The message appeared at the clock tower at 4:43 a.m.
Marcus had been standing vigil, watching the city sleep. The threads of connection were steady, strong, pulsing with a warm golden light. The First Thread had healed. The Foundation was whole. Everything was as it should be.
But the message changed everything.
It was written in a language that shouldn't exist, but Marcus could read it as clearly as his own name. The words burned across the stone like fire, pulsing with a light that was both beautiful and terrible.
THE FIRST THREAD IS HEALED. THE CONNECTION IS WHOLE. BUT THE HEALING HAS AWAKENED SOMETHING. SOMETHING THAT WAS SEALED WITH THE FOUNDATION. SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT.
Marcus touched the message. It was warm, alive, pulsing with a rhythm that matched h
