"...If I can't feel the good things anymore, then doing a few bad ones shouldn't hurt a bit. And they are long overdue." ― Mindy McGinnis (The Initial Insult)

* * * *

"They're late…"

Raul muttered to himself, though the words were devoured by the wind curling across the surface of Lake Varrow. He stood outside the boathouse, just beyond the doors, one hand gripping the cold railing, the other fidgeting with the hilt of the knife strapped to his thigh.

The cold wasn't the problem. It was the quiet—the kind that gnawed at the ribs, made the air feel heavier, like it carried a weight not meant for lungs.

The sky above them had fractured into bruised shades of crimson and ash, smoke from the Veridale facility still billowing into the heavens like a dying beast gasping its last.

In the distance, the silhouette of the collapsing structure was barely visible between the treeline and the thickening smoke, orange firelight flickering like some unholy lantern trying to lead the damned out of hell. Sheets of twisted metal groaned as they peeled away from the crumbling facility, and every now and then, a distant boom rolled across the lake like a war drum. The air reeked of ozone and charred flesh.

"They should've been back by now," Raul said again, sharper this time.

Claudia, Lucie, and Letha had returned hours ago, filthy and blood-smeared, their shoulders tight and eyes hollow. It had been Letha who looked the most shaken. She didn't say much. None of them did, but Raul had seen something in her eyes, a kind of broken clarity that came only after seeing something monstrous.

Not just violence, not just war. Something unnatural. Something depraved.

"They were experimenting," she had said, her voice trembling and low, almost robotic. "There were bodies. Dozens. Maybe more."

Raul hadn't pressed. He'd only nodded and ushered them to safety, giving them water, warmth, and a moment to breathe. Whatever they saw on Level 2 had left a scar, and Raul had seen enough people return with the same haunted expressions to know it wouldn't fade overnight, if it ever did.

Then there was Ness and Tatius, who had come sprinting back barely thirty minutes after the retreat signal had gone out. They were covered in dust and bruises, but they wore grim satisfaction on their faces. The decoy team had done their job perfectly—luring patrols, triggering alarms, and leading the hunters on a wild goose chase through the maze of corridors on Level 1.

"Damn place is a fortress," Tatius had said with a tired smirk, clutching his ribs. "But they didn't expect rats with rocket boots."

Raul had smiled at that. But now the smile was long gone.

Because Zest had just returned.

And that was what truly unsettled Raul.

He hadn't said a word. Not even when Lucie ran up to him, asking, "Where's Sera? Where's Laura?"

Not even when Kailey offered him water or when Raul asked, carefully, "Did something happen?"

Zest had only stood there, his muscles coiled like tension wires, his face pale and stormy beneath the blood-streaked dirt. He hadn't taken his eyes off the treeline since, standing not far from Raul now, like a statue carved out of grief and fury.

Raul's fingers tightened on the railing again. "Come on, Sera… Laura… What the hell's taking you so long?"

Every second that passed increased the odds they'd be discovered. Even if the hunters hadn't survived the blast, the ESA might come sniffing. Or worse, Neuron. The underground shadows that whispered about Neuron spoke of a division even crueler than the hunters.

The kind who didn't ask questions. Who didn't follow protocol. Who didn't leave survivors.

The hunters had always been monsters in uniforms. But Neuron? Neuron was a nightmare stitched into the folds of the government. The longer they lingered, the higher the risk that nightmare would find them.

"Where are they?" Kailey's voice broke through Raul's thoughts, small and tight with worry. She stood beside him now, her arms hugging herself, eyes wide and glassy as they fixed on the dense wall of trees ahead. "They should've been right behind Zest, shouldn't they?"

"Yeah," Raul said quietly. "They should have."

The engine room behind them hummed low, a warning growl from Neil as he paced the control panel, ready to activate the boat's systems at a moment's notice. Everyone in the boathouse had stopped what they were doing, their attention pulled by the same gnawing silence outside.

Raul's pulse thundered in his ears.

And then, there was movement from within the trees.

"Raul," Kailey whispered, pointing. "There!"

