Blood may claim power, but only the bond proves it worthy."
The aftermath of dawn was brutally efficient. The moment Elias and I returned, grounded and synchronized, the quiet peace dissolved into a frenzy of ordered chaos. We moved with devastating speed, using Zarek Nightshade as the unwilling cornerstone of the new plan. Under the cold, clinical supervision of Marcus, Zarek was psychologically prepped and expertly branded with a controlled, visible scar, not just a mark of captivity, but a sign of his submission and forced failure, a detail Vorath would trust. We drilled the Beta spy until his fabricated story of Taemin's continued psychic collapse, and my panicked, desperate state was seamless; his terror of my Alpha Command was entirely believable.
By mid-morning, the deception was deployed: Zarek was sent scurrying back toward his master, an unreliable messenger confirming the weakness Vorath craved.
