Chapter 1

"Nothing..."

Mark's voice was barely above a whisper, his gaze sweeping over the vast, desolate landscape. What once had housed buildings and life was now an unbroken sea of sand. This was the fourth time he'd flown across this transformed world, each journey fueled by a desperate hope of finding some remnant of civilization. Yet all that met his eyes was the ceaseless sprawl of desert extending to every horizon. He had felt the biting chill of the poles, though whether it was the North or South, he couldn't be certain.

"There's got to be something out there," he murmured, clinging to a sliver of hope.

But his thoughts inevitably spiraled back to the darker chapters of his past: the rage, the feel of his fists connecting with flesh, the man who had brought pain upon his family, who had threatened his mother and little brother. A heavy sigh escaped him as he clutched his temples, visions of the grisly act of violence he had committed haunting him still. He ground his teeth, willing the memories to fade, but it was too soon.

"I didn't... I didn't mean for him to die," he admitted to himself, a hushed confession as he descended toward the sand-covered earth.

Looking up, Mark noticed the stars beginning to twinkle as the sun dipped below the horizon. Perhaps there was something to find up there, in the vastness of space. Yet he dismissed the thought; Allen had mentioned something about a coalition a week's journey away, but navigating the cosmos was not his forte. His father had often reminded him of that.

Dad.

The past few weeks had been nothing short of chaotic, and in the wake of the eight tumultuous months prior, Mark had naively hoped for a return to some semblance of normalcy. But life had only spiraled further out of control.

He had never expected to see his father again, not after the atrocities he had committed against him and his mother, not to mention the thousands of lives lost in Chicago. And yet, the man had the nerve to propose having another child with that infernal creature and had the audacity to ask for Mark's help. Despite everything, his father did have a point about one thing:

Oliver.

His half-brother.

Mark's concern for Oliver was genuine. With the Cecil family's bugs neutralized by Levy, he held onto the hope that the GDA would notice something amiss and intervene to protect his mother and brother.

With a weary sigh, he rubbed his temples, fervently wishing that no harm had come to anyone in his timeline.

"What is that?"

From his distant vantage point, gazing across the celestial expanse, he noticed a brilliant light piercing the darkness. At first glance, it seemed to be nothing more than another radiant star. However, as he watched, it became increasingly clear that this was no ordinary celestial body, but something else entirely—something that was moving toward him.

Whoa.

Words failed him as the light intensified, no longer a distant glimmer but a descending beacon. It approached with an overwhelming luminosity, and as it neared, the night erupted with a thunderous boom. The once far-off light now stood before him, its brilliance touching down like a celestial visitor, and from it extended a tunnel of light, a glowing passage reaching down from the heavens.

And someone stepped out from it.