Base Omega hummed with controlled chaos.
The team had gathered in the briefing room, the air thick with anticipation. Edith stood at the front, sharp eyes scanning the room, while Natasha, Evan, and the rest of the team prepared for what would be their most dangerous mission yet.
Kael sat at the far end of the table, his hand absently tracing the handle of Ashrend. The blade seemed to call to him — the fire within him fanning to life with each touch. His mind, however, was elsewhere.
Vael.
His brother's face haunted him, like a ghost lurking at the edge of his vision. What had he become? The image of the grotesque subhuman from the lab clung to his thoughts. The thing they'd fought — was that truly just an experiment gone wrong? Kael's heart beat harder. His brother was part of this. He had helped create that thing.
"What's on your mind?" Luna's voice cut through the fog in his head.
Kael looked up to find Luna seated beside him, her eyes soft but firm. The concern in her gaze was unmistakable.
"I'm thinking about Vael," he said quietly. "And everything we've been up against. It's only going to get worse, isn't it?"
Luna nodded slowly. "We don't know what the Crimson Sickle has up their sleeve. But we can't let them win."
Kael tightened his grip on the hilt of Ashrend, as if to remind himself of his purpose. He couldn't afford to think about his brother right now — not with everything at stake. The Crimson Sickle had already taken so much from him, and he wasn't about to let them take more.
Edith cleared her throat, pulling the team's attention back to her. "We've received intel on the Crimson Sickle's movements. They're moving resources into a new site. I'll give you the specifics, but the short version is: they're testing something big. We don't know what, but we will find out."
She gestured to the map on the screen, which zoomed in on a high-security compound nestled deep in the Ithura Mountains. The cold, rugged terrain was nothing new for Team B, but the reports suggested that whatever lay beyond those mountains was more dangerous than any of them anticipated.
"The subhumans we've fought so far?" Edith's voice turned cold, her tone unwavering. "They're nothing compared to what's coming next. These new experiments — they're designed for two Arcana. All of them. And they're more than just human."
Luna clenched her fists, and James adjusted his revolvers with a grim smile.
"You're telling us they're trying to make their own weapons," James said, his eyes flashing. "Two Arcana? I'm getting a bad feeling about this."
Edith nodded. "That's exactly what they're doing. And they won't stop until they have the perfect soldiers."
Kael's heart skipped a beat. Two Arcana? He had heard of the theory — an individual able to wield more than one Arcana at a time — but it was thought to be impossible. To combine them required a level of mastery, and for the Crimson Sickle to be attempting it on a grand scale was unsettling.
"Isn't that…" Kael hesitated, his throat tight. "Isn't that what they were doing with the experiments? My brother's been part of this, hasn't he?"
Edith's eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't answer immediately.
Finally, she spoke. "We don't have all the answers, Kael. But we'll find them. And when we do, we'll finish this."
The room was quiet, save for the low hum of the computer's processing. Kael's thoughts swirled. Vael. The brother he once looked up to had become part of the very darkness they were fighting against. His past and present collided in a storm of confusion and anger.
A memory flickered in Kael's mind — the last time he and Vael had been together. It felt like a lifetime ago. They had been young, laughing over skewered meat at their favorite barbecue stall, free of the weight of the world.
"Ready?" Natasha's voice broke through his thoughts. Her eyes locked with Kael's, a silent challenge and a promise that neither of them could ignore.
Kael took a deep breath, the weight of Ashrend settling comfortably in his grip. "Let's finish this."