Asher Faust
The city of Orion pulsed around him—blazing neon, the hum of distant drones, the rhythmic march of a society that had forgotten what it meant to be free. But Chris Madoc wasn’t thinking about the city anymore. He wasn’t thinking about OMNIS or the dangers waiting in the shadows. He was thinking about the vault. The air beneath Orion’s surface was thick, laced with dust and the scent of metal long since rusted. The tunnels stretched in every direction, a labyrinth beneath the streets—a forgotten world buried by time. And at the center of it all was the door. It was unlike anything Chris had ever seen. Black stone, polished to a mirror sheen, etched with symbols that burned faintly with an eerie, golden glow. The air around it felt charged, like static before a storm. His heart pounded in his chest, his fingers twitching as he reached out. Behind him, Selene Voss exhaled sharply. “You feel that?” she murmured. Chris nodded. He didn’t have words for it, but he could feel the power thrumming beneath his skin, as if the door itself recognized him. It was waiting for him. His breath was shallow as he pressed his palm against the center of the engraving. The glow intensified, the symbols shifting, reconfiguring, as if whispering to him in a language just beyond his understanding. Then, the vault opened. A slow, deep rumble echoed through the tunnels as the massive door slid inward, revealing the chamber beyond. Chris took a step forward—then froze. In the center of the room, resting atop a pedestal of obsidian, was a crystalline sphere. It pulsed with a soft, inner light, shadows swirling within it like storm clouds trapped in glass. Selene stepped up beside him, her voice barely a whisper. “That’s it, isn’t it?” Chris swallowed hard. “The Ezekiel Device,” he murmured. The room felt alive around them, as if the very air was watching. Chris’s hand trembled as he reached for the sphere. The moment his fingers brushed against its surface, a shockwave erupted outward—light bli
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