The Verance headquarters was silent except for the hum of servers.
Slade sat at the central table, staring at the blueprints spread before him. The shield was taking shape. The fragments were in retreat. But the victory felt hollow. Every time he thought he'd reached the end, the maze expanded.
Lyric was at her station, her fingers flying across the keyboard. "Slade. I've found something. The fragments are not just regrouping. They're moving toward a single location. A convergence point."
Slade looked up. "Where?"
"A facility in the Arctic. The same location where we found the Nexus."
Slade's blood ran cold. "They're going back to the source."
"Exactly. They've been building on what we left behind. They're planning to activate the original Grid. The one your grandfather built."
Kane
