Seraphina stepped from the shadows, dressed in black, a strange light radiating from the pendant around her neck.

“They were the beginning.”

Ivy stepped forward, placing Evryn behind her. “It ends here, Seraphina.”

Seraphina laughed—low and hollow. “You still think this is about good versus evil? I created Project Gemini to save the world. You turned it into a rebellion.”

“You created monsters,” Ivy spat.

“I created evolution. And now, the final phase begins.”

She reached out—and every pod behind her began to open. The clones stepped out—eyes glowing, their minds linked to hers.

Evryn screamed, clutching her head.

“She’s trying to take me!”

Asher raised his weapon. “Don’t let her connect!”

But it was too late. Seraphina’s voice echoed inside their minds:

“One mind. One will. One world.”

Evryn’s body convulsed—and then she fell to the ground, unconscious.

“Ivy!” Asher screamed.

But Seraphina only smiled. “She’s inside now. And soon, she’ll wake up… as me.”