Jack and Lila stare in disbelief at the man standing before them, his face illuminated by the flickering flames of the ruined city. It can't be... but there's no mistaking those cold, calculating eyes, that cruel twist of the lips.
"Dad?" Jack whispers, his voice trembling with a mixture of rage and despair. "What have you done?"
Jack's father, the man they thought had died years ago, laughs - a harsh, mirthless sound that sends chills down their spines. "What I had to do, son. What I was always meant to do."
He takes a step forward, and Jack and Lila instinctively back away, their hearts pounding.
"You see," Jack's father continues, his voice dripping with malice, "this world is rotten to the core. It needs to be purged, cleansed with fire and blood. And I will be the one to do it."
He reaches into his coat and pulls out a small, glowing device. Jack's eyes widen in horror as he realizes what it is: a detonator.
"No!" Lila screams, lunging forward, but it's too late.
Jack's father presses the button, and the ground beneath them begins to shake. Buildings crumble, fires rage out of control, and the air fills with the deafening roar of explosions.
As Jack and Lila stumble and fall, clinging to each other in desperation, Jack's father looms over them, his face a mask of twisted triumph.
"Now," he says, his voice barely audible over the chaos, "the real work begins."
