The facility was in chaos. Explosions from Nathan's countermeasure had triggered a chain reaction, and the once-stable Nexus now trembled with instability. Alarms blared as red emergency lights flickered. Smoke filled the corridors, and the air smelled of burnt metal and desperation.
Nathan stumbled to his feet, clutching his side where shrapnel from the grenade had grazed him. His vision blurred for a moment before he focused on Zara's device, still active on the control console. The words COUNTERMEASURE SUCCESSFUL blinked on the screen. But beneath it, another message appeared that sent a chill down his spine: CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURE IMMINENT. COMPLETE SHUTDOWN IN 20 MINUTES.
The Nexus wasn't just destabilized it was falling apart.
Sana groaned as she pushed off the debris pinning her down. Blood trickled from a cut on her forehead, but her fiery determination remained intact. "What the hell just happened, Nathan?" she demanded, limping toward him.
Nathan didn't have time to answer as Lucien, furious and determined, barked orders to his men. "Secure them! I don't care if the facility collapses. They don't leave here alive!"
Bullets rained down again. Nathan grabbed Sana and pulled her behind an overturned console for cover.
"This wasn't supposed to happen," Nathan said through gritted teeth. "The countermeasure was meant to disable their system, not destroy the whole facility."
"Well, congratulations," Sana snapped. "Now we're in the middle of a collapsing death trap with an army trying to kill us. Great plan, Nathan."
The duo exchanged fire with Lucien's men, trying to buy time. Nathan's mind raced. If the facility's systems were failing, the Shadow Council's plans were unraveling too. But there was no way they'd let him or Sana leave alive to confirm that.
As the firefight continued, Nathan spotted a ventilation shaft above the control room. It wasn't ideal, but it was their only chance of escape.
"Sana," Nathan said, reloading his weapon, "we need to get to that vent."
She followed his gaze, raising an eyebrow. "You're kidding. It's practically suicide trying to climb there with Lucien shooting at us."
"Do you have a better idea?" Nathan retorted.
Sana sighed. "Fine. Cover me."
Nathan nodded, suppressing his pain as he fired a barrage of shots to keep Lucien's men pinned down. Sana sprinted toward the vent, using the chaos to her advantage. She jumped, grabbing the edge of the shaft and pulling herself up.
"Your turn!" she shouted, extending a hand down to him.
Nathan glanced back at Lucien, who was shouting something Nathan couldn't hear over the explosions. He knew their time was running out. With one last burst of gunfire to keep the enemies at bay, he dashed toward the vent and leaped. Sana grabbed his arm and pulled him up just as a grenade exploded where he had been moments before.
The vent was cramped and suffocating, the heat from the failing systems making it feel like an oven. Nathan and Sana crawled through the narrow space, their movements hurried and frantic.
"We need to figure out what went wrong with the countermeasure," Nathan muttered, his mind racing.
"What went wrong?" Sana snapped. "You broke the damn code! You overrode a system you didn't fully understand, and now we're all going to pay for it."
Nathan didn't respond immediately. She was right he had underestimated the complexity of the Nexus's system. Zara had warned him that the code was unstable, but he hadn't listened. And now, not only were their lives in danger, but so was their mission.
Eventually, the vent opened into a storage room. They dropped down, landing amidst crates and supplies. Nathan immediately found a terminal and connected Zara's device to it, hoping to get some answers.
The screen flickered to life, displaying fragmented code and error messages. Among the chaos, a single line of text stood out:
"The Hourglass Protocol has fractured. Priority directive initiated: Erase all traces."
Nathan's eyes widened. "Oh no..."
"What?" Sana asked, stepping closer.
"The Nexus isn't just collapsing," Nathan explained. "The Hourglass Protocol was designed to self-destruct and take everything with it. If this place goes down, it'll wipe out everyone—and everything—connected to the Shadow Council."
"That sounds like a good thing," Sana said, though her tone was wary.
"Not exactly," Nathan replied. "It won't just destroy the Council. It'll destroy all the evidence we need to take them down."
Before they could strategize further, the storage room's door burst open. Lucien and his elite soldiers stormed in, their weapons drawn.
"End of the line," Lucien said, his voice dripping with venom.
Nathan and Sana raised their hands slowly, knowing they were outnumbered. But Nathan's mind was still racing. He needed time time to figure out how to salvage the situation.
Lucien stepped closer, his gun trained on Nathan. "You think you've won because you sabotaged the Protocol? You've only hastened your doom."
"Maybe," Nathan said, his voice calm despite the tension. "But if this place goes down, you're coming with us."
Lucien smirked. "Oh, I'll survive. You, on the other hand, will not."
As Lucien prepared to pull the trigger, an unexpected explosion shook the facility, throwing everyone off balance. Sparks flew from the walls, and the lights flickered. Nathan used the moment of chaos to grab a smoke grenade from his belt and toss it to the ground.
Thick smoke filled the room, obscuring everyone's vision. Nathan grabbed Sana's arm and pulled her toward a hidden exit he had spotted earlier.
"We can't keep running forever," Sana said as they fled down another corridor.
"I'm not running," Nathan replied. "I'm regrouping."
Behind them, Lucien's voice echoed through the smoke. "You can't hide from me, Nathan! I'll find you, no matter where you go!"
Nathan ignored the threat and focused on the terminal at the end of the corridor. He connected Zara's device once more, hoping to find a way to shut down the Hourglass Protocol without destroying everything.
The screen lit up, showing a countdown: 15:00... 14:59... 14:58.
Sana's eyes widened. "We have fifteen minutes to stop this?"
Nathan nodded grimly. "Fifteen minutes to save everything or lose it all."
Before he could type a single command, a shadow loomed over them. Nathan turned to see Kane standing at the far end of the corridor, his face unreadable.
"Kane," Nathan said, his voice laced with suspicion. "What are you doing here?"
Kane smirked, stepping closer. "I'm here to help. But the question is can you trust me?"