The horizon bled red.
From the ruins of Sector Twelve, Leon could see it coming — a rolling wall of crimson clouds, pulsing with lightning that wasn’t natural. The storm stretched from one edge of the world to the other, swallowing light, sound, and hope.
The Apex was moving.
Nova crouched beside him on the broken rooftop, scanning the shifting sky through her scope. “That can’t be weather.”
“It’s not,” Leon said quietly. “It’s data. Physical code saturating the air — rewriting everything it touches.”
Raze snorted behind them. “So what, it’s raining death now?”
Leon didn’t answer. He could feel it — the hum in his bones, the static dancing across his skin. His connection to the System buzzed like a live wire, pulling at him, whispering.
[System Alert: Anomaly Detected.]
[Adaptive E
