The temperature in the alley seemed to drop several degrees as Mr. Kennedy and his associates advanced. Tris had never been in a real fight before—not one with actual life-or-death stakes—and found himself instinctively stepping back, his breath catching in his throat.

  Sarah moved with liquid precision, positioning herself directly between Tris and the approaching men. "Stay behind me," she instructed, her voice a controlled whisper. "Be ready to run when I create an opening."

  "We're not leaving you," Tris protested as Veldt expanded further, its childlike form stretching into something more menacing—elongated limbs, jagged edges, that unnerving crescent smile widening impossibly.

  "How touching," Mr. Kennedy remarked, adjusting his leather gloves with methodical precision. "Family loyalty among the lab experiment, the shadow fragment, and the interdimensional tourist."

  "You talk too much," Sarah replied flatly, then exploded into motion.

  Her attack was so sudden, so precise, that it caught even Kennedy's trained associates by surprise. She covered the distance between them in a blur, delivering a punishing strike to the throat of the man on Kennedy's left before he could fully raise his guard. He staggered back, gasping, as Sarah pivoted fluidly to engage the second associate.

  Kennedy himself remained perfectly still, watching with clinical interest. "Impressive," he noted. "The Nephilim modifications are performing well."

  Veldt surged forward, a missile of living darkness aimed directly at Kennedy. The man made no move to dodge, merely raised one hand palm outward. As Veldt reached him, a shimmering barrier of golden energy materialized, stopping the shadow entity's attack cold. Veldt recoiled as if struck, its form rippling with confusion.

  "ORT3 manifestation capabilities," Kennedy explained conversationally, as if lecturing at a university. "ORG so carefully accumulated over the last week or so of System Zone completions. But please, continue your attempts. It's quite informative to observe."

  Sarah was engaged in a brutal exchange with Kennedy's second associate—a tall, lean man with movements that suggested military training. They traded blows with impossible speed, Sarah's enhanced reflexes matching his evident experience. The first man had recovered from her throat strike and was circling to flank her, forcing Sarah to constantly adjust her position to keep both opponents in view.

  Eli stepped forward, her form beginning to shimmer with subtle light. "Tris, when I move, run toward the end of the alley."

  "I'm not leaving you both," Tris insisted, his fear for their safety overshadowing his own.

  Kennedy laughed, the sound chilling in its genuine amusement. "Oh, you're not going anywhere, Solar Sovereign. Not after the trouble we've taken to find you."

  With a casual gesture, Kennedy flicked his fingers toward Tris. Golden energy coalesced into a shimmering whip that cracked through the air with impossible speed. Tris flinched, but before the energy could connect, Veldt interposed itself, taking the full force of the attack. The shadow entity shuddered visibly, its form destabilizing momentarily before reconstituting.

  "Fascinating," Kennedy commented. "Such loyalty from a mere fragment."

  Sarah had managed to land a punishing kick to one opponent's knee, the crack of breaking bone audible in the confines of the alley. The man fell, howling in pain, but his partner capitalized on Sarah's momentary focus, slipping past her guard to deliver a precision strike to her ribs. She absorbed the blow without flinching, grabbed his extended arm, and used his momentum to slam him into the brick wall with bone-jarring force.

  Veldt attacked Kennedy again, this time splitting into multiple tendrils that approached from different angles, seeking to overwhelm his defenses. Kennedy responded with fluid efficiency, his barrier expanding into a dome of golden energy that repelled each shadowy appendage.

  "Your guardian is resourceful," Kennedy observed, addressing Tris directly. "But ultimately limited by its fragmented nature. True power requires integration—something you've barely begun."

  As if to demonstrate, Kennedy extended both hands, the golden energy around him intensifying. With a sharp gesture, he sent a pulse of force through the alley that staggered everyone—Sarah momentarily losing her balance, Eli bracing against the wall, Tris nearly falling to his knees. Only Veldt seemed unaffected, its immaterial nature giving it immunity to the physical shockwave.

  Taking advantage of this moment, Kennedy's injured associate dragged himself forward with surprising speed, producing a device from within his coat—something that resembled a high-tech syringe. He lunged toward Tris, clearly aiming to inject him with whatever the device contained.

