The cold hum of the lab was the only sound as Silas Dane stood before the containment chamber. A thick sheet of reinforced glass separated him from Potenus, which pulsed with an eerie green glow inside its sealed pod. The plant's tendrils writhed as though restless, yearning for something it couldn't reach.
Silas tapped his pen against the clipboard in his hand, eyes scanning the latest data. The readings were off the charts—biological activity that defied any known scientific logic. But then, nothing about Potenus made sense, and that was the problem.
A shadow moved behind him, and Silas stiffened. He didn't need to turn to know who it was.
"Working late again, Dane?" Dr. Marlowe's smooth voice echoed through the lab. The older scientist's eyes gleamed with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. Marlowe was the head of Project Verdant, a classified division of Nexus Biotech dedicated to harnessing Potenus's enigmatic properties.
Silas forced a smile. "You know me. Can't resist a good mystery."
Marlowe's gaze flicked to the containment chamber. "And Potenus is the greatest mystery of all, isn't it?"
Silas remained silent. He knew better than to trust Marlowe. The man was ambitious to a fault, willing to push ethical boundaries in pursuit of scientific breakthroughs. Silas had seen the consequences of that ambition firsthand.
"Any new developments?" Marlowe asked, stepping closer.
Silas hesitated. The truth was unsettling—Potenus had been growing more unstable, its energy spikes becoming harder to predict. But if he reported that, Marlowe would likely order invasive experiments that could trigger a catastrophic reaction.
"Nothing significant," Silas lied smoothly. "Just routine fluctuations."
Marlowe's lips curled into a faint smile. "Good. We wouldn't want any... surprises."
As Marlowe walked away, Silas exhaled slowly. He knew the man was watching him closely, waiting for any excuse to take control of Potenus.
Silas turned back to the containment chamber, his mind racing. He couldn't stay here much longer. Potenus was becoming too dangerous, and Nexus Biotech was the last place he wanted it to be. But getting the plant out of this heavily guarded facility was next to impossible.
Unless...
A sudden beeping interrupted his thoughts. Silas's eyes snapped to the monitor. The containment chamber was showing a sharp spike in Potenus's energy levels.
"Damn it," he muttered.
He tapped the controls, initiating the stabilization protocol. The chamber hissed as coolant gas flooded the interior, but Potenus's glow only intensified. Tendrils pressed against the glass, vibrating with raw power.
The lights in the lab flickered, and a low hum filled the air. Silas's pulse quickened. He knew that sound—it was the same frequency Potenus had emitted years ago when it first bonded to him.
And then he saw it.
A vision flickered before his eyes: a dense, otherworldly jungle bathed in golden light. Strange flowers bloomed in vibrant hues, and the air shimmered with energy. In the center of it all stood a towering version of Potenus, its tendrils reaching toward a sky filled with swirling constellations.
Silas staggered back, gasping for breath. The vision faded, but the unease lingered. Potenus was showing him something—a place beyond this world.
But why?
The containment chamber's alarms blared, jolting Silas back to reality. He moved quickly, overriding the system to prevent a facility-wide lockdown. As the alarms silenced, he caught a glimpse of Potenus through the foggy glass.
It had stopped pulsing, but its tendrils formed a distinct pattern—like a message.
A warning.
Silas's blood ran cold. Potenus wasn't just reacting to its environment. It was responding to something external.
Someone was coming.
He had to act fast. Whatever secrets Potenus held, they were about to unravel, and Silas knew that if he didn't get to the truth first, Nexus Biotech—or something far worse—would.