Morning rain washed over the damaged district.
Water ran through cracked asphalt and pooled inside the crater left by the battle. Police tape surrounded the entire block, fluttering in the wind.
Most civilians had already been pushed out.
But a black vehicle slowly rolled past the barricade.
Two officers stepped out.
Not police.
Their uniforms were darker, sharper, and carried no visible insignia except a small silver badge.
They belonged to Trapply.
Agent Kellan scanned the ruined street.
"Hard to believe one creature did all this."
Beside him, Agent Mirael adjusted a tablet. "Based on the energy readings, the creature wasn't the only thing here."
Kellan smirked. "You mean the glowing girls."
Mirael zoomed into a still image.
Seven figures stood in the smoke.
Seven colors.
Seven unknown identities.
"They're calling them 'The Seven Lights' online," Mirael said.
Kellan chuckled. "People always name things they're afraid of."
They walked past a shattered storefront.
Investigators were collecting fragments of metal from the destroyed alien scout.
Every piece hummed faintly with strange energy.
Mirael held up her scanner.
"It's still emitting signals."
"From the alien?" Kellan asked.
"No."
She looked up slowly.
"From the hosts."
Across the street, an elderly man sat on the edge of a bench wrapped in a blanket.
Kellan approached him.
"You were here during the incident?"
The man nodded slowly.
"I saw them."
"Can you describe them?"
The old man looked toward the crater.
"They weren't monsters," he said.
"They were girls."
Kellan exchanged a glance with Mirael.
"Teenagers?" he asked.
"Maybe," the man replied.
"They moved like they were scared… but also like they knew exactly what they were doing."
Mirael wrote the statement down.
"Did you see their faces?"
The man shook his head.
"Just light."
Inside the black vehicle, another agent monitored satellite feeds.
Energy maps flickered across multiple screens.
Seven signals had appeared during the battle.
Then vanished.
But faint traces still remained.
The agent leaned forward.
"We have a pattern."
Kellan's voice came through the radio.
"What kind of pattern?"
The agent highlighted a location.
"Energy spikes appeared again early this morning."
Mirael frowned.
"Another attack?"
"No," the agent said.
"Movement."
The signal pulsed again.
It pointed toward the outskirts of the city.
Toward the abandoned observatory.
Meanwhile, far above the city skyline, a tall figure stood silently on the edge of a radio tower.
The wind whipped his long coat behind him.
In his hand, a small device glowed faintly.
Seven signals blinked.
Training patterns.
Energy bursts.
Control exercises.
The figure tilted his head slightly.
"Improving already."
His crimson eyes narrowed.
"This will be interesting."
He closed the device slowly.
"My name is **Rooder."
Below him, the city lights flickered.
"And the hunt has begun."
Back at the observatory, the seven girls had no idea how close danger was getting.
But Nyra suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Her bracelet pulsed once.
Then twice.
She looked toward the horizon.
"They're getting closer."
Riven frowned.
"Who?"
Nyra's voice was quiet.
"The humans."
And far away…
The agents of Trapply were already on the road.