Karry and Sasha stopped breathing.
The night sky was unchanged—but the **moon** was wrong.
It no longer looked distant or silent. Massive structures carved its surface, stretching across craters like veins of metal and stone. Towers rose where emptiness should have been. Deep fissures glowed faintly, as if something beneath the moon was **awake**.
Karry felt his chest tighten.
This wasn't hidden anymore.
This was revealed.
He spoke without looking away.
"Tell me, Arnold… what is the real world?"
Arnold stood behind them, hands calm at his sides.
"Even I don't know it."
Sasha turned sharply, anger flashing across her face.
"You bastard," she spat. "So this is what you were hiding."
Arnold didn't defend himself.
"Now answer me," he said coldly.
"Which will you fight as—one of us… or as a pet of the government?"
The words cut deeper than a threat.
Karry turned.
"Then tell me," he demanded, voice shaking,
"what are those monsters?"
Arnold's eyes hardened.
"No. I will not tell you."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Sasha stepped back.
"I don't work with you."
Karry nodded slowly.
"Me too."
Arnold raised his voice for the first time.
"Kernal," he said.
"Strap them."
Metal shifted behind them.
Karry's pulse exploded—but before the restraints could close, he spoke.
"I accept."
Everything froze.
Sasha stared at him in disbelief.
"Karry… are you staying with the betrayers?"
Karry met her gaze, jaw tight.
"It's better to work with Arnold than live as a dog."
The words tasted bitter—but true.
Sasha was silent for a long moment. Then she exhaled.
"…If that's your choice," she said quietly,
"then I guess I'll be your member too."
Arnold lifted his hand.
"Kernal. Stand down."
The restraints withdrew.
"I want you two to work for me," Arnold continued.
"Your first mission—scout the moon."
Karry and Sasha stared at him, anger burning openly on their faces.
Above them, the moon loomed—closer than it ever should be.
Inside it, beneath the structures and stone—
**something moved.**
Something ancient.
Something watching.
[End of Chapter 16]
