Episode 7
Kael used the thick, toxic smoke from the Smelter Pit as his only shield, pressing himself against the furnace-hot alloy wall.
The massive, drill-wielding Smelter was closing in, tearing through the metal structure inches from Kael's position.
Behind the miner, the distant, distorted roar of the Chaos Conduit was growing louder, signaling the enemy's rapid approach.
Kael was trapped between a lethal brute and an elemental force. His body was a wreck; his focus was absolute.
He heard the Smelter take a final, heavy step, positioning his drill for the killing blow.
Code: Exploit the weakness of the tool.
Kael executed a blindingly fast, low roll into the miner's blind spot, using the dense smoke for cover.
He didn't engage the Smelter directly. Instead, he snapped the Oracle's Disruptor onto the hydraulic pressure valve feeding the mining drill.
The blast was localized and sharp. The drill's main motor immediately seized and overloaded, the drill head exploding outward in a shower of sparks and metal shrapnel.
The Smelter roared in frustration and pain, dropping the now useless tool. This bought Kael a critical five seconds.
He didn't run toward the canyon wall. Instead, he bolted deeper into the mining operation, using the hydraulic presses and massive scrap piles for cover. He was looking for his target: Transport.
He knew the Syndicate relied on high-speed, vertical lift ships for sensitive operations.
If the Conduit was tracking him, a Syndicate transport would be the fastest way to get untraceable flight clearance and the distance needed to reach the ice cap.
Kael located the Syndicate's temporary landing pad—a crude, flat zone secured by two laser turrets and three armed guards. Parked on the pad was a sleek, black Vulture-class Skiff, fast and armored—a perfect escape vehicle.
Kael had no energy for a direct fight. He reverted to pure Assassin Mode—the core skillset of the Syndicate mission, amplified by his perfect Guardian training.
He first located the power conduits feeding the laser turrets.
He moved low, using the shadows cast by the processing machinery. He used his utility knife, not to cut, but to short-circuit, precisely stabbing the power insulators.
The movement was a clean, silent flicker. The two turrets died instantly, plunging that side of the pad into darkness.
The three guards reacted immediately, spinning toward the sound, their rifles raised.
Kael moved before their eyes could adjust.
His actions were not fluid, but instant and brutal, a devastating use of non-powered combat.
Guard One: Kael used the shadows of a hydraulic press to close the distance.
He delivered a swift, hard elbow strike to the base of the guard's helmet, fracturing the comm unit and knocking him unconscious before he could make a sound.
Guard Two: This guard was turning. Kael threw the utility knife. It struck the guard's knee with perfect, calculated force, disabling the man's movement without killing him or causing a loud gunshot.
Guard Three: This guard was the most alert. He sighted Kael in the dark. Kael knew he had to be quicker.
He used a sliver of the last, painful reserves of his Stabilizer power—a micro-burst of kinetic energy—to accelerate his approach to impossible speed.
He delivered a stunning, open-palmed strike to the guard's neck, collapsing the man instantly.
The entire sequence lasted less than five seconds. No alarms. No gunfire. The perfect, surgical work of a high-level infiltrator.
Kael dragged the two conscious guards into the shadows and approached the Vulture-class Skiff.
He climbed into the cockpit, his scarred hands flying across the controls.
The Syndicate Skiff used a proprietary biometric lock, but Kael's cover identity—the "prodigy" identity provided by Valerius—gave him the necessary clearance.
He slapped the activation plate. The cockpit hummed to life.
Kael strapped himself in and initiated the lift sequence. The ship's engines whined, ready to ascend.
Just as the ship began to lift off the pad, the source of the roar burst into the clearing.
The Chaos Conduit was a horrifying sight.
He had thawed out of the cryo-ice, but the rapid temperature change had shattered parts of his armor, and his skin was scorched and bleeding unstable energy. He was consumed by incandescent fury.
The Conduit saw the Skiff lifting off and immediately threw his hands out, channeling a massive, uncontrolled blast of pure, dark Chaos energy—a raw, unstable force designed to tear the ship apart.
Kael knew he couldn't outrun the blast in time. He only had one option: use the enemy's technology against the enemy.
He slammed his hand onto the ship's main targeting system. He didn't fire any weapons.
Instead, he initiated the Emergency Fleet Protocol—a highly restricted, encoded system within the Syndicate network.
Guardian Code: Execute Syndicate Disinformation Tactic.
Kael used the last of his stabilizing power to inject a pulse of pure, ordered energy into the Syndicate network, hijacking the ship's primary broadcast signal.
The Conduit's Chaos blast hit the Skiff, rocking it violently. But Kael had already broadcast his message.
The Skiff's automated comms system screamed a false, pre-recorded warning across the entire Outer Rim: "WARNING: Veil-Breaker Core Acquired! Destination: Syndicate Mainland HQ! All units protect the transport!"
The Conduit hesitated. He saw the black Skiff, identified as a critical Syndicate asset, broadcasting the exact coordinates of their own mainland base.
He momentarily believed the data had already been safely extracted. His immediate target shifted from destroying the thief to protecting the mission.
Kael didn't wait. He threw the Skiff into full vertical ascent. The ship shot into the upper atmosphere, disappearing from the Outer Rim.
He had successfully performed the ultimate act of infiltration: using the enemy's fear and paranoia to secure his escape. He had the map and the transport.
Kael collapsed back into the pilot's seat, the extreme g-force and the power exertion combining to leave him utterly spent.
He looked down at the data chip burning in his hand—the map to the Veil-Breaker Core in the distant North.
His immediate mission was clear: Infiltrate the Order of the Sundered Dawn Academy to find the final piece of the puzzle and stop the world-ending weapon.
Kael is severely injured but has secured a high-speed transport and the map.
He is now heading toward the Academy's location, carrying the full burden of his assassin mission and his Guardian past.