Rin, Kyrin, and Blaze
groaned as they slowly regained consciousness in a dimly lit underground
basement. Each of them was restrained by floating flux-lock cuffs, suspended a
few feet off the cold floor.
Rin shook his head, his
vision still blurred. "Where... are we?"
"No idea," Kyrin muttered,
scanning their surroundings. "Some guy ambushed us—and now, here we are."
Blaze gritted his teeth.
"They stripped us of our weapons and gadgets. We need to get out, fast."
"Not everything," Rin said
with a faint smirk.
From the side of his suit,
a hidden transmitter emerged. With a few precise gestures, he hacked into the
flux-lock system, overriding the restraints. One by one, the cuffs disengaged
with a faint hiss. Rin landed softly, then freed Kyrin and Blaze.
Before they could say
anything, Rin created three fiery mirage decoys and reset the restraints,
making it look like they were still trapped.
Kyrin raised an eyebrow.
"Smart. Got a plan?"
Rin nodded. "I'll scan the
layout—find guard positions, pathways, rooms."
Blaze crossed his arms.
"That's great, but how does that help? You really think we can sneak out
without weapons?"
"We don't need to fight
the whole base," Rin replied. "We take them out one by one. Quietly. No alarms.
No attention."
Kyrin caught on. "Start
from the top floor, eliminate patrols in small clusters, work our way out?"
"Atta boi!" Rin grinned.
Unfortunately, his
excitement got the better of him. His shout echoed off the concrete walls.
"Idiot!" Kyrin snapped.
Almost instantly,
footsteps pounded from the hallway. A squad of guards burst through the door.
With no hesitation, Kyrin
summoned his revolver—hidden in a flux-sealed panel of his boot—and fired a
single precision shot. The round ricocheted with uncanny accuracy, dropping the
entire first wave of soldiers.
But more were coming.
Rin darted forward. He had
no weapons, only his fists. The vanguards laughed as they approached, clad in
heavy armor.
"You're finished, brat,"
one sneered. "You think you can beat us empty-handed?"
Rin didn't answer. He
simply exhaled. A sudden surge of wind burst from around him—raw flux power
that knocked the vanguards off their feet.
He stood over them and
muttered coldly, "The strength of a warrior isn't in his weapons. It's in his
will."
Blaze checked a nearby
panel. "Power room's right here!"
Kyrin ducked inside and
rummaged through the supply crates. "Found a C4 charge. We could sabotage the
whole grid."
"Thinking what I'm
thinking?" Rin asked.
Kyrin nodded, his eyes
sharp. "Diversion and wipe."
He rigged the C4 on the
main security door, while Blaze retrieved a smoke grenade from one of the
downed guards. The rest of the unconscious soldiers were stripped of their
rifles.
The moment the door blew
open, the explosion rocked the hallway. Vanguards on the other side were thrown
back in a shower of sparks and debris.
Blaze tossed the smoke
grenade into the chaos. The corridor filled with thick vapor, obscuring
visibility.
"Now!" Rin shouted.
He and Kyrin opened fire,
carving through the disoriented enemy ranks. Precision shots dropped vanguard
after vanguard as the smoke cloud swirled around them.
When the dust settled, the
hallway was filled with fallen enemies.
Rin turned to the nearest
surveillance camera, still flickering from the blast. His glare was sharp,
intense.
"Jacob," he said, voice
cold. "Come down here and fight us yourself."
In the control room, Jacob
watched through the static feed. His eyes narrowed, his expression dark. The
glass in his hand cracked under pressure.
"Useless fools," he
muttered.
But now, Jacob was no
longer just watching.
He was joining the game.
And the tides of battle
had just turned.
The trio sprinted through
the dimly lit corridors of the underground facility, making their way toward
the locker room where their gear was stored. Just as they neared the reinforced
door, a high-pitched whine echoed through the hall.
Rin's eyes widened.
"Incoming missile!"
Without hesitation, he
grabbed Blaze and Kyrin by the wrists. The energy reserves in his mech suit
sparked violently as he forced one last emergency teleport. In a flash of flux
energy, they vanished—reappearing inside the locker room just as the missile
struck behind them, shaking the entire facility.
Kyrin wasted no time.
"Grab your gear—fast! We need to find Aureva and get out of here!"
Rin looked up from
securing his dual blades. "How do you know she's here?"
Blaze was already
strapping on his solarflux gauntlets. "He's been tracing her flux
signature—it's embedded in her equipment. She's nearby."
Before any of them could
speak further, a sudden explosion erupted behind them. The shockwave blasted
through the door, sending them tumbling across the room in a cloud of debris
and smoke.
From the haze, a tall
figure emerged—calm, cold, and radiating menace.
Jacob Bethelle.
"So," Rin coughed, rising
to his feet, "you finally show up."
Jacob's lips curled into a
sneer. "I've let this drag on long enough. I'll end all of you now."
Kyrin stepped forward,
rifle raised. "We'll see who ends who."
With a flick of Jacob's
wrist, multiple destructo-systems activated across the facility. Turrets
unfolded, seismic disruptors charged, and pressure-mounted explosives hummed to
life, all targeting the trio.
But Rin only smiled,
tapping a hidden interface on his wristband. "What do you take me for? Some
hotheaded brat charging in without a plan?" Sparks flew as the entire
destructo-system suddenly powered down.
"I hacked the grid before
we even entered the corridor," Rin continued, stepping forward. "You
underestimated us, Jacob. And today—we show you what that costs."
Jacob's expression shifted
from irritation to icy rage. "I didn't want to waste my energy on vermin like
you... but now, you've left me no choice."
Rin acted first, hurling a
compact flux-knife aimed for Jacob's shoulder. At the same instant, Kyrin fired
a precision shot, disrupting Jacob's defensive aura. Blaze surged forward,
igniting his phoenix wings, and spun into a blazing tornado kick that connected
with Jacob's midsection, followed by a flurry of high-speed strikes that sent
him crashing against the far wall.
But instead of staying
down, Jacob let out a low, guttural laugh.
Dark tendrils of corrupted
flux slithered up his arms. His body convulsed for a moment—then began to
shift.
A twisted, chaotic aura
exploded outward as the corrupted Auralis Flux began to consume him. His eyes
glowed with a fierce, unnatural light. His armor warped, his voice now layered
with something far more sinister.
"This power... is beyond
any of you."
Rin narrowed his eyes.
"So, it's true. You let the corruption take over."
Blaze gritted his teeth.
"He's unhinged. This isn't just Jacob anymore…"
Kyrin steadied his aim.
"It's Auralis corruption… wrapped in a tyrant's will."
Rin took a deep breath and
readied his blades. "Then let's finish what we started."
The air in the room
thickened, charged with energy. The flickering lights danced off scorched
walls. Every breath felt heavier than the last.
This wasn't just another
battle.
This was the turning
point.
The fate of Celestia hung
in the balance—and the time for hesitation was long past.
"Let's go!" Rin shouted,
charging forward.
Together, they faced
Jacob—their weapons drawn, their resolve unbreakable.
The final battle had
begun.