The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime that felt entirely out of place for the end of the world.
Rin stepped out, his boots crunching on expensive marble tile, his breath catching in his throat because the scene in front of him didn't make sense. The penthouse wasn't a lab, it wasn't a command center, it was a sanctuary of glass and steel floating above the apocalypse.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the sky was tearing itself apart, purple clouds swirling into a funnel that connected the earth to the void, but inside, classical music played softly from invisible speakers.
Sitting in a leather armchair, watching the destruction of the desert with the casual interest of someone watching a documentary, was Thorne.
Standing to his left was Dr. Helix, whose white suit was spotless despite the carnage downstairs.
And standing between them and the elevator was a woman.