  Tris stumbled backward.

  The man was inches away, the syringe device extended toward Tris's exposed neck, when Sarah appeared in a blur of movement. Her hand caught the man's wrist, crushing it with audible force. With a swift, brutal motion, she lifted him, nearly breaking his wrist off in the process, and hurled him the length of the alley. He crashed into a collection of garbage cans with a deafening clatter, then lay still.

  "Run!" Sarah shouted at Tris, already turning to engage Kennedy's remaining associate.

  Veldt had regrouped, its form shifting again—this time condensing into something more solid, more focused. It struck at Kennedy with renewed purpose, forcing the man to concentrate more fully on his defensive barrier. For the first time, a flicker of strain showed in Kennedy's composed features.

  "Interesting adaptation," he murmured. "Learning through combat. A useful trait."

  Eli had moved closer to Tris, her hand finding his arm. "We need to create distance," she urged. "Kennedy is holding back. If he fully engages..."

  As if triggered by her words, Kennedy dropped his pretense of casual engagement. His eyes narrowed, and the golden energy surrounding him intensified dramatically, shifting from simple barrier to active weapon. Tendrils of light extended like living whips, slashing toward Sarah with vicious precision.

  Sarah dodged with incredible reflexes, but one tendril caught her across the shoulder, leaving a smoking gash in her jacket. She hissed in pain but continued her assault on Kennedy's remaining associate, her movements becoming more aggressive, more desperate.

  "I've been authorized to use lethal force on the Nephilim neotype," Kennedy announced calmly. "You, Sovereign, are required intact."

  Tris felt rage building inside him at the casual threat. The feeling resonated with Veldt, who suddenly expanded dramatically, its form towering upward, that jagged smile extending across what passed for its face. It engulfed Kennedy's barrier, pressing against the golden energy with increasing pressure.

  Kennedy's composed expression finally broke, showing genuine surprise. "Impressive," he acknowledged, real strain now evident in his voice. "Such power from an unintegrated fragment."

  The remaining associate had pulled something from his coat—a compact device that emitted a high-pitched whine as it powered up. Sarah reacted instantly, driving her fist into his sternum with enough force to lift him off his feet. As he fell, gasping, she kicked the device from his hand, sending it skittering across the alley floor.

  "Anunnaki tech," she called out as warning. "Neural disruptor."

  Veldt continued its assault on Kennedy's barrier, the shadow entity learning, adapting with each attack. Where golden energy repelled it in one area, it became thinner, sharper, seeking weaknesses. Kennedy's face showed increasing concentration, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead despite the cold night air.

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  "Clever," he muttered. "But insufficient."

  With a sudden surge of effort, Kennedy expanded his energy field violently outward, forcing Veldt back. The shadow entity recoiled, parts of its form temporarily dissipating from the intensity of the energy discharge.

  Taking advantage of this moment, Kennedy reached into his coat and withdrew a small crystalline device. "Enough games," he said coldly. "Lady Ereshkigal wants results, not entertainment."

  He activated the device, which began pulsing with an eerie purple light. Immediately, the air in the alley seemed to thicken, become heavier. Tris felt a pressure building in his skull, a disorienting sensation that made it difficult to focus.

  "Neural inhibitor," Sarah gasped, momentarily staggering.

  Kennedy smiled thinly.

  Eli stepped forward, her form beginning to shimmer more intensely. "Tris, cover your eyes," she warned, her voice taking on a harmonic quality it hadn't possessed before.

  Before Tris could comply, a new development interrupted them all. The night sky above the alley, already dark, suddenly became absolute in its blackness—as if a hole had opened in reality itself. The stars disappeared, swallowed by an expanding void that descended toward them.

  "System Zone," Sarah identified immediately, her eyes searching the void desperately, then widening in alarm. "Black... a Coagulate Zone."

  Indeed, the descending phenomenon resembled the yellow Zone they'd seen earlier, but this one was pitch black, absorbing all light rather than emitting it. On its surface, clearly visible despite its darkness, was the Roman numeral III.

  "ORT3," Eli whispered, a touch of fear in her voice. "A high-level Coagulate Zone."

