The sky turned crimson.
Alex was in the command center, reviewing intelligence with Sebastian, when the light outside shifted. The familiar blue of the afternoon sky bled into a deep, blood red. The clouds swirled and churned like a living thing.
"Sebastian," Alex said, his voice tight. "What is that?"
Sebastian moved to the window, his face pale. "I don't know. But I've seen this before. In the ancient texts. It's a sign. A warning."
"A warning of what?"
Before Sebastian could answer, the ground began to shake. A deep, rumbling vibration that seemed to come from the earth itself. The walls trembled. The lights flickered.
And then the voice came. Not a whisper. Not a roar. A sound that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, from inside their minds and outside their bodies, all a
