The clink of pickaxes slowed. Some stopped completely. Others just stared into the sky.
One miner—face pale, hands trembling—lowered his tool. His voice cracked.
"They're here…"
Another backed away from the ledge.
"No. No way. That can't be them."
A few still worked, pretending not to hear. Their swings were slower now. Hesitant.
The bearded man shoved past them, boots grinding against rock. He grabbed a younger miner by the shoulder and yanked him around.
"What's with everyone? Get back to work."
The younger man didn't answer. His eyes were wide, fixed on the smoke curling in the distance.
The bearded man turned to his companion. The other man wasn't moving. Face stiff. Arms limp at his sides.
"What's wrong with you now?"
No answer. Just a long, uneasy breath.
"You look like you saw a ghost."
The man finally turned, his eyes sharp with disbelief.
"You serious right now? You didn't see that ship crash down?"
The bearded man blinked.
"A ship? Don't tell me one of Apex's birds went down."
"No. Worse."
The man stepped closer. His voice dropped.
"A team. Landed right in the dead zone. If they make it out alive, things are about to get ugly."
The bearded man's jaw tightened. He looked down at his pickaxe. His knuckles whitened.
"I don't care who it is. I'm finishing this job. I need those points. My family doesn't eat if I don't."
The other man dragged a hand across his face.
"You idiot. That was Team Vortex."
Everything stopped.
The name dropped like a stone. Even the ones still working froze. A few muttered prayers under their breath.
The bearded man didn't speak. He just stared at the smoke rising far off across the asteroid plain. Realization hit him. Team Vortex doesn't accept small jobs. So whatever the apex is planning with these rocks must be something really big.
"No wonder they sent this many ships…"
A sharp voice cut through the silence.
"Enough."
They turned.
The blond man was walking toward them, his coat dragging lightly behind him. His eyes, pale and calm, scanned the group like they were dust.
"I'm from the upper division. Apex calls me Speedy."
His tone didn't match his name. It was low. Clear and final.
"Yeah, I know. Weird title. But I earned it."
He stopped in front of the miners. The wind didn't move. The mist around the rocks curled at his feet, then drifted away.
"Team Vortex won't stop us. We'll deal with them."
He turned his head slightly, eyes narrowing at the smoke trail in the distance.
"This mission will be completed. Stay where you are. Keep mining. That's all you need to worry about."
No one spoke.
Slowly, hesitantly, they returned to their work. Metal struck stone. The sound came back like rain after thunder.
Speedy kept watching the rising smoke. His fingers twitched once, then stilled.
"I'll go see for myself."
And then he was gone in a blink. The only thing left where he stood was the wind howling.
————
Max tapped the band on his wrist. A faint click. A holographic screen opened mid-air, flickering with pale blue light.
He scanned the readouts.
"Oxygen's nearly the same as Varagos."
Kael rolled his shoulders, his joints cracking.
"Good. I was starting to choke on my own breath."
Ash didn't answer. His eyes were on the mist again, watching how it moved. Like it breathed.
'We're breathing something… just hope it's not worse.'
He looked up. The Apex ships still hovered. Still quiet. Still watching.
"Why'd they stop firing?"
Kael stepped ahead, fists clenched.
"Does it matter? They're in the sky. If I launch high enough, I can bring one of them down myself."
Max kept walking, screen still in front of his face. His gaze locked on something deeper in the readings.
"I got the signal locked in. That strange energy I picked up— some of it is coming from beneath us. I think we should—"
He froze.
His body tensed. Eyes widen.
He stumbled back, nearly falling.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"What is it?"
Max pointed at the ground. His voice dropped.
"There's something under us. Or someone. It blinked."
Ash moved to the spot. The soil was cracked there—dark and brittle. Something shimmered inside.
He leaned closer.
It looked like an eye. Not alive. But not dead either. Stone, with a glint of something watching behind it.
Kael stepped up to look—then jerked.
He'd stepped on something soft.
The ground beneath his boot made a wet, splitting sound.
Then—
A cry echoed through the stone.
It wasn't loud or strong. But sharp like a child's scream—broken and twisted.
Ash turned. His breath caught.
Far off, a hand broke through the dirt.
Thin. Long. Bent at the wrong angles.
Then another.
Then more.
They clawed their way out, dragging twisted bodies behind them.
Kael's fists clenched. His jaw locked.
"What the hell are these things?"
