Tom Stone stood with his hands clasped at his waist, trying to maintain a stoic expression as they waited in the large meeting room. The walls were sterile white with a round table in the center of the room. Somewhere along America’s west coast, a neutral and nondescript office building was the chosen location. According to the Quantum Group, the best approach was to ease new recruits into this world rather than teleporting them directly to Sanctuary Isle. So they would rent out office space whenever they needed to put new recruits through orientation.

Rachel was by Tom’s side. He stole a glance at her every now and then, but she just stared straight ahead into space. She was still upset about the Tribunal’s decision, and it had been understandable. Even though he had nothing to do with it, he knew that repairing the rift between them was not going to be easy.

They both wore their casual Quantum Group uniforms. Tom’s had red trim on it while Rachel’s had blue. And when the doors opened, they both looked at the entrance.

Tom recognized the three from Candace’s briefing before they teleported in. Marcus Kane led the recruits into the conference room. Ethan was first to follow, then Olivia, and finally, Alexa brought up the rear. All three wore suits, clearly thinking this was something more akin to a job interview. They were about to learn just how different their situation really was.

“Ladies, gentleman, I’d like to present you with two of our members. This is Thomas Stone and Rachel Kim,” said Marcus. “Should you accept our offer today, you’ll be working with them.”

“Hey, how you doin’?” asked Ethan as he stepped up to Tom and offered his hand.

As Tom looked down at the recruit’s hand, he could see Scott’s face flashing in his memory. Ethan was to be the new Karkinos Knight—Scott’s successor. His replacement. This arrogant bastard believed he was worthy of stepping into the shoes of—

“Umm, my name’s Ethan...”

At that moment, Tom realized that Ethan still had his hand extended.

“Sorry, my mind was somewhere else.” Tom gripped his hand and gave it a firm shake. “Tom Stone.” His tone was more curt than he’d intended, but thoughts of Scott were still front of mind.

“Right, well…nice to meet you.” Ethan’s stare lingered on Tom for a few moments before he then introduced himself to Rachel.

Once the other introductions were completed without incident, Marcus called everyone to sit around the circular meeting table. He stood near the table and placed a round device that resembled a hockey puck, but with a few blinking red lights and a screen in the center. Marcus took out his smartphone, and the lights turned to a solid blue.

“Ethan, Alexa, Olivia. Welcome to the Quantum Group,” said Marcus as a beginning to his presentation. “What you’re about to learn here is going to be more than a little surprising for you. When I approached each of you, I said that we’re an NGO. And while that’s technically true, there’s a bit more to it than that…”

The device’s screen lit up and a holographic projection of the globe appeared above the table, slowly rotating.

“Whoa, what’s this?” asked Ethan.

“This is the planet. Or a holographic representation of it,” said Marcus. “You see, what you know about the universe is woefully limited.”

The projection zoomed out to show the entire Milky Way galaxy. And then further to show the larger universe. And further still, until it was just a giant sea of stars with one indicator noting Earth’s position.

“This is what you think of when you think of the universe. A vast plane laid out like this. Though it’s actually more like this.”

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The universe map collapsed in on itself until it formed into a spiral-like formation, linked to different areas and constantly rotating, not unlike a cosmic DNA strand.

“The universe extends beyond the limitations of three dimensions, unfolding in a fourth-dimensional structure that we call the Spire. This is the most accurate representation we’ve managed to come up with to explain our reality. All of time and space are linked together in these very specific, yet undefined ways. And one of the unique features of the Spire is that it’s never static—it’s constantly changing.”

As Marcus spoke, the image changed as well. The blinking dot that represented Earth moved all throughout the spire to illustrate how it changed.

“Time and space are not linear constructs,” Marcus continued. “They’re intertwined threads within a massive multidimensional framework that we’re only beginning to scratch the surface of.”

Three other spires appeared, and it was clear to see the differences in the configuration. There were different dates stamped. One was ten years ago, another was five years ago, a third was six months ago, and the final one—the original of them—was stamped with that day’s date.

“Due to this shifting configuration, it means different planes come into phase with Earth at different times,” said Marcus. “The dimensional barriers, like the one you see here, act as natural safeguards, preserving the integrity of each world. However, when two worlds draw too close and align, their barriers merge, creating a potential breach.”

A simple image appeared of Earth. Then another planet. There was a kind of shield covering each world.

The two worlds came closer and began orbiting in sync. As they did, the barrier between them connected and then merged together. The two worlds moved closer until they were intersecting each other.

“This critical moment triggers a breach,” said Marcus. “Now, during a breach, nothing might happen. In fact, most breaches go by without an incident. But every now and then, the two worlds come into complete sync and a rift forms in the dimensional wall. When that happens, sometimes things escape into our world.”

Ethan raised his hand, and Marcus gestured for him to proceed. “I’m…not so sure I understand all of that. But when you say that sometimes things escape into our world? Could you maybe be a bit more specific?”

“That’s what you’re about to see,” said Marcus.

An image appeared of a massive creature. It seemed like a tyrannosaurus, but its head looked like that of a shark. Its arms were also larger, with razor-sharp claws and a barbed tail.

“What the hell is that?” Alexa nearly jumped out of her seat when she saw the monster. Ethan and Olivia were equally spooked by what they saw.

“This was taken from footage of a breach about six months ago. And this is one of the chief roles of the Quantum Group,” said Marcus. “We monitor the vibrational frequencies of adjacent dimensions and try to reinforce the dimensional barriers using quantum-temporal stabilization matrices.”

“Umm…yeah, quick question?” Alexa raised her hand. “What does any of this mean?”

“Think of it as barricading the door. That’s all you really need to know,” said Marcus. “But this doesn’t always work. And when something breaks through, like this ugly fucker, then we have to send it back or get rid of it. And that is where you come in.

“The Quantum Group has existed in some form for centuries,” Marcus continued. “A long time ago, Quantum mystics learned of what we now call the Omega Force. This is a multidimensional source of energy that flows all throughout the Spire and we utilize it to bestow abilities on five warriors. We call this group the Omega Knights.”

The image changed to show the five Omega Knights, each clad in form-fitting armored suits complete with helmets. All five wore identical suits, the only difference being the weapons they wielded and the colors of their armor.

“The Omega Force allows each knight to become an avatar of their Titan, the spirit of a legendary creature that also links them to a specific element,” said Marcus.

With an image of a flaming bird behind it, the Red Knight appeared first. “The Phoenix Knight is powered by fire.”

Next was the Blue Knight with a bluish wolf that had lightning arcing off the strands of its fur and glowing azure eyes. “The Raiju Knight has the element of electricity.”

Following the Blue Knight was the Green Knight. A large, crab-like creature with giant pincers appeared. “The Karkinos Knight’s element is water.”

Fourth was the Yellow Knight and behind them was a horse with a horn jutting forth from its forehead. “The Unicorn Knight commands the element of earth.”

The fifth was the Purple Knight and in the background was a thin, serpentine creature with wings. “And finally, the Wyvern Knight utilizes the element of wind.”

The holographic display vanished, and Marcus gestured to Tom and Rachel. “These are the only active Knights at the moment—Tom is the Phoenix Knight and Rachel is the Raiju Knight.” Marcus turned to the three new recruits. “We’re asking you three to complete our team and help us protect our world from the rest of the multiverse.”