“Look like a prisoner,” Liora repeated, her voice dropping into a cold, professional monotone as the sounds of splashing boots and shouting men grew louder. “Head down. Shoulders slumped. If you look like you’re cooperating, my men won’t feel the need to break your ribs.”“I think I can manage ‘miserable’,” Kaizen grunted, his fingers grazing the cold iron of the collar. It was humming—a low, sub-vocal vibration that seemed to harmonize with the rhythmic throb in his thigh. “How much further?”“Shut up and walk,” Liora snapped, loud enough for the approaching squad to hear. She grabbed the chain attached to the collar and gave it a sharp, performative yank.Kaizen stumbled, the mud soaking into his boots as they marched past the perimeter of the camp. They bypassed the main gate, heading instead toward a cluster of dilapidated stone ruins that predated the war—the remnants of a forgotten keep swallowed by the Lowland mist.“Commander! You found the source?” a soldier shouted, his whit

As the echoes of the warehouse raid faded into the damp night, the adrenaline that had surged through Kaizen’s veins began to settle into something far more dangerous: a cold, predatory clarity. He watched the cleanup crew haul Rafen away, his eyes lingering on the dark smears of demon blood on the floor."Stop staring at the mess, Kaizen. We have more pressing problems than your newfound appetite."Liora’s voice cut through his trance like a shard of glass. She was already wiping her silver blade, her expression wiped clean of the fear he’d seen earlier."Rafen’s going to be okay?" Kaizen asked, his voice sounding deeper to his own ears."He’ll have some spectacular bruises and a story he’s not allowed to tell anyone," Liora replied, sheathing her sword. "But you? You’re a mess. Get in the carriage. We have four hours to turn a Lowland grunt into something that won't get kicked out of the Ministry of Defense.""The Ministry? I thought we were laying low after… whatever that was.""Th

The mud from the Blackwood estate was still wet on Kaizen’s boots as he slumped into a chair in the Echo Base’s central hub. His skin felt two sizes too small, humming with a residual heat that made the very air around him shimmer. Across the table, Liora stared at the shattered fragments of the gold seal, her hands trembling just enough to be noticeable."You’re staring at it again," Kaizen said, his voice a dry rasp. "It’s just metal, Liora.""It wasn’t just metal, Kaizen," Liora replied, finally looking up. Her silver eyes were rimmed with exhaustion. "That was a relic of the First Era. It was supposed to be absolute. Nothing—nothing human or otherwise—should have been able to crack it.""Well, I guess I’m the 'otherwise' then," Kaizen muttered. He glanced toward the infirmary wing. "How are the others?""Rafen’s stabilized. Helia’s got a neck brace on and she’s already swearing at the IV drips, so she’ll live," Zavian grunted, stepping into the light. He looked at Kaizen with a ne