Shadows rippled through the underbrush, faint and uneven. At first, Raul thought it might've been an animal, or worse, one of those war hounds the others had barely escaped. But then, the silhouettes grew clearer.

One running.

The other stumbling, slower, and burdened.

Laura burst through the treeline first, her hair flying like a wild banner behind her, her face twisted in urgency. "MOVE!" she shouted before anyone could even greet her. "Clear a path! She's carrying—!"

Raul's breath caught.

Sera emerged seconds later, staggering slightly beneath the weight of a man draped over her shoulders. She was drenched in blood—not all of it hers, Raul hoped, and her expression was carved in granite. But her eyes were fierce.

Raul's heart dropped when he saw the body she was carrying.

No. Not a body.

A man.

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Alive.

Barely.

Spiky silver hair matted with blood. Pale skin. A ruined crimson vest hanging open over a tattered white shirt. Honey-brown eyes fluttering shut even as they approached. Raul's lips parted in disbelief.

"Karl?" Zest's voice, for once, was raw. Disbelieving. "Karl…?"

Raul turned sharply. The name hit like a stone through stained glass.

Karl Myrick.

The man who raised Sera. The man who taught the members of Blade to survive, to fight, and to outsmart and outlast. The one who vanished nearly a year ago, before the Gifted witch hunts went public. Some said he'd gone underground. Others whispered he'd died trying to uncover what the hunters were doing.

But now…

Here he was. Alive. Barely breathing.

"Get the boat moving! Now!" Laura snapped, her voice cutting through the shock like a blade. She was already halfway across the dock, pushing past the others. Her face was pale, streaked with dried blood and sweat, her eyes too wide. She looked like a woman trying not to collapse.

Neil, startled into action, nodded furiously and sprinted for the engine room. The boat rumbled beneath their feet, the hull groaning as it began to pull away from the dock and cut through the lake's surface. The boathouse doors groaned shut behind them, swallowing the last glimpse of the forest, and the inferno swallowing Veridale whole.

Still, no one spoke. No one celebrated. Because no one felt like they'd won.

Sera staggered into the main lounge of the boathouse, every step laboured, her hands trembling as she laid Karl down across the couch with surprising tenderness. Her face was streaked with grime, blood dried around her nose and mouth, but her hands were careful and reverent. As if laying down a piece of herself.

Kailey was already there, kneeling beside Karl with both palms glowing pale blue. Her Gift shimmered, light like fireflies caught in mist, but her expression was grim.

"He's alive," she murmured. "But just barely. Multiple internal injuries, blood loss… And something else. Like his body's been…drained. This isn't natural. What happened in there?"

Sera didn't respond. She just stared down at Karl, her hands resting on her knees, her chest rising and falling in shallow gasps. "I found him," she finally whispered. "After all this time."

Laura stepped forward, her voice hoarse. "He was hooked up to something. A machine. Blue fluid… Tubes in his arms, in his neck. Same as the others. They were using him."

Raul couldn't stop the bile rising in his throat.

That's what the hunters were doing. Not just experimenting. Extracting.

This wasn't war.

This was slaughter. This was genocide.

And the world above—Eldario, was letting it happen. Because too many believed Nicolosi. Believed the Gifted were threats. Diseases to be purged. They believed the hunters' speeches, the ones calling for "human purity", and "returning order", and "cleansing the underground of corruption."

But Raul had seen the truth.

The ones in cages weren't the monsters.

They were the victims.

And now… Now Aegis had proof.

But that didn't make Raul feel victorious. It just made his hands shake.

"Someone get me more light," Kailey said urgently. "And clean cloth. Water. He's slipping in and out."

Raul moved without thinking, grabbing what supplies they had and pushing them into Kailey's hands. He could see Claudia and Lucie huddled near the corner, wide-eyed, watching in silence. Ness stood with his arms crossed, and his jaw clenched. Tatius was pacing again, running his hand over his face. Zest hadn't moved, still staring at Karl like he couldn't quite process it.

