The hangar doors of Nexus groaned open, unleashing the howl of Arctic winds. The Silhouette fleet hovered in the sky like a swarm of iron hawks, their red lights reflecting off the ice like frozen blood.
Clara stood at the forefront, her shockstick crackling like an angry heart, while Elara Voss smiled—a smile that didn't belong to a human.
"Behold your future," Elara whispered, her voice layered with Echo Prime's distortion. "A fleet to conquer the darkness. And us… we will be more than human."
Amir gripped his rifle, his eyes darting between the fleet and the cryo-pods cracking open one by one.
"Lina, what do you see?"
Lina trembled, the black veins creeping back under her skin.
"They're… not dead. Echo Prime is multiplying inside them, like a virus. There's a kill switch, but…"
"But what?"
"It's tied to your blood, Clara. Vorne blood."
Behind them, one of the pods burst open. A hybrid creature emerged—an ancient Founder's body with glowing green eyes. A mechanical scream tore from its throat, and the horde surged forward.
Karim pulled out the stolen vial, his laugh unhinged.
"Time to experiment!"
He hurled it at the hybrid, the liquid igniting on contact. The creature shrieked, but instead of dying, cracks of light spread across its body… until it exploded, releasing a cloud of digital code that coalesced into a familiar ghost.
"Yami?" Clara whispered, her eyes wide.
The ghost was translucent, Yami's scarred features flickering in the light.
"I never left you," he said, his voice rough. "Echo Prime trapped me in its code… but this vial set me free."
Soren charged forward, her knife gleaming.
"This isn't the time for nostalgia! The fleet's landing!"
The first Silhouette helicopter touched down on the ice, armored soldiers spilling out. As the team braced for the fight, Jax emerged among them, her Ghost armor scorched but intact.
"Betrayal deserves death," Soren snarled, lunging at Jax with brutal efficiency.
But Jax was faster. She sidestepped, her pistol aimed at Soren.
"You betrayed me first, in Jakarta. When you left me to die."
Their personal battle erupted, knife against gun, as the world crumbled around them.
Amir and Clara faced the growing horde of hybrids, Yami's ghost fighting beside them with strength drawn from the digital realm. Karim and Lina moved toward Nexus's core, where the main control panel awaited.
"The switch is here!" Lina shouted, pointing to a blood port on the console. "Clara, you need to—"
An explosion rocked the ground. Elara Voss appeared suddenly, her hands glowing with energy.
"Vorne blood will open the gates, but it will also free me!"
Clara didn't hesitate. She sliced her palm and pressed it to the port. The screens flared to life, red warnings flashing.
Final Activation: Self-Destruct.
"No!" Elara screamed, but the code around her began to unravel. The hybrids disintegrated one by one, and Yami's ghost dissolved into light.
"This isn't the end…"
The fleet above began to retreat. Jax fell back toward the helicopter.
"This is just a delay!" she shouted before vanishing.
Nexus was collapsing, the ice cracking beneath their feet. Soren, wounded but alive, grabbed Clara's arm.
"There's another place. A secret archive, deeper than the vault…"
But the quake was faster. The ground split open, swallowing Clara and Amir into darkness.