  Kennedy's expression shifted from triumph to concern. "Plan D, then," he muttered, the crystalline device momentarily forgotten in his hand.

  Eli turned quickly to Tris. "A Coagulate Zone combines all five System Zone categories—physical, mental, social, survival, and magical. They host the most difficult challenges, especially at higher ORT levels."

  Sarah, still engaged with Kennedy's associate who was struggling back to his feet, made the connection instantly. "The Anunnaki are manipulating local energy patterns," she called out. "Trying to trap us in Zones to prevent our movement."

  The black Zone descended rapidly now, the air growing notably colder beneath its approach. Kennedy assessed the situation with rapid calculation, then smiled thinly.

  "Let’s see how this goes," he murmured, before addressing Tris directly. "It seems our engagement will be postponed, Sovereign. Unless, of course, you wish to test your undeveloped abilities in a higher-level Zone."

  The descending Zone was now less than twenty feet above them, its massive circumference encompassing the entire alley and beyond. The pressure of its approach was palpable, like standing beneath an immense weight suspended by a fraying thread.

  "We need to move," Eli urged, tugging at Tris's arm. "Now!"

  Sarah glanced up at the Zone, then calculated the distance to the alley's exit. Her expression hardened into resolve. "You won't make it," she stated flatly. "Not all of us."

  Before Tris could process her meaning, Sarah launched herself at Kennedy and his associate, driving them deeper into the alley—away from the exit. The sudden attack caught Kennedy off-guard, forcing him to divert his energy barrier to defend against her onslaught.

  "Go!" Sarah shouted over her shoulder. "I'll keep them contained!"

  Tris stood frozen, understanding dawning with horrifying clarity. "No! Sarah, don't!"

  "This isn't a discussion," Sarah replied, grappling with Kennedy while simultaneously keeping his associate at bay. "My purpose is to protect you. Now run!"

  Eli grabbed Tris's arm more firmly. "She's right. We can't all escape the Zone's descent."

  "We’re not leaving her!" Tris insisted, pulling against Eli's grip.

  Sarah glanced back, her mismatched eyes meeting his. "I'm designed to survive. You're designed to lead. Know the difference."

  With that, she suddenly broke from her engagement with Kennedy, rushing toward Tris at a velocity his brain couldn’t keep up with. Before he could react, her hands were on his chest, shoving him with controlled force toward the alley's exit. The push sent him stumbling backward several meters, away from the Zone's descending edge but not far enough to be completely out of the Zone’s perimeter.

  "Eli, get him out!" Sarah commanded, already turning back to face Kennedy.

  Tris tried to surge forward, back toward Sarah, but Veldt unexpectedly wrapped around his legs, impeding his movement. Whether acting on instinct to protect him or responding to some unspoken command from Eli, the shadow entity was enforcing Sarah's decision.

  Kennedy attempted to pursue, but Sarah intercepted him with brutal efficiency, driving her fist into his midsection with enough force to fold him over despite his energy shield. His associate lunged for her, but she pivoted, using Kennedy's body as a shield.

  The black System Zone was mere feet above their heads now, its edge creating a perfect line of demarcation between safety and entrapment. Tris struggled against Veldt's restraint, reaching toward Sarah in desperate denial.

  "Sarah! NO!"

  For a fleeting moment, something like a genuine smile crossed Sarah's face—an expression Tris had never seen from her before. "This is my choice," she said, the words barely audible. "My first real choice."

  The black System Zone was now mere inches above their heads, its massive weight seeming to compress the very air beneath it. Sarah, standing at barely five-foot-one, could feel it practically brushing her hair, while Kennedy and his associates were already partially submerged, their heads swallowed by the darkness.

  Tris had fallen to his knees, desperately clawing his way across the pavement toward Sarah, fingernails scraping against rough concrete. Eli grabbed at his shoulders while Veldt wrapped tendrils around his legs, both trying to drag him back from the Zone's deadly edge.

  "Tris, we have to run! Please!" Eli screamed, her voice cracking with desperation. "There's no time!"

  But Tris wouldn't—couldn't—stop. His fingers left bloody trails on the ground as he fought against their restraint, eyes locked on Sarah's mismatched gaze.

