"The Red Cloak. No bodyguards. No press. He brought in six children from the bombing of Westlock. Carried one of them in his arms." Rhys’s voice cracked. “She was barely breathing. He just... stood there while we worked. Didn’t say a word.”The nurse blinked. “And then?”“He left. Just vanished into the smoke.”Location: Black Channel – Interrogation Dock 4 – NightThe prisoner screamed again, but Dann said nothing. His shadow loomed behind the single overhead light, face unreadable.The operative stepped back. “He’s broken. We got the last known shell companies. Everything points back to Anderson and the Accord.”Dann knelt down. “Names. You gave lives for money. Now you give me names.”The prisoner sobbed. “Please… please…”Dann stood and turned. “Move him to Extraction Three. And wipe this dock clean.”Location: War Mansion – Private Hall – Just After MidnightMaximus waited outside Dann’s chamber. When the door creaked open, Eva stepped out.Her expression was unreadable. Her robe

The early morning fog curled through the canyons of Konzia like old ghosts reliving ancient paths. In the wake of the Red Cloak’s latest strike, the air itself felt different—charged, tense, waiting for the next unraveling.Dann Riddect had not returned to the stronghold.Eva sat alone in the high library of the Flamebound Citadel, fingers trailing down spines of books she hadn’t touched in years. Her heart pounded with a rhythm she couldn’t calm. She hadn’t heard from Dann in two days.Clara entered quietly, a mug of tea in her hands. "Still no word?"Eva shook her head. "He leaves without telling me now. Not even a whisper."Clara sat beside her. "He thinks he's protecting you.""He's shutting me out," Eva whispered. Her voice cracked. "We survived fire, exile, war. But this... silence? It's like he's slipping away."Outside the Citadel, Eliar trained with a new unit—the Ember Guard. Their movements echoed across the valley, swift and sharp, symbols of a peace still too young to tru

Dann looked to Eva, and then to the room.“Because someone else is trying to claim it. Someone who was meant to die in the breach.”Kael narrowed his eyes. “Who?”Dann replied:“Cyras Riddect.”The room fell into stunned silence.Eva’s fingers dug into the table. “Your brother burned with the rest of the Ember traitors—”“He didn’t,” Dann cut in. “He was taken. Hidden. Twisted. I saw what’s left of him in the final gate. He’s not Cyras anymore. He’s something wearing my brother’s memories like a skin.”“And he wants the crown,” Maximus said grimly.“No,” Dann said.“He wants me.”Later That Night – East Balcony of the CitadelEva found Dann alone, standing over the valley where the Ember Guard continued night drills. The wind was cool. The stars hung like watchful eyes.“You didn’t tell them everything,” she said.“No.”“You’re still bonded to the crown, aren’t you?”He didn’t answer directly. Instead, he held out his palm.A faint pulse of white light swirled into a crown-shaped sigi

The air above the Azure Bay tasted of salt and threat. Warships from five allied nations floated in uneasy formations, their hulls groaning as though burdened by more than the sea. Supplies had not reached them in weeks, and accusations now spilled faster than rations.Eva stood on the balcony of her chamber, hand resting gently on the curve of her belly. Her breath caught as the child moved again—a strong, determined flutter beneath her ribs."They will never stop testing him," she murmured.Inside the war chamber of the Flamebound Citadel, Dann slammed his palm against the marble table. The map scattered with brass tokens shuddered.“This isn’t miscommunication,” he growled. “This is sabotage.”His five generals stood at attention—faces grim, loyalty etched deep.General Kael Rynor, the stoic Commander of the Skyguard, stepped forward first. “Our aerial patrols saw no enemy movement near the port lines. But the supply ships never arrived. Either they were intercepted—or betrayed.”G

The silence after the storm was not peace—it was fury in hibernation.Within minutes of the Ember Protocol’s activation, Berdiezland’s skies turned red with signal flares. Massive war drones, long hidden beneath ocean trenches, ascended like sea beasts awakened. Military networks surged to life. Vaulted weapons systems hummed with power, and ancient tech locked since the last global war blinked back online.The world shuddered.Dann stood at the apex of the Red Tower ruins, armor scorched, cape torn at the hem. The winds howled, but he stood unmoved, his eyes fixed on the bloodied sigil in Ares’s hand.“Thorne wants a war,” Dann muttered. “He just earned one.”Ares didn’t respond. Behind his visor, his expression was unreadable, but his gauntlet tightened around the hilt of his halberd.Dann turned, walking into the command bay of his mobile fortress. His presence alone cleared the path; even the seasoned soldiers stepped back, eyes wide. He climbed onto the central command dais and a