The dome opened. Inside, a floating crystal. Bigger than a car. Pulsing with blue light.
“The prediction fragment,” Cross said. “It shows every future. And in 99% of them, you lose.”
“Then we fight in the 1%,” Dara replied.
Cross laughed. “You already are.”
The First Future
The crystal flashed. Everyone saw it—a vision of Marcus on the ground. Bleeding.
“That’s not real,” Marcus said.
“It will be,” Cross said. “Unless you walk away.”
Julian stepped forward. “You forget. I have the Origin. The Dreamer. And I’ve seen a million futures in the Vault.”
“Those were memories. This is prediction.”
“Same thing.”
Julian touched the crystal.
SYSTEM: PREDICTION OVERRIDE ATTEMPT. JULIAN VANCE — LEVEL 40 → LEVEL 41. RULE BREAKER LV.5 → LV.6.
The crystal cracked.
Cross’s smile faded. “You c
