Location: Tavara – Ember HQ, Vault Chamber
The scent of smoke and scorched metal clung to the air like a memory. Victor stepped through the collapsing threshold of the vault chamber, his boots crunching over shattered glass and the remnants of exploded security drones. Damien was secured behind him with a group of trusted operatives, but the silence ahead was deafening—too quiet.
"Reyes!" Victor's voice rang through the chamber, filled with both fury and heartbreak. "Show yourself!"
A slow clap echoed in reply, and from the shadows emerged a tall man in black tactical armor. Time had left its marks on his face—graying at the temples, eyes colder than the steel around them—but Victor recognized him instantly.
Reyes.
"You've grown into a man," Reyes said, voice like gravel. "Your mother would be proud… if only she could see what you've become."
Victor's hands curled into fists. "She trusted you. You were her protector. And you let them take everything from her—her name, her child, her life!"
"I didn't let anything happen." Reyes stepped forward, removing his mask. "I fought. I bled. But your uncles were too powerful. She was the threat they needed to erase, and I couldn't save her. So I disappeared. Until now."
Victor's gaze narrowed. "Then why side with Archer?"
Reyes tilted his head. "Because Archer wants to destroy the cancer your family let grow. The same cancer that turned Tavara into a kingdom of corruption. I believed in your mother. But not in this legacy you're trying to reclaim."
Before Victor could respond, a flash of silver light split the air. Nora emerged from the far corridor, her coat fluttering behind her, eyes blazing with controlled rage.
"You dare speak of legacy," she said coldly, "while working with the people who killed innocent scientists and tried to murder our child?"
Reyes smirked, then reached into his vest—and pulled out an old, bloodstained locket. He tossed it toward Victor. It clattered at his feet.
Victor bent down, trembling, and opened it.
Inside was a photo… of his mother holding a baby. But it wasn't just him.
There were two babies.
A chill washed over him.
"What is this?" he asked, breath catching.
Reyes's smile widened. "The truth, Kane. You weren't your mother's only child."
Nora froze.
Victor's heart pounded. "You're lying."
"I'm not. Your brother was smuggled out of the country during the uprising. And now…" Reyes pointed toward the chamber wall as it slid open, revealing a silhouette standing tall.
"…he works for Archer."
A figure stepped into the light. Same jawline. Same stormy eyes.
Victor's own face stared back at him—older, battle-worn, but unmistakably kin.
"I've waited a long time to meet you, brother," the man said.
Victor took a step back. "No…"
Nora reached for his arm. "Victor—"
But Victor couldn't speak. The world tilted.
Betrayal. Blood. Brotherhood.
And war.