The bedroom doorknob turned.
Lee rose from the edge of the bed.
Fire gathered around his right hand, casting orange light across the walls.
Behind his shoulders, cold pressure spread beneath his skin as the shadow tendrils prepared to emerge.
Buster stood between Lee and the door.
The French bulldog lowered his head and released a growl that sounded far too large for his compact body.
“Easy,” Lee whispered.
Buster ignored him.
The door opened several inches.
A man’s hand appeared around the edge.
Empty.
“Lee Woods?” the stranger called again.
“I’m not here to hurt you.”
Lee moved beside the bed, giving himself space to react.
“That’s exactly what someone breaking into my house would say.”
The door stopped.
“That’s fair.”
The man did not enter.
“I’m going to step into the room slowly.
My weapon is holstered.”
“You have a weapon?”
“I’m a federal agent.”
“That doesn’t make the breaking-in part better.”
“No.
It doesn’t.”
Lee glanced toward Hermes.
The god stood beside the window, invisible to the stranger.
His golden staff rested against one shoulder, but his expression held no trace of amusement.
He is alone, Hermes said.
Can you tell whether he’s telling the truth?
I can tell that his heart rate is elevated and that he expects violence.
Truth is more complicated.
Lee kept the flame burning.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
The man stepped inside with both hands raised.
He appeared to be in his early forties, with short dark hair and several days of stubble across his jaw.
He wore plain clothes beneath a black weatherproof jacket.
A pistol rested in a holster at his waist.
A small crystalline device hung from a strap across his chest.
Blue symbols flickered across its surface.
The same kind of scanner the military technicians had used in Graham.
Buster barked and charged.
The man jerked backward.
“Whoa.”
Lee caught Buster before he reached the stranger.
The dog twisted in his arms, snorting and trying to escape.
“Buster, stop.”
“He’s protective,” the man said.
“You entered his house.”
“Again, fair.”
Lee set Buster on the bed but kept one hand near the dog’s collar.
“Who are you?”
The man slowly lowered one hand and reached toward his jacket.
Lee’s flame brightened.
“Slowly.”
The man froze.
Then he pulled out a leather identification wallet and tossed it onto the floor.
It landed several feet from Lee.
Lee glanced down.
Special Agent Marcus Kane.
The agency name meant little to him.
The seal looked official, but Lee had no way to know whether it was real.
“What do you want?”
Kane looked at the fire around Lee’s hand.
“To prevent someone less patient from finding you first.”
Lee extinguished the flame.
Not because he trusted the man.
Because displaying more power than necessary felt stupid.
Kane’s scanner flashed.
He looked down at the screen.
Then toward Lee’s shoulders.
“The energy reading just doubled.”
Lee felt the tendrils stirring beneath his skin.
He forced them back.
“What did you do to the men in the alley?”
Lee’s pulse quickened.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“One of them suffered extreme Aether depletion.
His awakened ability disappeared.”
Kane took another careful step into the room.
“The other man had three broken ribs and a fractured jaw.”
Lee frowned.
“I didn’t break his ribs.”
Kane studied him.
“That’s an interesting part to deny.”
Lee realized his mistake too late.
Hermes sighed.
Subtle.
Not helping.
Kane continued.
“Witnesses reported fire, black shapes moving across the walls, and several teenagers fleeing the scene.”
“They were trying to kill a kid.”
“I know.”
The answer surprised Lee.
“You know?”
“The boy gave a statement.
He said your group saved him.”
Kane’s gaze moved toward the burned sleeve of Lee’s shirt.
“He also said one of you stayed behind.”
Lee said nothing.
Kane looked toward the rear window.
“The crater in your backyard produces the strongest reading we’ve found outside a secured impact zone.”
“That doesn’t mean I did anything.”
“No.
But your house was struck by lightning during the Convergence.
You appeared in Graham this morning with an Aether concentration high enough to overload a military scanner.
Then a man with an awakened fire affinity lost his ability after fighting someone matching your description.”
Kane paused.
“Those facts are becoming difficult to ignore.”
Lee glanced toward Hermes.
The god watched the agent closely.
Can he detect you?
No.
Can he detect the Aether Soul?
Perhaps its presence.
Not its nature.
Lee looked back at Kane.
“Are you here to arrest me?”
“No.”
“To recruit me?”
“Not officially.”
“That sounds like a yes.”
