The rooftop cracked beneath their feet.
Kael and Zephyra stood side by side, panting, bruised, and surrounded. Sparks flickered off Kael's energy blade. Zephyra's daggers dripped with oil from destroyed drones.
The Princess-General stood untouched.
Tall. Calm. Unshaken.
Her voice rang out like thunder. "You've become dangerous, Zephyra. And you, Kael—an arrogant fool with no magic, no nobility, no power… yet still you think you can win."
Kael didn't flinch. "You're scared. That's why you brought an army."
"You're not worth fear," she said coldly. "Only elimination."
She raised her glowing sword.
And the drones descended.
Fighting with Everything
The next moments were chaos.
Kael charged straight at the General, his blade clashing with hers in a blinding arc of blue and gold. Sparks exploded. He ducked just in time as her boot nearly crushed his jaw.
Zephyra flipped through the air, kicking a drone into another and slicing a third in half mid-spin. But they kept coming—endless. Cutting through them was like trying to hold back the ocean with a knife.
Kael yelled, "We can't hold them!"
"I know!" Zephyra called back. "But we're not dead yet!"
A drone locked onto Kael's chest. He dove—too slow.
Then—BOOM! A surge of wind blasted the drone away.
Zephyra landed beside him, panting. "You owe me. Again."
A Plan That Might Kill Them
"We can't win this," Kael said between breaths. "But I have an idea."
Zephyra gave him a sharp look. "Does it involve explosions?"
He smirked. "Several."
He tapped his earpiece. "Elyra. Blow the south pillar."
Elyra's voice crackled through. "You'll bring the tower down."
"Exactly."
"On your heads."
"Trust me," Kael said, eyes locked with Zephyra's. "Just this once."
Zephyra exhaled, smiled faintly. "Alright, genius. Let's jump off a collapsing tower together."
The Collapse
Elyra triggered the charges.
A deafening BOOM echoed as the southern support pillar detonated. The entire platform tilted. Buildings cracked. Glass shattered.
The Princess-General stumbled—just for a second.
Kael grabbed Zephyra's hand. "Now!"
They ran. Full speed. The roof buckled beneath them. The tower groaned like a dying beast.
Kael activated a magnetic grappler on his arm and fired it toward a far-off skyrail tower. The hook latched—barely.
"Hold on!" he shouted.
Zephyra wrapped her arms around him just as the grappler yanked them both off the collapsing tower and sent them flying through the air.
Behind them—the entire top of the tower exploded into fire and dust.
The Princess-General screamed something—but her voice was lost in the thunder.
Freefall
They soared through the air.
And then—silence.
Weightlessness.
Falling.
Kael's improvised glider kicked in, slowing their descent—but just barely. Wind roared past their ears. Zephyra clung to him, her face buried against his chest.
They landed hard in the forest beyond the city. Rolled. Tumbled.
Kael groaned. "Alive?"
Zephyra pulled herself up, bruised but breathing. "You absolute maniac."
He smiled weakly. "You're welcome."
She punched him in the arm. "Don't ever do that again."
"…Can't promise."
Later That Night
In a hidden cave, lit only by firelight, they patched each other up in silence.
Kael finally spoke. "I saw her hesitate. Just for a second."
"She wasn't expecting us to survive," Zephyra said.
Kael looked down at the crumpled file still tucked in his bag—the last thing he saved from the vault. "This… whatever's in here, it was worth it."
Zephyra met his eyes. "So what now?"
Kael looked at the stars.
"We stop running. We start fighting smart. The empire made me an exile. But now… I know their secrets."
"And?" Zephyra asked.
Kael smirked.
"We burn the lies to the ground."