The creatures rose slowly, like they'd been buried for centuries. They weren't fast, and they weren't loud. But they didn't stop.
Their bodies were thin, stretched like skin over bone. Like scarecrows. No eyes. No faces. Just mouths sealed shut. Skin cracked like dried stone, blending perfectly with the asteroid's surface.
Some stood tall. Others looked like children. Dozens of them. Surrounding the team from all sides.
Max's voice came low, almost a whisper.
"So this… This is why Apex didn't shoot."
Ash turned his head. The ships above still hadn't moved.
The creatures stood still. Tall and thin. Heads tilted slightly, like they were asleep on their feet.
Max stepped back slowly.
Then it came.
A sound. Not loud, but raw—like a cry twisted into words no one should hear. It echoed across the stone.
Max turned. Something moved under his foot.
A pair of wide gray eyes stared up at him from the dirt. The creature there twitched, its limbs writhing weakly.
He froze.
All around them, the sleeping creatures shifted.
Eyes opened. One by one. Pale gray, glowing from cracks in the skin. Watching and more disturbing. It doesn't look like they blink.
Ash's gut twisted.
'We woke them up.'
The closest one shrieked. A sharp, broken noise. The rest followed.
The air split as dozens of screams tore across the asteroid.
Then they ran.
The Silent was long gone.
Kael threw his arm up. A wall of fire burst into life around them, rising high in a circle. Heat licked the air, forcing the creatures back.
Max's screen flickered up.
"They're tier twos and threes. All of them. Same signature as the asteroid. They're somehow connected to it."
Kael's mouth curled into a grin.
"Tier two and three? That's it? I'll burn them all."
Ash didn't move. His hand hovered near his blade. Eyes locked on the mass of stone-like bodies beyond the flame.
"Unknown types. You've fought enough to know how that goes. There are too many. We need to find a ship and get out of this place."
One of the creatures slammed its fist into the flame wall. It recoiled, smoke rising from the cracked skin. It didn't scream—but it shook, trembling in place.
Max's voice came low.
"He's right. We won't survive this. Not for long."
Kael growled.
His hand snapped sideways. Fire surged from his palm, blasting a path open through the crowd. The flame hit them hard. Creatures shrieked, fell, and writhed as smoke filled the air.
"Move!"
They ran. Ash moved first, blade out but unused. Max sprinted behind him, glancing back once.
The creatures poured in from the sides, claws scraping against the stone, teeth gnashing behind sealed mouths.
Kael waited, then turned. He lifted his hands—fire burst outward, sealing the way behind them with another burning wall.
They didn't stop running until the only thing between them and the horde was smoke, distance, and fire.
Ash stopped.
Something sharp scraped the edge of his hearing—metal on stone.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"You hear that?"
Ash didn't answer right away. He focused and tilted his head
Sounds of metal on stone and Voices. Somewhere far ahead of them.
"Yeah. People. And they're digging?"
Max tapped his wrist. The screen stayed blank.
"Apex must be working on something here."
They kept moving—until Kael froze.
Ash halted behind him.
Max caught up, he was short of breath.
"What is it?"
Kael didn't speak. His fists clenched. His eyes locked forward.
Ash followed his gaze.
Smoke curled from a figure stepping out of the mist. Each step is slow. Controlled. A trail of ash followed in his wake. His right hand glowed—flames wrapped around the knuckles like living threads, and his other arm felt oddly strange.
Jov walked slowly towards them.
Max's voice dropped.
"Fire Soulcore…? That can't be right. We're the last. Did Apex… experiment on him?"
Jov stopped, grinning like he'd been waiting years to speak.
"Well, well. Not the man himself, but his little sons. How disappointing. I was hoping he'd come."
Kael stepped forward.
"Who are you. And why do you carry a soulcore you shouldn't have?"
Jov raised his hand. The flames danced, forming a spiral before flickering outward.
"This? I've always had this. You see, if you don't know, I'm also part of the Burns family. You'd know if your father had cared enough to check. But don't worry—family reunions aren't really my thing."
His grin widened.
"And this one's over."
He hurled a fireball.
Kael's body dropped low, one arm sweeping back.
Flame burst from his palm—raw, untamed. It slammed into the oncoming fire. Both blasts collided mid-air.
The impact split the dust around them, shockwaves kicking up shards of stone.
Ash's hand slid to his blade. His eyes locked on the man's face.
'He's not bluffing. He really means to kill us.'