The bunker rumbled as dust rained from the ceiling. A red hue flashed across the corridor lights, casting deep shadows on Kael's face. The klaxon screamed louder than before—this wasn't a drill.
"They're breaching through the upper access vents!" Vorn shouted over the comms. "Multiple Syndicate squads with aerial recon!"
Kael gritted his teeth, standing in the center of the war room with Nira and Bren beside him. Both looked as uncertain as he once did, but their eyes burned with new light—the resonance had awakened something in them. And Kael felt it too: a bond forming between the three of them. Not quite friendship, not yet. But something stronger than coincidence.
Seris ran in, fully geared. "Vorn and I will hold the north wing. Kael—you take Nira and Bren and seal the south access tunnels. If they take those, this whole base collapses."
Bren blinked. "I've never fought anyone before."
Kael laid a hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to know how to fight. You just need to burn bright enough that they can't ignore you."
Nira gave a small grin. "You'll learn. Quick."
They ran.
The south tunnels twisted like veins through the underground ruins—old power conduits, collapsed transport lines, and magnetic rails long rusted over. Kael took point, his blade humming with subtle arcs of energy. The shard in his chest pulsed to a different rhythm now—syncing with the others around him.
Behind him, Bren adjusted the gauntlets Vorn had thrown together for him—coils of alloy designed to channel his newfound heat. Every few steps, they glowed hotter, responding to his heartbeat.
"I feel like I'm going to explode," he muttered.
"You might," Nira said cheerfully, tossing a fire-spark from one hand to the other.
Kael reached the reinforced gate at the far end. Beyond it was the secondary tunnel—the fallback route Syndicate scouts had likely discovered. The control panel was dead. He placed a hand against the cold steel, closed his eyes, and let the shard speak.
It responded instantly.
Energy surged through the wiring like a breath awakening a slumbering machine. The gate groaned and slid open.
And beyond it—
Figures in chrome-black armor, eyes glowing with harsh blue light.
Syndicate.
The lead scout spotted them. "Targets acquired. Engage."
Kael shouted, "Fall back to the arc chamber—now!"
They ran, ducking as plasma bolts seared through the air. Kael threw up a barrier—raw resonance forming into a flickering wall that deflected the worst of the shots. Bren stumbled once but Nira caught him, dragging him behind a generator.
They reached the arc chamber—a circular, half-collapsed room once used to power industrial rail cars. Vats of old coolant hissed on one side; remnants of resonance coils lined the walls.
Kael raised his blade. "We make our stand here."
Nira's eyes lit like twin flames. "I've waited my whole life to fight back."
The Syndicate scouts poured in—three at first, then five more, moving like wolves with rifles.
Kael moved first.
He lunged forward, his blade cleaving through the first scout's weapon. A twist of his wrist, and the blade's core flared—a burst of resonance that knocked the enemy backward into the wall. He ducked as a second scout fired, then spun low and drove the blade upward into the attacker's side.
Nira danced between the chaos, flicking embers like knives. One struck a scout's helmet and imploded—a silent flash that left only smoke and charred metal. She was fast. Almost too fast. Her eyes gleamed as her hands moved faster than thought, shaping fire into spears, then whips, then a storm of sparks that burned bright enough to light the dark.
Bren stood frozen. His gauntlets glowed.
Another scout spotted him and raised a blaster.
Kael shouted, "Now, Bren!"
Bren screamed—not in fear, but in pressure.
His arms flared with molten orange, and twin jets of flame erupted forward. The blaster melted mid-air. The scout was thrown backward, armor sizzling as he slammed against the far wall.
Bren stood panting, eyes wide. "I—I did it."
"You are doing it!" Nira shouted, unleashing another burst of flame into the group.
Kael parried another blow, then drove his elbow into a scout's throat. He spun, striking again, blade singing with resonance. It hummed with every pulse of his heart—his shard responding to every motion, every instinct.
More footsteps echoed down the corridor. Reinforcements.
Kael cursed. "They're not stopping."
Nira looked at him. "We can't hold forever."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "We don't need forever."
He turned to the old generator embedded in the wall. "Nira—can you overcharge that?"
She ran to it, planting her hand on the conduit. "Yes. But you won't like the result."
Kael smirked. "I don't like any of this."
She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and ignited.
The generator screamed.
Bren looked from her to the corridor. "Uh… is this the part where we run?"
Kael stepped beside him. "It's the part where we burn everything they throw at us."
The generator overloaded.
Sparks flew.
The second wave of Syndicate troopers entered the chamber—and were met with a roar of flame as the reactor erupted. Nira channeled the burst through her shard, creating a dome of fire that engulfed the tunnel entrance, melting metal and bone alike.
Kael raised his blade high, letting his resonance flare to its peak. The golden light surged upward—and for a moment, the entire chamber shone like the heart of a star.
Silence followed.
The corridor lay in ruin.
Syndicate forces—defeated.
Kael fell to one knee, breath ragged. Nira collapsed beside him, laughing breathlessly. Bren leaned against the wall, gauntlets flickering, chest heaving.
They were bruised. Burned. Exhausted.
But alive.
Kael looked around at his team.
No—his allies.
They weren't ready for war. But they were ready to resist.
He tapped his comm. "Seris. The south tunnel is secure."
Static.
Then: "Copy that. North is holding. For now. Return when you're ready. We need to regroup. Things just got more complicated."
Kael stood slowly. "What now?"
Nira looked up, still smiling through soot. "Now we go find the others."
Bren asked, "There are more?"
Kael nodded. "Two left. And then…"
He looked toward the ceiling, toward the world above.
"…then we end this."