Chapter 827 - 829
Jude’s boots crunched softly on the frozen gravel as they approached the outskirts of Leonork. The city’s skyline rose like a jagged silhouette against the pale light of the overcast sky, but it was not the same city he had left. There was something different now, an invisible weight in the air, a sensation like standing on the edge of a deep chasm with no bottom. The closer they got, the quieter it became. Not just in sound, but in presence. Even the wind seemed hesitant to touch this place. Buildings that once housed the routines of everyday life now loomed like ancient ruins, dark windows watching them with the cold detachment of forgotten gods.
Darren walked a few steps behind, his rifle loosely slung over his shoulder, his face hard and unreadable. They hadn’t spoken much during the journey back. Whatever Jude had become in that strange place with the silver-haired woman, Darren couldn’t understand it. But he respected it. There was a kind of calm in Jude now, as though something ancient had settled in his blood and tempered his spirit. He wasn’t the same man who had fled Leonork weeks ago. And Darren had no illusions that the city waiting ahead was the same, either.
They entered through the southern gate, or what was left of it. The checkpoint had been torn apart, the sentry booths reduced to twisted metal and scorched stone. But there were no bodies. No signs of resistance. Just absence. Jude moved with purpose, his eyes flicking from shadow to shadow, following something unseen. Darren didn’t ask questions. He knew Jude was following more than memory, he was tracking the pulse of something that had long gone dormant and was now waking beneath their feet.
They moved through the empty streets in silence. The deeper they went, the more unnatural it felt. Time didn’t pass normally here. Clocks had stopped, leaves hung motionless in mid-fall, and puddles didn’t ripple even when stepped in. It was like the city had been paused, mid-breath. Or caught in the moment before a scream.
They reached the old district, the heart of the city, where the Helix core was buried beneath a façade of government buildings and fake infrastructure. It had once been a place of innovation, of whispered promises and powerful lies. Now it stood like a mausoleum to every mistake mankind had ever tried to bury. Jude stopped at the edge of the plaza where the main Helix access point had been sealed after the collapse. He knelt, pressed his palm to the ground.
"It’s still down there," he said.
Darren looked around. "You’re sure?"
"I don’t hear it. I feel it." Jude looked up at him. "It’s awake. It’s searching."
Darren tightened his grip on the rifle. "Then let’s bury it for good this time."