Chapter 26: A Name Written in Ashes
The Resistance base was no longer quiet. It buzzed with movement, preparation, and fear.
Nira stood at the center of it all, watching soldiers reinforce doors, build makeshift barricades, and whisper rumors about the monster that had almost killed them all.
She didn't blame them.
If she weren't so numb, she'd be terrified too.
Beside her, Elira checked her communicator, brows furrowed.
"They're moving too fast," she muttered. "This isn't just about retaliation. Vira's pushing everything forward."
"How long do we have?" Nira asked.
Elira looked up, her voice tight. "Hours. Maybe less."
---
Rhea's Discovery
In the war room, Rhea projected the enhanced audio and visuals on the screen. Dozens of Resistance techs gathered, eyes wide as they replayed the monster's final whisper.
> "Nyx…"
The name echoed like a curse.
"Who the hell is Nyx?" someone asked.
Rhea crossed her arms. "I don't know. But the monster spoke it before it died. It wasn't just targeting Nira—it was paving the way for something worse."
She tapped the console, bringing up Vira's archived files.
Redacted. Most of it locked.
But one entry remained:
Subject 20-A: Nyx
Status: Highly unstable. Terminated.
Note: DO NOT REVIVE. Dangerous even to handlers.
The entry was dated two years ago.
And yet… Nyx was alive now.
---
The Ghost in the Hall
That night, Nira wandered the northern hall of the base alone, her breath fogging with each step.
It was strange—how quiet fear could feel.
She stopped at a wall, one that hadn't been cleaned since the attack.
A blood smear painted across the silver panels.
Her own voice echoed in her head:
> "Number 17 cried."
She closed her eyes.
And suddenly—
> —a flash of memory.
A girl with violet eyes. Hair matted with sweat. Laughing through tears as she taught Nira how to braid.
"If we make it out," she'd said, "promise me you'll find color again. Real color. Not just this sterile white."
Her name was Lio.
Nira's chest ached.
She had forgotten her.
Until now.
---
Elira's Fracture
In the med bay, Elira sat alone, staring at her arm where the glowing vein had surfaced.
She pulled up her own medical file from the Resistance database.
Encrypted.
When she bypassed the lock, her breath caught.
> Patient: Elira Saren
Date of Rescue: Unknown
Original Location: Subject Chamber Delta, Project Helix
Genetic Status: Hybrid
Permission to monitor: CLASSIFIED – Level Vira
Her hands trembled.
"I wasn't rescued," she whispered. "I was relocated."
Suddenly, everything made sense. Her fast healing. Her ability to resist cold. Why she could survive things others couldn't.
She wasn't a soldier.
She was a result.
---
Vira's Broadcast
Then—an alarm screamed.
The base's central screen flickered to life.
Vira's face appeared, calm and cruel.
"Hello, Resistance," she said, her voice smooth as silk.
"You've interfered enough. You've stolen my creation, you've killed one of my shadows, and you've disrupted balance."
Elira rushed into the war room, eyes wide. Nira followed, fists clenched.
Vira smiled.
"But I am merciful."
Behind her, the camera panned—revealing a cage.
Inside it was a young man, unconscious, bruised.
> "Jude!" Nira gasped.
Vira's smile deepened.
"You remember him, don't you? The boy who tried to smuggle you out. The one who failed."
The screen zoomed in on Jude's face. He was breathing, but barely.
"Return Nira to me. Or he dies when the clock strikes midnight."
Then, the screen went black.
---
Reckoning
The base erupted in chaos.
People shouted, argued, panicked.
But Nira stood still.
Her past had caught up with her. Jude—the first person who ever showed her freedom—was alive. And in Vira's grasp.
Elira grabbed her arm. "We'll find another way."
"There's no time."
"There's always another way."
Rhea stepped in. "We don't have enough intel to storm that facility."
Nira looked up, calm and cold.
"Then I'll go alone."
"No," Elira snapped. "You go back, and she wins."
"She already won when she put that collar on Jude's neck."
They stood face-to-face—two women bound by pain, pulling in opposite directions.
Then Elira said, quietly:
"Let me come with you."
---
The Plan
Within minutes, they formed a strike team.
Elira. Nira. Rhea. Kael—a demolitions expert. And Luca—a hacker who once worked inside Vira's labs.
"I still have codes," Luca said, fingers flying across the keyboard. "If we get close enough to the perimeter, I can disable the grid for three minutes. That's your window."
Kael smirked, hoisting his explosives. "Three minutes is all I need."
Elira slid her weapons into her coat.
"This isn't just a rescue," she said. "This is the start of a war."
Nira looked toward the horizon.
"I'm done hiding," she whispered.
---
Meanwhile: Nyx Stirs
In Vira's lab, Nyx stood beneath the sterile lights, her body wrapped in silver robes.
Her eyes were void of emotion. She stared at the screens showing Nira's image.
"She chose love," Vira said, circling her. "You must choose control."
Nyx didn't respond.
"You'll fight her," Vira said. "And when you win, I'll rewrite the world."
Still, silence.
Then Nyx raised a hand.
Her fingers shimmered with black ice.
"She is the echo," Nyx finally whispered. "I am the scream."
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