Kane’s mouth tightened.
“I’m here because the government doesn’t understand what happened last night.
Different departments are already fighting over jurisdiction.
The military wants to secure the fragments.
Intelligence agencies are identifying altered individuals.
Scientists want access to everyone displaying unusual abilities.”
“And you?”
“I want to keep frightened officials from treating children like unexploded weapons.”
Lee looked toward the scanner.
“But you’re tracking us.”
“I’m identifying people who might be targeted by groups with fewer restraints.”
“Other governments?”
“Among others.”
Kane moved toward the bedroom doorway.
“You and your friends triggered a scanner in Graham.
By tonight, your descriptions will be entered into several databases.”
Lee’s stomach sank.
“Can you remove them?”
“No.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because you still have time to decide how visible you want to become.”
Kane looked down the hallway.
“You need to understand something.
The people collecting those fragments believe they represent the greatest strategic discovery in human history.
New energy.
New weapons.
New soldiers.”
“We’re not soldiers.”
“That will not stop someone from trying to make you into one.”
Hermes’ warning in Graham returned to Lee.
Governments would test him.
Study him.
Control him if they could.
Kane reached into his jacket again and removed a small black card.
He placed it on Lee’s desk.
A phone number had been written across the back.
“If military vehicles come to your house, call me.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t.”
Kane met his eyes.
“But you should keep every option available.”
The scanner on his chest flashed red.
A warning tone sounded.
Kane looked down.
The symbols moved faster.
“What is it?” Lee asked.
“I don’t know.”
The bedroom television turned on by itself.
Static filled the screen.
A moment later, Buster’s ears rose.
Every light in the house flickered.
Kane drew his pistol and turned toward the window.
Lee summoned fire again.
Hermes’ expression changed.
He looked upward, as though staring through the ceiling and into the sky beyond.
Something has crossed the veil.
The static disappeared.
A news anchor appeared on the television.
Her face was pale, and she pressed one hand against the earpiece at the side of her head.
“We are receiving reports from cities across the world.”
Behind her, producers and technicians moved frantically through the studio.
“Large unidentified objects have appeared above several national capitals.
Officials have not yet confirmed whether these objects are military aircraft, spacecraft, or some type of atmospheric phenomenon.”
The image changed.
A live camera showed New York City.
People crowded the streets, staring upward.
High above Manhattan, something enormous emerged from the clouds.
The vessel moved without wings, engines, or visible means of propulsion.
Its surface gleamed with iridescent gold and dark crystalline patterns that shifted as it turned.
It stretched for miles.
Its shadow covered entire city blocks.
Lee stepped closer to the screen.
The ship stopped above the United Nations headquarters.
Soft golden light spread from its underside and washed over the surrounding buildings.
More footage appeared.
London.
Moscow.
Paris.
New Delhi.
Cairo.
Ships hovered above every city, each different in shape but marked by the same gold-and-crystal construction.
Kane lowered his pistol.
“What the hell?”
Hermes did not answer.
His attention remained fixed on the screen.
Lee felt something in the vessels.
Aether.
Vast amounts of it.
The ships did not merely contain the energy.
Their entire structures appeared to have been built around it.
“They’re using Aether,” Lee said.
Kane looked at him.
“How do you know?”
Lee ignored the question.
The television image distorted.
Every channel shifted at once.
The news broadcast vanished.
A vast assembly hall appeared in its place.
World leaders sat behind curved rows of desks.
Military officers, diplomats, and officials filled the surrounding balconies.
At the center of the chamber stood three towering figures.
They were human in shape, but no one could have mistaken them for ordinary people.
The central figure was a woman nearly seven feet tall.
Dark hair streaked with silver fell across golden ceremonial armor.
Her eyes shone with deep blue light.
To her right stood a broad-shouldered man wearing armor patterned with storm clouds and winged symbols.
His expression remained severe as he surveyed the chamber.
The third figure was a woman in flowing robes of white, green, and bronze.
Golden branches curled around her forearms like living jewelry.
The dark-haired woman raised one hand.
When she spoke, Lee heard her voice from the television.
He also felt it inside the room.
Inside his mind.
“People of Earth, do not be afraid.”
Kane stiffened.
Lee felt Hermes’ Aether sharpen.
“We are the Anunnaki,” the woman continued.
“Your ancestors knew us by many names.
Some called us gods.
