The door slammed shut behind the hooded man, and rain still dripped off his coat, pooling onto the polished floor of the Vaughn Estate study.Damon Kael didn’t flinch.The man pulled his hood down, revealing his sharp features and piercing grey eyes. His dark hair was slicked back, soaked from the downpour. His presence filled the room like the echo of war.Dimitri Cross.The ghost from his past. His most trusted aide. His right hand during the worst of the battlefield days. And the only man alive who knew exactly who Damon Kael really was.Damon’s fingers drummed slowly against the armrest of his wheelchair, and his face remained unreadable. But behind those steady eyes, his mind was racing.For three years, he’d played the cripple. For three years, he hid his strength, his rank, his legacy. The world believed the War God died after the siege at Iron Veil, and that lie was what kept the fragile peace alive.If the coalition, the alliance of enemy nations he had crushed, knew he lived

It happened fast. And a body dropped.One second, the courthouse steps were flooded with reporters, flashing cameras, and stunned spectators.The next was chaos.A piercing ziiiing! filled the air, sharp and loud, silencing the crowd in an instant. Two more bodies collapsed onto the marble floor, blood pooling beneath them.Screams followed like a floodgate breaking open.People shoved, trampled, and sprinted for shelter. Panic spread like wildfire.Selene’s scream cut through the madness.Damon’s eyes snapped to her, she was frozen in place, wide-eyed, staring at the masked figure striding toward her.Tall, armored, and faceless.The Coalition.Dressed in dark, tactical exosuits with sleek black plating that molded to their bodies like second skin. Neon-blue lights pulsed across their helmets, their visors hiding every feature. Gauntlets buzzed faintly with energy, built-in shock emitters ready to incapacitate targets.These weren’t ordinary assassins.Damon’s pulse spiked as his whe

Damon woke up slowly as pale morning light slipped through the curtains and rested softly on the walls of the room. For a few seconds, he forgot where he was, and then the familiar ache in his body reminded him. He lay still and listened. The house was quiet, but not empty.He turned his head and saw Selene standing by the mirror. She was already dressed for work. Her hair was neatly tied back, and she looked sharp and distant, like someone preparing for battle rather than a normal workday. She did not look at him. She focused on adjusting her sleeves and checking her reflection, as if Damon was not even there.Damon watched her in silence. Once, mornings like this were different. They used to talk and laugh and argue over small things like coffee and schedules. Now the room felt cold even with the sunlight.Selene’s phone rang, breaking the silence.She glanced at the screen and answered immediately. “Leon,” she said, her voice calm but tired.Damon turned his eyes toward the ceiling

The company building was slowly emptying as the evening crept in. Office lights flickered off one after another, and the usual noise of phones and footsteps faded into a dull hum.Selene remained at her desk longer than most, reviewing files with tired eyes while her mind replayed everything Leon had told her on the phone earlier that day. Every number mattered, every signature mattered, and every delay felt like another attempt to crush her resolve.When she finally stood and gathered her things, the floor felt strangely quiet. Security was already preparing for night watch, and only a few staff members remained. Selene walked toward the elevator, her heels tapping softly against the polished floor, when a familiar voice cut through the silence.She stopped before turning.Lucien stood near the glass wall overlooking the city, hands in his pockets, his posture relaxed as if he owned the building and everyone inside it. His presence alone felt like pressure in the air.“You really thi

He stood in silence as he was escorted through the long metallic halls of the Coalition flagship. The ship hung in space above Earth like a dark god watching its prey. Outside the massive viewing panels, the planet looked small and fragile, blue and white, unaware of the war circling above it.The guards beside him were not fully human. Their armor was fused to their bodies, and their movements were stiff and unnatural. Their eyes glowed faintly behind dark visors, and their weapons hummed softly with restrained power.No one spoke.Leon did not look around. He walked forward calmly, his hands behind his back, his expression steady. Fear was useless here. Weakness was punished.The massive doors ahead slowly opened with a deep mechanical sound.Inside, the chamber was vast and cold.At the center stood the Supreme Commander and his generals.His body was part machine and part monster. Thick metal plates were fused into torn flesh, and dark cables ran from his spine into the floor. One