And Sera…

Sera sat perfectly still beside the couch, her expression unreadable. But Raul saw her shoulders trembling. He turned his attention back to Kailey. Their healer looked confused, and even almost desperate.

Kailey's hands were hovering inches above Karl's chest. Pale blue light flickered from her fingertips, weak and trembling, barely holding shape. "I don't get it," she whispered, her voice shaking. "Why isn't it working? Why the hell isn't it working?"

The light wavered and flickered out like a dying flame. Kailey gasped and tried again, her hands glowing anew, but the effect was the same. No response.

Karl remained still and pallid, his breath shallow. His skin was sallow and waxy, barely clinging to the gaunt edges of his bones. So many wounds marred his body—some old, others fresh and cruel.

Syringe punctures. Surgical cuts. Burned injection scars along his forearms. Tubing had once been forcibly inserted into his neck, and there were bruises around his temples from where electrodes had once been clamped.

"What happened?" Zest's voice cut in, rough and urgent. His sharp eyes zeroed in on Karl's form, taking in the sunken cheeks, the starved frame, and even the unnatural stillness. "Did you find him in the facility?"

"They were experimenting on him," Laura answered, her tone grim and low. She stood beside the couch with her arms folded, and her jaw clenched so hard that the muscles twitched. "They were draining his blood. Monitoring his brain. His nerves. I have no idea what they were trying to find. But on Level 3, we found…" Her voice faltered, her shoulders tight with nausea. "They weren't just killing Gifted. They were harvesting them. Experimenting on them."

Raul exhaled harshly, a sound like a dry curse. Kailey's voice broke the silence. "I… I can't heal him."

"What?" Sera turned sharply, kneeling beside her, hands already gripping Karl's cold wrist. "What do you mean, you can't heal him?"

"There's something blocking my Gift," Kailey said through a growing tremble. "I don't understand. I've never seen anything like this. He's not responding. His blood… It's… It's almost gone. There's hardly any of it left!" Her voice cracked. "He's slipping away, and I can't stop it."

Zest turned away, one fist slamming against the wall, the clang echoing like a gunshot. "What the hell did the hunters do to him?!"

"H-Hospital," Lucie murmured, her voice no more than a ghost. She stood nearby, clutching herself.

"No. Too dangerous," Ness answered immediately, his jaw locked. "Hospitals are swarming with hunter loyalists. They'd finish him the second we stepped through the door."

"Zalfari, then," Claudia said, her eyes fierce with desperation. "We can try to make it to the Abyss—"

"It's too far!" Neil shouted from the helm, barely turning around. His knuckles were white against the throttle. "At this speed, we wouldn't make it in time!"

Then Karl coughed, sudden and violent. Blood splattered across his lips, staining the blanket draped over him. "S-Sera…?" he rasped, eyelids fluttering open.

Sera immediately knelt beside him. "Karl!" Her voice cracked, something brittle and raw breaking loose in her throat. "Hang on, we're going to get you help."

Kailey was still trying, still pouring her healing light into him, her eyes red with tears. But the light fizzled out again, rejected by something unnatural—something wrong that clung to Karl's body like an invisible shroud.

Everyone could see it now. The Gift wasn't failing—Karl's body was refusing it.

"No…" Karl coughed again, voice broken. "No time… I need to tell you…something…"

"Save your strength," Zest said quickly, stepping closer.

"No… You need to know…" Karl choked again, red splashing from the corners of his mouth. "…Pandora… Blue…Pandora…"

A sudden silence fell like a hammer. Letha stiffened where she stood, her breath catching in her throat. Laura's eyes went wide. Raul froze. Even Zest's composure slipped, his shoulders tensing as though something cold had wrapped around his spine.

"Blue… Pandora?" Raul repeated slowly, his voice hollow.

A whisper of the past surged forward—of underground wars fought in shadowy alleys and broken warehouses, of Gifted dying in the streets foaming at the mouths, and even of Normals turning rabid from power they couldn't contain. Of the street gangs and the Abyss hunting down every last trace of that accursed drug and still never finding the source.