Some called us kings from the heavens.
Some remembered us as monsters.”
She paused.
“All remembered only fragments of the truth.”
Images appeared behind her.
Ancient cities.
Stone temples.
Humans standing beneath golden ships.
Then the images changed.
Glowing debris fell through the atmosphere.
Dark creatures crawled through fractures in the air.
The frost giant in Antarctica raised its axe.
Lee recognized it from the vision he had shared with Lilith.
“The Second Convergence has begun,” the woman said.
“The barriers separating Earth from the greater realms are failing.
Aether has returned to your world, awakening powers that have remained dormant since the First Age.”
She placed one hand over her chest.
“I am Anukar, Voice of the Celestial High Council.”
She gestured toward the broad-shouldered man.
“This is Enlil, guardian of the heavenly ways and commander of our defensive fleets.”
Enlil inclined his head.
The air around him seemed to darken with distant thunder.
“And this is Ninhursag, keeper of life and mother of restoration.”
The robed woman smiled gently.
The expression did little to lessen Lee’s unease.
Anukar continued.
“We have not returned to rule you.”
Hermes gave a quiet, humorless laugh.
Kane looked around the room.
“Did you hear something?”
“No.”
“We have come because Earth faces enemies it cannot yet understand,” Anukar said.
“The thinning veil has opened paths for beings long exiled from this world.”
The image behind her changed.
A pale woman sat upon a throne of blackened bones.
Lilit.
Lee recognized her from the vision in the Elysian Void.
Her crimson eyes seemed to look directly through the screen.
“She calls herself Lilit, first queen of the damned,” Anukar said.
“She gathers corrupted spirits, demons, and those who would trade freedom for power.”
The image shifted again.
A dragon rose from a black ocean.
It was vast enough to make mountains appear small.
Multiple horns curved from its skull, and storms formed around its wings.
“Tiamat, the primordial mother of chaos, has allied herself with Lilit.
Together they seek to break the remaining seals and return Earth to the age of divine war.”
Lee looked toward Hermes.
The god’s face had gone still.
Is that true?
Parts of it.
Which parts?
The most effective lies are built around truths.
Anukar spread her hands toward the world leaders.
“We offer humanity knowledge.”
Images showed scientists working beside towering Anunnaki figures.
“We will teach your people to understand Aether.”
Soldiers held weapons powered by glowing blue cores.
“We will help you defend your cities.”
Engineers shaped dark celestial metal beneath beams of golden light.
“We will show you how to refine the fallen celestial stone into Aetherium, a material capable of storing, directing, and amplifying the energies now flowing into your world.”
Lee noted the distinction.
The fragments falling from the sky were not Aetherium.
Aetherium was what the Anunnaki could turn them into.
Enlil stepped forward.
His voice rolled through the chamber like thunder across mountains.
“Humanity must organize.
Uncontrolled awakenings will bring destruction.
Nations that cooperate will receive training, defensive technology, and access to celestial refinement.”
Lee glanced toward Kane.
The agent stared at the broadcast with an expression that was not relief.
It was calculation.
Ninhursag spoke next.
“Our healers will assist those harmed by the Convergence.
Our scholars will identify dangerous transformations before they consume the afflicted.”
Images showed an awakened man screaming as black veins spread across his body.
Anunnaki healers surrounded him with golden light.
The corruption disappeared.
“We offer alliance,” Ninhursag said.
“Not obedience.”
Hermes laughed again.
This time, the sound held anger.
Anukar looked directly into the broadcasting device.
“The choice belongs to you.
Stand beside us against the returning darkness, or face it divided and alone.”
The transmission ended.
News footage returned.
Across the world, crowds reacted.
Some cheered beneath the ships.
Others fled.
Religious gatherings formed in streets and public squares.
Soldiers raised weapons but did not fire.
World leaders appeared before cameras, calling for calm while promising emergency meetings.
Lee stared at the screen.
The world had learned about Aether in a matter of minutes.
His secret already felt smaller.
More fragile.
Kane looked toward him.
“You knew their names.”
Lee realized he had whispered Lilit’s name during the broadcast.
“I’ve heard it before.”
“From whom?”
Lee did not answer.
Kane studied him, then picked up his identification wallet from the floor.
“This changes everything.”
“Are they telling the truth?”
“I have no idea.”
Kane reached the doorway.
“But every government on Earth will accept their help.”
