The camp had gone quiet, but it was the brittle kind of quiet that came before a storm.
The survivors lay huddled in small clusters, murmuring to each other or staring into the darkness. The fire burned low, its smoke curling into the canyon air like a prayer none of them would speak aloud.
Shen Yuan sat alone on the edge of the camp, hands clasped around the broken haft of his spear. Every bone in his body ached, but his mind refused to rest.
You've made your choice, I said softly through the tether.
"I didn't have one," he whispered.
There is always a choice. You could have taken Yun Xue's path—hide, consolidate, hope for an opening.
"They would have found us anyway."
Perhaps. But you're gambling everything on a suicide strike with survival odds under 5%.
Shen Yuan exhaled, slow and ragged. "I'd rather die trying than watch them be slaughtered piece by piece."
Yun Xue approached quietly, settling beside him without a word. She stared at the spear haft in his hands for a long time.
"They believe in you," she said finally. "Even when they don't want to."
"That belief is going to get them killed," Shen Yuan said.
"Maybe," Yun Xue said. "But it's also the only reason they're still here."
She turned to face him, her expression unreadable in the dim light. "I'll follow you, Shen Yuan. But if you falter—if this becomes about saving everyone at the cost of everything—then I'll do what's necessary."
He met her gaze and nodded. "I know."
Han Fei approached soon after Yun Xue left. He looked worn, his shoulders heavy with the weight of the earlier confrontation.
"I keep thinking about the man I killed," Han Fei said quietly. "I didn't mean to—he just… he wouldn't listen."
Shen Yuan didn't offer false comfort.
"Do you think we'll make it?" Han Fei asked.
Shen Yuan stared into the fire. "I think we'll try."
Han Fei nodded, as if that was enough. "If you fall, I'll keep it going. Whatever's left. I promise."
Shen Yuan looked at him then, at the scar where the brand had once been. "I hope it won't come to that," he said.
When Han Fei left, the camp finally fell silent.
You're still awake, I noted.
"So are you," Shen Yuan murmured.
If we die, I said, I'll die with you. You know that, don't you?
Shen Yuan closed his eyes, just for a moment. "Then we make it count."
By morning, the survivors were gathered in a rough semicircle, waiting for Shen Yuan's words.
He didn't waste them.
"We're striking the Nexus," he said. "The teleportation array there is the only way out of Grave Omega. If we reach it, we have a chance."
A murmur rippled through the group—shock, fear, disbelief.
"That's suicide," a Dreg said.
Shen Yuan didn't flinch. "If we run, we die. If we hide, we die. This is the only path left."
Yun Xue stepped forward, her voice steady. "Then we do it right. We'll break into teams. Diversion, infiltration, and extraction."
She began assigning roles with the precision of a blade. Survivors who could fight were placed in the diversion group. The stealthiest would join Shen Yuan for the infiltration. The rest would prepare to hold the array long enough to activate it.
Han Fei volunteered for the diversion force without hesitation.
"They'll be expecting you," Shen Yuan said.
"Good," Han Fei replied. "If they're focused on me, they won't see you coming."
As Yun Xue finalized the plan, I projected a three-dimensional map of the Nexus above the campfire.
[ TARGET: BONE COURT NEXUS – TELEPORTATION ARRAY ][ SUPPRESSION ARRAY DENSITY: MAXIMUM ][ ELITE ENFORCER DEPLOYMENT: FULL ]
This is as close to impossible as it gets, I said.
"I know," Shen Yuan said quietly.
The survivors broke camp at dusk, slipping into the canyon labyrinth.
No one spoke. Every step toward the Nexus felt heavier than the last.
When they crested the final ridge, they saw it: a sprawling fortress-city ringed with suppression arrays, Bone Court banners snapping in the cold wind. Patrols marched in endless loops, their armor glinting in the dying light.
[ SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 4% ]
Shen Yuan raised his spear, the broken haft catching the moonlight.
"We end this tonight," he said.