Laura reached into her jacket and withdrew a plastic blister pack of scarlet pills. "Sera and I… We found these on Level 3. They're the same. Just… A different colour."

"We found documents in the facility, too. Something about drug testing, and even references towards Blue Pandora." Letha revealed, looking from face to face. "I was going to tell you about it once we've returned."

Sera met with Letha's eyes, then looked back at Karl. "What about it? What did you find?"

Karl's head tilted back, his breath rasping. "The Gifted… They're the key to that drug. Their blood. Their life. That's how it's made."

No one spoke. Not a breath. Not a heartbeat.

Karl's voice was slurred now, weak. "It's why they're disappearing… The Gifted… Experiments… Blood, essence…siphoned out of them. The drug… Blue Pandora…was never synthetic. It was alive… Born from the lifeforce of the Gifted. That's why they die when they take it. Why Normals lose their minds. It was never meant to be in anyone else."

Lucie let out a strangled noise and sank to her knees. Claudia's hands covered her mouth, trembling. Letha whispered, "They were manufacturing it again…"

"And more," Karl rasped. "Something worse. Something darker. I… I couldn't find out what. They caught me before I could escape…"

Kailey shook her head as Zest looked at her again. "I can't do anything," she whispered, broken. "No one can. All we can do now…is be here."

"Damn it…!" Sera slammed her palm against the floor, her jaw clenched so tight it ached. "Why didn't you tell me?! I would've come for you, Karl!"

But Karl only smiled, weak and peaceful. "I was prepared to die the day I turned on the hunters. I only regret…" He coughed again, spitting red. "…not being able to tell Tiara…" Sera stiffened. "Tell her… I'm sorry. Tell her…I love her…"

The name hit like a blade drawn in silence.

"Karl…" Sera whispered, stunned.

Karl's fading gaze met hers. "When I look at you, Sera… I see your father. Your mother. I couldn't save them. I failed them… But I wasn't going to fail you too."

Tears burned behind Sera's eyes, but none fell.

"You're strong… You're going to do what I couldn't. You're going to finish this… Save them… All the ones still left." Karl's trembling hand touched her cheek. "You see, Sera," he said, his voice a ghost of memory. "Weapons are the same way… You decide where the weapon goes… We make our lives what we could… Not bound by anything but will…"

Then Karl's eyes drifted to Zest. "…Zest… Protect her. Be there for her. No matter what's coming… Promise me."

Zest didn't speak. He only stepped forward and knelt beside Sera, his voice a whisper, "I will."

Karl smiled. "Whatever may happen in the future… You be there for her. Whatever lies in both your futures… I hope… You both would be happy together…."

Karl closed his eyes, and his breathing stilled.

The boathouse sailed forward into the storm.

Sera slowly reached over and covered Karl's eyes with her palm, giving him some semblance of peace. "Go your way to the land of the Ancestors," she whispered, her voice soft as snow, "where they wait for you with open arms, there on the edge between this world and the next. See; there they stand. Ancestral spirits, welcome Karl to the place where we all must go. Goddess above, guide him to Your side. May he find peace in the next life."

The silence that followed was absolute.

No one moved. No one spoke. Not even the engines dared to echo.

He was gone.

And in the space he left behind, something deeper than grief settled into the hearts of Aegis. It wasn't just sorrow.

It was fury.

It was the weight of knowing the truth.

The hunters had made a drug from the lifeblood of the Gifted. Had turned human beings into ingredients. Had turned Karl—an old soldier, a mentor, and even a father figure, into a corpse.

They didn't see the Gifted as people. Not anymore. Maybe they never had. To Nicolosi, to the hunters, and to the mobs sweeping across Eldario, the Gifted were cattle. Resources. Weapons to be broken apart and recycled.

That was what Aegis was fighting now. Not just corruption. Not just tyranny.

But dehumanisation.

And for the first time in a long time, Sera bowed her head, not in despair, but in silence. Then, without a word, she stood.

First, they're going to have to arrange for a burial for Karl.

And when the flames of war finally engulfed Eldario, they would remember why they fought.

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