“Why?”
“Because the first country that refuses will assume every rival accepted.”
He glanced toward the scanner.
“And because they just offered technology powerful enough to reshape the balance of the world.”
Kane started into the hallway.
Lee stepped after him.
“You broke into my house and now you’re leaving?”
“My orders are about to change.”
“What were your orders before?”
Kane stopped.
“To assess whether you represented an immediate threat.”
Lee felt the shadows rise again.
“And?”
Kane looked back at him.
“I haven’t decided.”
Then he disappeared down the stairs.
The front door opened.
Closed.
Several seconds later, an engine started outside.
Lee moved to the window.
A black SUV backed from behind the trees and drove down the gravel path.
It had been hidden near the damaged fence.
Lilith’s vision had been right.
Men had searched the crater.
At least one of them had entered the house.
You let him leave, Lee told Hermes.
You did not ask me to stop him.
Would you have?
No.
Lee turned away from the window.
“Why?”
Hermes appeared beside the television.
“Because he was not your greatest danger.”
On the screen, Anukar’s face appeared again in a replay of the transmission.
Lee looked toward the golden ships hovering over distant cities.
“They said they came to help.”
“Some of them did.”
“Some?”
“The Anunnaki are not one mind.
They never were.”
Hermes paced slowly across the living room.
“The Celestial High Council contains scholars, warriors, healers, rulers, and opportunists.
Some genuinely believe protecting Earth is necessary.
Some see humanity as a useful ally.”
“And the rest?”
“See your world as territory, a source of Aether, or a battlefield they would prefer to control before their enemies arrive.”
Lee thought of Anukar’s calm expression.
“Is she one of the good ones?”
“I do not know.”
“That answer is getting old.”
Hermes stopped before the television.
“Anukar has argued for cooperation with humanity.
Enlil values order above freedom.
Ninhursag has saved entire civilizations and destroyed others when she believed their corruption could not be contained.”
Lee looked at him.
“You know them.”
“I knew those they once were.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“Time changes gods as surely as it changes mortals.”
The replay showed Tiamat rising from the ocean.
“What about Lilit and Tiamat?”
“The threat is real,” Hermes said.
“Lilit has gathered allies across several realms.
Tiamat’s awakening would place every living thing on Earth in danger.”
“Then why shouldn’t we work with the Anunnaki?”
“Because someone within their ranks is already working with Lilit.”
Lee remembered the villains gathered around the basin of black water.
“Zal’thar?”
Hermes turned sharply.
“Where did you hear that name?”
Lee frowned.
“I didn’t.”
The name had entered his thoughts without explanation.
Not a memory.
Something taken from the fire-wielder?
No.
The man in the alley could not have known it.
A cold sensation spread through Lee’s chest.
Hermes stepped closer.
“Think carefully.
When did you first hear it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you see it during Lilith’s vision?”
“No.”
The Aether Soul pulsed.
For an instant, Lee saw a golden-armored figure standing before a throne of bones.
Then the image vanished.
Lee staggered.
Hermes caught his shoulder, though his hand felt more like warm pressure than solid flesh.
“What did you see?”
“An Anunnaki.”
Lee described the figure.
The dark ceremonial robes.
The golden armor.
The hidden sigil.
Hermes’ expression hardened.
“Zal’thar.”
“So he’s real.”
“Yes.”
“And he’s working with Lilit.”
“If your vision was accurate.”
“It wasn’t mine.”
Lee touched his chest.
“It came from the Aether Soul.”
Hermes considered that.
“Your connection to corrupted shadow may be changing the way you perceive those who share its source.”
“That sounds bad.”
“It is dangerous.”
“Different word.
Same feeling.”
Hermes looked toward the television.
“You must avoid the Anunnaki.”
“All of them?”
“Until we understand who stands with Zal’thar.”
Lee thought of his friends.
“The government already knows about us.”
“They suspect.”
“Kane saw my fire.”
“He saw one ability.”
“He knows about the alley.”
“He does not know about Mimicry, Harvest, the Void, or me.”
Lee rubbed his forehead.
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“It should.”
“It doesn’t.”
Hermes’ voice softened.
“Lee, your Aether Soul is not merely another awakening.
It can imitate power, purify corruption, and permanently absorb the abilities of defeated beings.
If the governments understand what you possess, they will fear you.”
“And the Anunnaki?”
“Some will fear you.”
