Location: Dominion Outpost Gamma-17 – Siberian Permafrost Zone
Chaos erupted like a firestorm.
The once-invincible Dominion Outpost Gamma-17—a fortress buried beneath the Siberian ice—shuddered as internal systems spiraled into failure. Lights flickered erratically, then died. The AI that once controlled the facility's defenses had gone dark, overridden by the pulse of Atlas.
Commanders shouted over one another, their voices drowned out by sirens and collapsing code.
"What do you mean the drone fleets are offline?" barked Colonel Grusch, slamming his hand against a trembling console.
An officer, drenched in sweat, stammered, "All automated weapons systems have been deactivated. We're blind, Colonel. And deaf."
On the main screen, a single message pulsed in ghostly white letters across black static:
> "Atlas has reclaimed this node. Abandon your weapons. Embrace accountability."
Then, the security doors disengaged—one after another.
The silence that followed was far more terrifying than the alarms.
---
Location: Tavara – Mountain Range Hidden Base
Damien stepped into the war chamber, now transformed with shimmering technology that seemed both ancient and impossibly futuristic. Atlas's interface—once only accessible through the throne room—now materialized in floating glyphs and displays surrounding them.
"Outpost Gamma-17 has fallen," Elros reported. "No casualties. The systems shut down as we predicted, and the troops inside were forced to evacuate. Their weapons no longer work."
Zuri crossed her arms. "And what happens when they realize we're behind this? They won't just sit back and let us dismantle their empire."
"They'll retaliate," Victor said. "But they'll be slower than before. We've taken their teeth."
Nora's gaze was distant. "Not just their teeth. Their eyes. Atlas has begun mapping the Dominion's full network. Every deal. Every betrayal. Every buried project."
She looked toward the horizon visible through the chamber's translucent canopy.
"We're going to show the world who they really are."
---
Location: Dominion High Command – Location Classified
Virek slammed his fist into the data table, sending a spiderweb of cracks across its polished surface.
"How did this happen?! We paid billions to bury that system!"
An aged figure in a velvet-black suit, face hidden behind a porcelain mask, finally spoke. His voice was calm—too calm.
"You misunderstood the system's purpose," he said. "Atlas was never dead. It was waiting."
"For what?"
"For the world to rot enough for its judgment to matter."
He turned slowly toward a large display that showed blinking Dominion facilities across the globe—each slowly turning from red to grey.
"Now... it has chosen its champions."
---
Location: Atlas Core – Judgment Nexus
Each of the five newly activated champions stood on elevated platforms.
Atlas spoke—not in words, but through emotion, intent, memory.
Flashes of the past.
Nora as a child, holding her mother's hand, hiding from shadows that were never fully explained.
Damien, bloodied and furious, watching his mentor fall because of a lie orchestrated by the Dominion.
Victor—kneeling beside his mother's grave, vowing to become the kind of man who never let another woman like her suffer.
Zuri's back branded by rebellion, and Echo—programmed to obey, but always dreaming of more.
Together, they had become something Dominion could never predict:
Unbreakable.
Atlas whispered:
> "Now… move."