The wind had stopped.
Completely.
No sound.
No movement.
Even the air inside the observatory felt… wrong.
Heavy.
Like something unseen had stepped into the world and everything else was reacting to it.
Riven's eyes were locked on the entrance.
"Everyone stay behind me."
Ava whispered, "That's never a good sign…"
Nyra didn't move.
Her bracelet was glowing brighter than ever.
"He's here."
Agent Kellan slowly reached behind his coat.
Not drawing a weapon, But ready.
Even the agents of Trapply could feel it now.
This wasn't normal.
This wasn't human.
A single step echoed from the doorway.
Then another.
Slow.
Measured.
Deliberate.
A figure emerged from the shadows.
Tall.
Unmoving.
Parts of his body looked human…
But others didn't.
Black, bone-like armor fused into his skin.
A faint red glow pulsed beneath it like something alive.
His eyes, Crimson.
Cold.
Empty.
Ava felt her throat tighten. "That's… not a scout."
Nyra's voice was almost a whisper.
"No."
The figure stopped just inside the doorway.
His gaze moved across the room.
Seven girls.
Three agents.
He studied them like data.
Not people.
Then he spoke.
Calm.
Controlled.
"You've adapted faster than expected."
Silence.
No one answered.
Riven stepped forward anyway.
"You're not welcome here."
The man's eyes shifted to her.
Interest.
Slight.
"My name is **Rooder."
The name settled into the room like a warning.
"I am not here for permission."
Ava muttered, "Great… another dramatic one."
Mira elbowed her. "Please stop."
Rooder ignored them.
His focus stayed on Riven.
"You lead them."
It wasn't a question.
Riven didn't deny it.
"What do you want?"
Rooder tilted his head slightly.
"Observation."
That answer made no sense.
"Observation?" Luna repeated.
Rooder nodded once.
"You are hosts of a stolen system."
Nyra's eyes sharpened instantly.
"You know the GeneShift."
Rooder's gaze flickered to her.
"Of course."
A pause.
Then—
"It belongs to my kind."
That hit harder than anything else.
Ava blinked. "Wait… what?"
Mira whispered, "So we're using alien DNA from his species?"
Rooder continued calmly.
"You are incomplete. Unrefined. Unstable."
Riven's voice hardened.
"And you came all this way to tell us that?"
"No," Rooder said.
His eyes glowed slightly brighter.
"I came to decide something."
The air shifted.
Pressure built instantly.
"Decide what?" Kellan asked carefully.
For the first time, Rooder looked at the agents of Trapply.
Disinterest.
"They are irrelevant."
Kellan didn't like that.
But he didn't move.
Rooder looked back at the girls.
All seven of them.
"You carry power that was never meant for this world."
He took a single step forward.
The ground beneath his foot cracked slightly.
"And I will determine…"
Another step.
"…whether you are worthy of keeping it."
Riven didn't hesitate.
"Everyone…."
Seven bracelets ignited at once.
Light exploded through the observatory.
Transformations triggered instantly.
Ava's crystalline armor snapped into place.
Mira burned with golden energy.
Luna blurred into motion.
Nyra's psychic field expanded.
Riven stepped forward, Fully transformed.
Eyes dark.
Energy unstable.
"Then test us."
For the first time…
Rooder smiled.
A small one.
Cold.
"Good."
His body shifted slightly Not fully transforming.
Just enough.
Enough to show power.
"Show me."
The observatory shook.
The real fight…
Was about to begin.