Location; Cairo, Egypt – Al-Maqrizi Archives
Under the blistering sun, the sands whispered secrets only the wind remembered. In the heart of old Cairo, beneath a hidden basement inside the ancient Al-Maqrizi Archives, an elderly man's hand trembled as he unraveled the papyrus scroll with symbols unseen for centuries.
Dr. Fadil Nazari—Nora's great uncle on her mother's side—stared into the glyphs. "It's here," he whispered. "The key to the Cryo-Queen's prison... and the blood required to seal it again."
A shadow fell over him.
"Are you certain?" asked Soraya, a stern-faced agent dispatched by Damien.
"I am. But it demands a sacrifice—one from her own bloodline."
Location; The Blackwood Jet – Over Eurasian Airspace
Damien sat across from Alina, who lay wrapped in thermal blankets. Her breathing was steady now, but the pale glow in her irises remained.
"She's changing," Nora murmured. "Something in that crypt didn't just feed on her... it evolved her."
Fey tapped furiously at her tablet. "Signals from dormant locations across the globe have begun to spike. Antarctica. Siberia. Mongolia. Even beneath the Congo Basin."
Damien looked to the window, watching distant auroras curl unnaturally across the sky. "They're like beacons. She's waking others."
"Not others," Nora corrected. "Soldiers. Her army."
Location; Operation Eclipse Command – Black Site 'Neon Grave'
In a concrete bunker buried beneath the Arctic ice, Archer stood before a wall of screens. Each displayed different locations: melting glaciers, shifting tectonics, power grid collapses, and strange magnetic pulses across the world.
Ayuba entered. "We've confirmed a secondary breach in Antarctica. Another queen may be stirring."
"Execute Phase One," Archer ordered. "Deploy the Eclipse Network."
Technicians entered commands. Satellites realigned. In low Earth orbit, dormant stations hummed to life.
"What is Operation Eclipse, exactly?" Ayuba finally asked.
Archer exhaled. "A counter-extinction protocol. If these queens want to rule a frozen world... we'll torch the sky before we let that happen."
Location; São Paulo, Brazil – Elara's Hideout
In a candlelit crypt beneath a centuries-old chapel, Damien's cousin Elara—the rogue heiress of the LeClair family—paced restlessly. Her informants had brought word of the Cryo-Queen's awakening, and Archer's preparations to scorch the Earth.
Elara clenched her fists. "Damien's walking straight into a firestorm. He doesn't know what Eclipse really does."
Her brother, Micah, stepped forward. "Then maybe it's time we take back control of our own legacy... and make the Blackwood Syndicate pay."
Location; Blackwood Jet – Approach to Cairo
As the team prepared to land, Nora turned to Damien.
"I've never told you about my Uncle Fadil. He was banished from the family years ago for practicing forbidden rituals. My mother always said he saw things... before they happened."
Damien nodded. "Let's hope he sees a future where Alina survives."
Nora's voice dropped to a whisper. "The scroll... if it requires her life, Damien, we can't let her make that choice alone."
The jet descended over Cairo's golden skyline, unaware that a strike team from a new player—The Obsidian Creed—was already en route to intercept.