Clara

The floor beneath them exploded upward.

Concrete shattered.

The entire building shook violently as something rose from below.

Not climbed.

Rose.

Like darkness itself had shape.

Everyone immediately grabbed weapons.

Tara aimed first.

Rion stepped forward instantly.

Xin moved beside him.

Then the thing appeared fully.

Tall.

Very tall.

Humanoid.

Its body looked made from black void instead of flesh. No clear face. No eyes. No mouth. Only shifting darkness constantly moving across its body like liquid smoke.

The temperature dropped instantly.

Sia backed away.

“What the fuck is that.”

The figure lifted one hand.

And reality folded.

Black cube structures instantly formed around everyone.

Xin slammed into invisible walls.

Tara fired.

The bullets stopped midair.

Frozen.

Rion attacked.

Berzar exploded outward.

Nothing.

The cube absorbed it completely.

Dren screamed while throwing explosives.

The explosion remained trapped inside the cube itself.

Nobody could move outside their small sealed spaces.

Except Orion.

Orion stood there normally.

Untouched.

The void figure tilted its head slowly.

“Interesting.”

Its voice sounded calm.

Female.

Yet unnatural.

The figure looked directly at Orion.

“My technique did not work on you.”

Orion stayed completely calm.

“I noticed.”

Silence.

Then the void around the creature slowly shifted.

The figure raised both hands slightly.

“Do not fear me.”

Nobody relaxed.

Tara yelled immediately.

“Release us first then.”

The figure looked toward Tara.

Then casually removed the cubes.

Reality snapped back instantly.

Everyone stumbled slightly.

The void figure stepped forward slowly.

“My name is Clara.”

Nobody answered.

Xin kept staring carefully.

Something about Clara felt dangerous beyond understanding.

Not physically.

Existentially.

Like looking at something not meant to exist beside humans.

Rion finally spoke.

“You are an Entity.”

Clara nodded.

“Yes.”

Orion crossed his arms.

“You’ve been watching.”

“Yes.”

“Since when.”

Clara looked toward Xin.

“Since the sister died.”

Silence.

Xin’s expression darkened instantly.

Clara noticed.

“I apologize.”

Xin answered coldly.

“Don’t.”

The building around them continued creaking softly while Clara walked toward broken windows.

Outside.

Veykar remained silent.

Black Bloom visible everywhere.

Clara looked toward the massive Dive Facility Zero in the distance.

“Andy has become a problem.”

Tara immediately answered.

“No shit.”

Clara ignored the sarcasm.

“He evolved beyond projections.”

Rion narrowed his eyes.

“What does that mean.”

Clara finally turned back toward them.

“It means I cannot kill him.”

Silence.

Everyone froze.

Xin frowned.

“What.”

Clara raised one hand.

Dark energy appeared briefly around her fingers. Reality itself warped slightly from the pressure.

“Soul dismantling.”

The air distorted.

A nearby wall silently split apart without physical contact.

Clara lowered her hand.

“This ability destroys souls directly.”

Sia stared in horror.

“And it doesn’t work on Andy.”

Clara nodded slowly.

“Not anymore.”

Nobody liked that answer.

Tara stepped closer.

“Explain.”

Clara remained silent briefly.

Then:

“Andy is no longer fully human.”

Black smoke moved around her body slowly.

“He absorbed alien biology.”

“Black Bloom.”

“Spinat.”

“Cardomin.”

“Entity exposure.”

“He reconstructed himself repeatedly.”

Her voice lowered slightly.

“And then he absorbed the girl.”

Xin immediately clenched his fists.

“Kaila.”

Clara nodded.

“Yes.”

Silence filled the room.

Clara continued.

“The power known as Skate now protects his soul.”

Rion frowned.

“Skate.”

Clara looked toward him.

“A resistance of existence.”

“A soul stabilization effect.”

“His soul can no longer be directly destroyed.”

She looked down briefly.

“He became resistant to beings like me.”

For the first time.

Clara actually looked disturbed.

“That should not have been possible.”

Xin slowly spoke.

“So why are you here.”

Clara looked directly at him.

“Because I need your help.”

Nobody expected that.

Tara laughed once.

“You.”

“Yes.”

“You can bend reality.”

“Yes.”

“You trapped us instantly.”

“Yes.”

“And you need us.”

Clara answered immediately.

“Yes.”

The honesty itself felt uncomfortable.

Orion finally moved closer.

“You’ve seen what Andy is becoming.”

Clara nodded.

“Yes.”

The room darkened slightly around her.

“He is building something beneath Facility Zero.”

“Something connected to Black Bloom.”

“Something large enough to spread beyond continents.”

Nobody spoke.

Clara’s voice lowered.

“If Andy completes it.”

She paused.

“The world ends.”

Silence.

Complete silence.

Then Xin asked the only question that mattered.

“How do we kill him.”

Clara looked directly at him.

“The Anti Spinat weakens him.”

“The injection stops regeneration.”

“But.”

She pointed toward Xin.

“You are the only one capable of finishing him physically.”

Xin stared.

“Why me.”

Clara looked toward Kaila’s necklace around his neck.

Then toward Orion.

Then back toward Xin.

“Because Andy is waiting for you.”

Outside.

Far away.

Inside the center of Veykar.

Andy slowly opened his eyes.

He smiled.

Because he already knew Clara arrived.

And because the closer Xin came.

The happier he became.

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