Hermes met his eyes.
“Others will want to own you.”
Lee looked toward the stairs.
Buster stood halfway down them, watching him.
The dog released a quiet whine.
Lee walked over and lifted him.
Buster settled against his chest, though his eyes remained fixed on the front door.
“What am I supposed to do?” Lee asked.
“Learn.”
“About them?”
“About yourself.”
Hermes gestured toward Lee’s right hand.
A small flame appeared above his palm.
Then toward the wall, where Lee’s shadow stretched unnaturally long.
“You have collected powers faster than you have learned to control them.
Today you fought an awakened human, exposed yourself to government detection, and nearly revealed the Void to your friends before deciding whether they were ready.”
“They deserved the truth.”
“Yes.”
Hermes’ agreement surprised him.
“But truth creates obligations.
Your friends now possess abilities.
Their parents remain unaware.
The military has detected them.
Lilit may have seen you through whatever connection exists between your shadow and hers.”
Lee looked down at Buster.
“I need to get stronger.”
“You need to become wiser.”
“I can do both.”
Hermes smiled faintly.
“That is the correct answer.”
Lee carried Buster back into the bedroom.
The dog jumped onto the mattress and began circling his pillow.
Lee looked through the window toward the forest.
The afternoon light had faded.
Long shadows stretched between the cedars, and cherry blossoms drifted across the damaged yard.
Beyond the trees, the world was changing faster than anyone could understand.
Anunnaki ships hovered above cities.
Monsters attacked Antarctica.
Governments hunted for awakened people.
And someone within the Celestial High Council served Lilit.
“I want to train,” Lee said.
“You have already trained for days.”
“Not enough.”
“It will never feel like enough.”
“Then give me something I can work toward.”
Hermes appeared beside him.
For several seconds, he remained silent.
Then golden light gathered between his hands.
Three objects formed within it.
A sword.
A round shield.
A set of lightweight armor shaped from overlapping bronze-and-silver plates.
They floated above the floor, incomplete and transparent, as though they existed somewhere just beyond Lee’s reach.
Lee stepped closer.
The sword’s blade carried faint lightning-like lines beneath its surface.
The shield bore no crest, only a smooth circle surrounded by Greek markings.
The armor looked lighter than the equipment Ajax wore, but stronger than anything Lee had seen in Graham.
“I promised you proper equipment,” Hermes said.
Lee reached toward the sword.
His fingers passed through it.
“You said those were gifts.”
“They are.”
“Then why can’t I touch them?”
“Because you have not earned them yet.”
Lee stared at him.
“You just said they were gifts.”
“A worthy gift should require the recipient to become capable of carrying it.”
Hermes waved one hand.
The ghostly equipment dissolved.
“In three days of Void time, you will face a trial designed by Milo and Ajax.”
“What kind of trial?”
“You will enter a constructed battlefield without shadow tendrils, fire, or Mimicry.”
Lee frowned.
“Then what am I supposed to use?”
“Your training.”
“That sounds unfair.”
“It is.”
Hermes smiled.
“Your enemies will not care whether you consider the circumstances fair.”
Lee looked toward the place where the equipment had vanished.
“If I pass?”
“The armor, sword, and shield become yours.”
“And if I fail?”
“You train until you can try again.”
Lee set Buster beside the pillows.
The dog curled into a tight circle and closed his eyes.
“Three days.”
Hermes nodded.
“Inside the Void.”
Lee placed one hand over the Aether Soul.
The room began to fade.
Before the Elysian Void claimed him, his phone vibrated.
A message appeared from the group chat.
Ella: Turn on the news.
The ships are everywhere.
Another message followed.
Emerson: Governments are already announcing cooperation agreements.
Then Lilith sent a private message.
Lilith: I saw the blue-eyed woman before the broadcast.
Lee’s hand paused.
He typed quickly.
Lee: What else did you see?
The answer came moments later.
Lilith: She was standing over you.
A second message appeared.
Lilith: You were wearing golden armor.
Lee looked toward Hermes.
The god had read the screen over his shoulder.
Neither of them spoke.
A final message arrived.
Lilith: I couldn’t tell whether she was saving you or killing you.
Outside, something moved between the trees.
A tall figure stood beyond the damaged fence.
Golden light flashed across its face.
Then it vanished.
The Anunnaki had returned to Earth.
And one of them had already found Lee.