Chapter 4 – Echoes After Fire
The feed went dark.
No more flame. No more screams. Just a flicker, then silence.
[Gaius Maximor Thassor has ended the Live Broadcast.]
In the hold of the Stormbird gunship, Gaius stood alone, the faint rumble of the vessel's ascent vibrating through his armor. The cryo-locker holding the gene-seed of his fallen brothers sat secured against the bulkhead. The hatch sealed with a quiet hiss.
He turned away without a word.
.....
The sun filtered down through the branches of the forest. The air was warm, humid, and filled with the distant rustling of leaves. Naruto Uzumaki stood in a clearing, a kunai in hand, his forehead damp with sweat.
Jiraiya crouched on a tree branch above, watching.
"Alright, let's try that again," the older man called out. "Shadow clone combo, three-way strike. Let's go!"
Naruto didn't move.
His eyes were fixed on the ground, expression unreadable.
Jiraiya frowned. "Oi. Earth to Naruto. You awake down there?"
Naruto blinked and looked up, forcing a smile. "Yeah, yeah, sorry. I just... zoned out."
He went through the hand signs, creating two clones. They moved, but not in sync. The strike was off. The coordination sloppy. Jiraiya dropped down, landing beside him with a soft thud.
"That's the third time you messed up today. And I know it's not because you're tired. Something's on your mind."
Naruto looked away, scratching the back of his head.
"It's nothing serious. Just… saw something. In the group."
Jiraiya raised a brow. "That weird connection you told me about? With those other people?"
Naruto nodded. "One of them… he showed us his world. He was in a war. Real serious stuff. And then his army just… destroyed the whole planet."
Jiraiya didn't say anything right away.
Naruto continued. "They called it 'exterminatus.' Like… full-on, no one left. Not even the bad guys. Just fire from the sky."
His grip tightened around the kunai.
"I thought being strong was about protecting people. But that guy, Gaius, he didn't even flinch. He just did what he was told. And everyone died."
Jiraiya studied him for a moment.
"There's strength in protecting others," he said slowly, "but sometimes, people are trained to follow duty over feelings. Doesn't make them evil. Just… different."
Naruto nodded, but his expression didn't lighten.
.....
The wooden sword struck the training dummy with a sharp crack. Then again. And again.
Saeko Busujima moved in silence, her strikes deliberate, her breathing steady. The kendo hall was empty now. She'd stayed late. Partly out of habit. Mostly out of distraction.
The image of the cathedral still lingered in her mind. The silent marine kneeling beside his dead comrades. The fire. The finality.
She lowered her shinai and exhaled, closing her eyes.
"Not all who live are meant to be saved."
She opened her eyes again. That line had stayed with her.
Gaius hadn't said it cruelly. Just… plainly. As if it were simply fact.
She wasn't naive. Four years ago, Saeko was attacked by a man on her way home one night. However, she was able to easily overpower the man since she had her wooden sword with her. After severely injuring the man, the police released her due to the circumstances, but the events of that night left Saeko with a profound revelation.
She discovered a sadistic side to herself that enjoyed inflicting pain and suffering
She bowed slightly to the dummy, as tradition required, then placed her weapon back into its case.
....
The glow of the arc reactor lit up the dim room as sparks flew from the welding rig. Tony Stark sat hunched over the evolving frame of the Mark III suit, one hand guiding the tool, the other steadying the metal.
Jarvis's voice echoed softly. "Energy efficiency at 92%. Arc synchronization stable."
Tony didn't respond.
He was staring past the armor.
On the table nearby, a small holographic interface hovered, just idle static now. The feed had ended, but his mind hadn't.
He leaned back, pulling off his gloves. The suit's torso gleamed in the light, but Tony's attention was elsewhere.
A whole world. Gone. Just like that.
He'd seen war. Weapons. Damage. But never something like that. Not the methodical kind of extinction.
He rubbed his face with a tired sigh.
"Tony?"
Pepper's voice made him glance up.
She stood at the entrance, a tray in her hands. Sandwich, water, some paperwork under her arm. She tilted her head slightly when she saw the look on his face.
"You okay?"
Tony nodded, slowly. "Yeah. Just thinking."
Pepper walked over and set the tray down. "That's not your usual 'I'm a genius' face. That's the 'something's wrong and I don't want to talk about it' face."
Tony smirked faintly. "Caught me."
He looked at her for a moment, serious now. "Pep, you ever wonder how far people go before they stop being human?"
She paused. "Sometimes. Why?"
Tony looked back at the armor. "Because I think I just saw the answer. And I'm not sure what side of that line I'm on."
There was something deeper in his tone. Pepper narrowed her eyes.
"Is this about The meeting?" as Tony was kicked out Leadership, or any decisions powers over the company.
Tony looked at her.
He didn't say yes. He didn't say no.
But something about the way he held her gaze made the answer clear.
He smiled faintly. "I might need a favor later. Something… involving company files."
Pepper crossed her arms. "Sounds shady."
Tony's smile grew a little. "Just making sure I still have one person I trust."
....
The void beyond the viewports shimmered with the shifting hues of the Warp, chaotic, alive, ever-writhing. Only the ship's Gellar Field held it at bay.
Gaius Maximor Thassor stood at the command dais, in his armor, the blue and gold of the Ultramarines still smeared with ash.
The bridge crew moved around him in quiet reverence. Some were mortals, navis helmsmen, vox servitors. Others were transhuman brothers assigned to the vessel's defense.
He spoke, and all listened.
"Return to Ultramar. No transmissions. Maintain silence until emergence from the Warp."
"Aye, my lord," the navigator said with a low bow.
The men and women did not question. They never did. Gaius's name carried weight, old weight. He was from the first line of Primaris. Forged by Cawl. Deployed by Guilliman himself.
Some said he had served in over nine hundred campaigns. Some said he never slept. All agreed: if Gaius gave an order, it was obeyed.
He turned from the command dais and made his way to his private chamber. The doors sealed behind him with a hydraulic hiss.
Inside, the walls were bare. Spartan. A single meditation alcove, a data terminal, and the cryo-storage locker. Nothing more.
Gaius removed his helmet. His face was pale, scarred, angular, weathered by war, not time. His expression never changed.
He sat at the alcove, eyes closed.
And then, in the upper corner of his Eye sight, a small icon blinked.
[Multiversal Chat Group]
End of Chapter 4(Word count: ~1,174)