  In that final moment, with the Zone a mere few feet from fully engulfing her, Sarah made her choice. Dropping to all fours, she propelled herself toward Tris with inhuman speed, her body moving in a blur of desperate velocity. She reached him just as the Zone's edge was about to claim them both.

  With a fluid movement, she spun on her palms, whipping her legs around to plant both feet squarely against Tris's shoulders, and launched him as far as she could. The impact shoved him backward, sending him sliding on his stomach across the rough pavement.

  Veldt instinctively flattened beneath him, cushioning his torso from the worst of the abrasion, but his hands and arms took the brunt of the skid, nails tearing, skin abrading to raw, bloody streaks.

  As momentum carried him just beyond the Zone's reach, Tris lifted his head for one final glimpse of Sarah. What he saw would haunt him forever—a genuine smile crossing her face, a single tear tracking down her cheek, and then... nothing. The black Zone closed above her like an obsidian curtain, sealing her fate with cosmic finality.

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-" Tris roared in a primal rage he’d never felt before, scrambling to his feet and rushing toward the Zone's edge. The black barrier was now solid, impenetrable, a perfect delineation between dimensions. “YOU CAN’T TAKE HER! YOU CAN’T FUCKING TAKE HER!” He beat against it with his arms, spraying blood all over the bubble from his bleeding, raw fingertips.

  Eli materialized beside him, her form coalescing from particles of light. "Tris, we have to go! Kennedy's people will have backup nearby!"

  "WE CAN’T JUST LEAVE HER IN THERE," Tris cried in protest, his hands pressing futilely against the Zone's surface. It felt solid yet yielding, like pressing against dense rubber.

  "She made her choice, Tris!" Eli said between sobs. "To give us time to escape!"

  Veldt had expanded to its full size, pressing against the Zone barrier with increasing desperation. It stretched upward, attempting to engulf the entire Zone as it had tried with Kennedy's energy shield. But the System Zone remained impassive, immovable, its cosmic parameters beyond even Veldt's adaptive capabilities.

  "Can't you... Can’t you just…" Tris pleaded, trailing off, and turning to Eli. "You're a higher dimensional being. There has to be something you can do!"

  Eli shook her head, genuine sorrow in her blue eyes. "System Zones operate under cosmic law even I must respect. Once sealed, they remain closed until their conditions are met or their duration expires."

  "How long?" Tris demanded, his voice breaking. "How long until it expires?"

  "ORT3 Zones are difficult to pin down," Eli answered. "And Coagulate Zones are even more unpredictable. It could be hours, or days! And for all we know, time could be flowing at a different rate in there."

  "Then we wait," Tris declared.

  Eli placed both her hands on his shoulders. "We can't. Kennedy's affiliation with the Luciferian bloodlines means reinforcements are likely already on their way. If we stay, Sarah's sacrifice becomes meaningless."

  The truth of her words cut through Tris's denial. Sarah had bought them time—time they were now wasting by lingering. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, frustration and helplessness washing over him in equal measure. So much blood had dripped from his clenched fists that two small pools of it started forming where they were standing.

  "She'll be okay," he said, trying to convince himself. "She said it herself—she's designed to survive."

  "Yes," Eli agreed, though something in her tone suggested less certainty than her words. "But we must move now."

  “DAMN it.” With monumental effort, Tris tore his gaze from the black Zone. "Veldt," he called, his voice rough with emotion. "We have to go."

  The shadow entity continued its assault on the Zone barrier for several more seconds, as if it hadn't heard—or was choosing to ignore—Tris's command.

  “VELDT!” Tris commanded, voice echoing loudly through the alley. It had been forceful enough to even jolt Eli a bit.

  Finally, with what seemed like reluctance, it retracted, flowing back to Tris's feet in a mockery of a normal shadow.

  Tris took one final look at the black System Zone that had swallowed Sarah. "We're coming back for you," he promised quietly. "Hold on."

  Then, with Eli beside him and Veldt flowing at his feet, he turned and ran into the night, leaving behind the alley and the companion who had chosen to sacrifice herself for his escape.