Location: Skywatch Station, Global Command Center Time: One Month Later
The war for the Root Core was over, but Earth had changed. System users walked openly now. Some still wore their old faction colors, but most adopted neutral sync signatures. The world governments, along with S.W.O.R.D., SHIELD, and Wakanda, had formed a new alliance to manage the aftermath.
Henri stood in the central command center, overseeing the transition. Eyla and Sorin flanked him as always.
> System Notice: Global Sync Level: Stabilized Admin Influence: 0% Root Protocol Status: Locked
But peace didn't mean the end of everything. Faint signals still flickered across the system map.
"There are still echoes," Eyla murmured. "Fragments out there. Unregistered."
Henri nodded. "We'll find them. One at a time."
---
The System Accord
A week after stabilization, all major leaders gathered at Wakanda's United Nations Center for the first System Accord Summit.
Henri spoke before the assembly:
"The system isn't just power. It's responsibility. We can either control it... or let it control us again."
The Accord laid down global laws:
No forced sync activations.
No system user discrimination.
Sync user registration voluntary, not mandatory.
Research into system fragments regulated under international law.
For the first time in history, system users had legal protection.
---
Shadow Team's Departure
Alaric and his Shadow Team had stayed for the aftermath. But as soon as the Accord was signed, they prepared to leave.
"Where will you go?" Henri asked as they stood at the Skywatch hangar.
Alaric smirked faintly. "Beyond. Other worlds. Other systems. This wasn't the only Earth caught in Admin control."
Henri extended a hand. "Good hunting."
Alaric clasped it. "You too, Voss."
Shadow Team departed in silence, leaving only echoes behind.
---
Personal Moments: Rebuilding
Back in New York, Henri, Eyla, and Sorin spent quiet days helping with reconstruction.
Spider-Man swung by, offering assistance in rebuilding schools and public systems.
"So... you guys sticking around full-time?" Peter asked, webbing up scaffolding.
Henri smiled. "Looks like it."
Even Doctor Strange showed up now and then, offering dimensional stabilizations where lingering sync echoes caused micro-reality distortions.
---
Final Echo: Unknown Sync Signal
One night, while reviewing sync reports, Henri's system flared with an alert.
> Warning: Unknown Sync User Detected Location: Antarctica, Sector Zero Signature: Unclassified Tier VI+
Henri frowned, immediately calling Eyla and Sorin to the command deck.
"We have something."
Eyla tilted her head. "Another Admin?"
Sorin narrowed his eyes. "Or something older."
---
New Mission: Exploration Team Alpha
By dawn, a new team had been formed:
Henri Voss
Eyla Carter
Sorin
Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Shuri (Wakanda tech lead)
Together, they boarded a stealth Skywatch drop jet, heading toward Antarctica.
As the jet flew silently over endless ice, Henri reviewed the last Root Core files recovered during the battle.
One entry stood out:
> Root Core Log #7: Hidden Archive. Sector Zero. Creator-Level Sync Artifact. Unknown Purpose.
---
Arrival: Sector Zero
Touching down on a flat ice shelf, the team stepped into a windstorm that felt colder than reality itself.
Shuri activated scanners. "This entire area... isn't just cold. It's outside sync parameters."
Eyla drew her blades. Sorin readied his phase sword.
Then they saw it: a black monolith rising from the ice, half-buried, pulsing faintly.
Henri approached slowly. His gauntlet glowed in response.
> System Notice: Sync Recognition: Creator-Level Artifact Unlock Authorization: Henri Voss
He looked back once at his team. They all nodded.
Henri placed his hand on the monolith.
Golden light exploded outward.