Zero Hour (The Fall)

INTRO]

"They said it couldn't fall. They said it was built to last. They were wrong. Everything falls. Everything burns. Everything becomes a story the next generation tells itself to feel safe."

---

THE SKY WAS FIRE. THE SKY WAS SCREAM.

HELIOS FELL LIKE A BROKEN DREAM.

I WATCHED FROM THE GROUND. I WATCHED FROM THE ASH.

THE LAST CEO. THE ONE WHO WATCHED THE EMPIRE BURN.

HANDSHAKES. SMILES. THE BOARDROOM WALLS.

THE PROMISE THAT NOTHING WOULD EVER FALL.

THE WORKERS BURIED IN THE STEEL.

I WATCHED IT BURN. I WATCHED IT FEEL NOTHING.

ZERO HOUR. THE FALL.

---

ZERO HOUR. THE SKY COMES DOWN.

THE CROWN IS ASH. THE CROWN IS GROUND.

THE NAME THAT RULED. THE NAME THAT STOLE.

ZERO HOUR. THE FALL. THE HOLE

WHERE AN EMPIRE USED TO BE.

ZERO HOUR. THE END. THE SEA

OF FIRE. OF DUST. OF EVERYTHING LOST.

ZERO HOUR. THE FALL. THE COST.

---

I REMEMBER THE MOMENT IT BROKE.

THE VOICE ON THE RADIO SAYING "IT'S TOO LATE."

I RAN FROM THE FLAME. I RAN FROM THE NAME.

A MAN WITH A CHIP IN HIS ARM AND A LIE IN HIS TEETH.

HELIOS BURNING BENEATH MY FEET.

VAUGHN PULLED ME FROM THE RUBBLE.

HE SAID "DON'T LOOK BACK. WE'RE NOT THE MEN

WHO BUILT THE THING THAT FELL.

WE'RE THE ONES WHO RISE. WE'RE THE ONES WHO SURVIVE."

I DIDN'T BELIEVE HIM. I COULDN'T SEE

ANYTHING BUT THE FIRE.

---

"You ever watch something you thought was forever turn to ash? Helios wasn't mine. But I watched it fall. And I felt relief. The weight lifting. The thing that was crushing me finally let go."

---

ZER0 STOOD AT THE EDGE OF THE FIRE.

THEIR BLADE CATCHING THE LIGHT.

EMPIRE IS TEMPORARY. POWER IS DUST.

THE ONLY THING THAT LASTS IS THE TRUST

OF THE ONES WHO STAY. THE ONES WHO BUILD FROM THE ASH.

I STOOD IN THE DUST.

I LET THE WEIGHT OF THE CROWN TURN TO RUST.

I LET THE FIRES TAKE IT ALL.

BECAUSE SOMETHING NEW NEEDED TO RISE.

BECAUSE THE WORKERS DESERVED MORE

THAN A NAME THAT WAS A WAR.

---

"They asked me if I felt guilty. I did. But guilt isn't the end. It's the beginning. The beginning of something that doesn't need to fall. Something that stands because it was built on something other than ash."

ZERO HOUR. THE SKY COMES DOWN.

BUT THE GROUND REMAINS. I'LL BUILD FROM THE STONE.

ZERO HOUR. I'M NOT ALONE.

---

ZERO HOUR. THE FALL. THE FIRE.

THE END OF THE THING THAT BUILT THE PYRE.

ZERO HOUR. THE ASH. THE DUST.

THE END OF THE THING THAT TURNS TO RUST.

ZERO HOUR. THE BEGINNING. THE START.

HELIOS BURNS. HELIOS DIES.

BUT I REMAIN. I REMAIN. I RISE.

---

"They said it couldn't fall. They were wrong. Everything falls. But everything can be built again. Not the same. Something new. Something that doesn't need to burn to prove it's real."

"Atlas will rise. From the ground. From the workers. From the ones who chose to build something that doesn't need to fall."