The storm deposited us on a barren world.
Grey skies. Dead ground. In the distance, a facility rose from the wasteland—metal and concrete and something else. Something that made my blessings hum with alarm.
Theron landed beside me, storms already fading.
"Network weapons facility. They've been building here for decades, hidden from every world." He pointed. "That central tower—that's where Oracle sensed the threat."
Noctis materialized from shadows. "I count two hundred immortals. A thousand soldiers. Automated defenses everywhere."
Darius cracked his neck. "Two hundred immortals. Finally, a challenge."
Vera checked her sound-mages. "We're ready."
Mei Lian's hand found mine. The bond hummed with determination, love, fear—all of it, together.
"Plan?" she asked.
I studied the facility. Its defenses. Its patrols. Its weaknesses.
"We hit fast. Hard. No hesitation." I looked at each of them. "Theron takes the tower. Noctis handles shadows—disable their communications first. Darius and Vera lead the mortal team through the main entrance. Mei Lian and I take the back."
"And you?" Theron asked.
"Find whatever they're building. Destroy it. Make sure they can't rebuild."
Theron nodded. "Three minutes. Then we're all in."
"Three minutes."
We moved.
---
The Approach
Noctis's shadows wrapped around Mei Lian and me.
Invisible. Silent. Undetectable. We slipped past patrols, through fences, into the facility's heart. The blessings hummed—warning, guiding, protecting.
Mei Lian moved beside me like second nature. The bond made us faster, more coordinated, one. Years of fighting together had honed us into something deadly.
The back entrance loomed.
Guards. Four immortals. A dozen soldiers.
I looked at Mei Lian. She nodded.
We struck.
---
The Fight
Two minutes.
That's how long it took to clear the entrance. Mei Lian's staff, my fire and water and shadows. The bond singing between us, making every movement perfect.
The immortals were strong—centuries of experience, countless battles. But they'd never faced anything like us. Like this.
When the last one fell, we were through.
The facility opened before us—corridors, laboratories, horror. Glass tanks filled with failed experiments. Weapons beyond imagination. Evidence of centuries of suffering.
"This way." I followed the blessings' pull. Toward the central tower. Toward the thing Oracle had sensed.
Mei Lian stayed close. Always.
---
The Tower
Theron had already struck.
Lightning blasted through walls. Thunder shook foundations. The tower groaned, swayed, somehow held.
We found him fighting three immortals—ancient, powerful, desperate. He held his own, but barely.
I joined without hesitation. Mei Lian beside me.
Together, we made the difference.
When the last immortal fell, Theron grinned through bleeding wounds. "Took you long enough."
"Traffic."
He laughed. Pointed up. "The weapon's at the top. Go. I'll hold here."
I looked at Mei Lian. She nodded.
We climbed.
---
The Weapon
It was beautiful. Terrible. Wrong.
A sphere of pure energy, floating in the tower's peak. It pulsed with stolen life—Network victims, I realized. Thousands of them. Their souls trapped, powering something unspeakable.
A figure stood before it. Ancient. Calm. Waiting.
"Ren." The first immortal's voice—not him, but a projection. An avatar. "I've been expecting you."
"You know why I'm here."
"To destroy my work. To free the souls. To prove you're better than me." He smiled—sad, knowing, old. "You're not wrong. You are better. That's what makes you dangerous."
The sphere pulsed.
"I could stop you. My real self could be here in moments. But I won't." He tilted his head. "I want you to see this. To understand what I'm building. What I've always been building."
"Freedom from gods. You've said."
"Freedom from suffering. From chaos. From the endless pain of existence." He spread his arms. "This weapon will end it. All of it. Every world, every being, every feeling. Peace at last."
"That's not peace. That's death."
"Is there a difference?"
I raised my hands. Blessings blazing.
"Yes. There's all the difference in the world."
---
The Destruction
I poured everything into that sphere.
Mira's warmth. Valdur's strength. Lira's healing. Aric's wisdom. Selene's cold. Solara's light. Theron's storms. Noctis's shadows. Ignis's fire. Terra's depth. Nereus's sea.
All twelve. All at once.
The sphere screamed.
Not in pain—in release. Thousands of souls, freed at last. Light exploded outward, through the tower, across the facility, into the grey sky above.
The avatar watched. Smiled.
"Well done, Ren. Well done."
He faded.
The tower began to collapse.
Mei Lian grabbed my hand. "We have to go!"
We ran.
---
Escape
The facility crumbled behind us.
Theron caught us at the entrance, storms blazing, holding back debris. Darius and Vera emerged from chaos, bleeding but alive. Noctis materialized with the sound-mages, shadows flickering.
"Everyone accounted for?" I shouted.
"Everyone!" Vera confirmed.
"GO!"
We ran through collapsing corridors, through falling debris, through walls of fire and smoke. Theron's storms cleared paths. Noctis's shadows guided. The bond kept Mei Lian and me together.
We burst into open air as the facility finally fell.
Silence.
Then Darius laughed—hysterical, relieved, triumphant.
"We did it!"
"We did it." I looked at my team. At the gods who'd fought beside us. At the woman I loved. "First strike complete."
Theron grinned. "The Network just lost their best weapon."
"And thousands of souls are free," Vera added quietly.
Noctis nodded. "They felt it. Every god, every Network immortal, every being with any sensitivity. They felt those souls release."
"Good." I looked toward the sky. "Let them feel it. Let them know we're coming."
---
Return
The storm carried us back to Oracle's island.
Mira waited at the temple, along with every god and most mortal representatives. When we emerged, the cheers were deafening.
Mira embraced me. "You did it. First victory."
"First of many."
She smiled. "That's the spirit."
Mei Lian found my hand. Squeezed.
I looked at the crowd—gods and mortals, warriors and healers, all united. All believing.
Three hundred forty-four days left.
We'd just begun.
---
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Mission Status: Success
Network losses: Major weapons facility, thousands of souls freed
Our casualties: None
Time Remaining: 344 days