Opening – Before the Storm
The sun rises red.
Kaelen moves through camp, tension still coiled in his shoulders from the night before. Seren sharpens her blade. Taryn is resetting a damaged scanning drone. A faint wind dances between them—too quiet.
Too still.
"Something's wrong," Kaelen says, eyes narrowing. "The birds stopped."
Seren stands abruptly, scanning the treeline.
That's when the ground erupts.
The Ambush – Coils in the Grass
They strike from every direction—The Hounds of Zarxes.
Once-human, once-Isu, now something else entirely. Twisted by ancient augmentation tech and bio-synthetic grafts. Faster than any natural predator. Their armor bears the spiral insignia of the Coil, etched into bone and metal.
One crashes through the canopy, pinning a scout to the earth with a spear of light.
Another rips through tents, dragging two Awakened into the woods before their screams are cut off.
Kaelen draws his blade, reflexes already sharpening with instinct—not his own, but Vael'Ruun's.
"Rally! Pull them into the valley choke point!"
He and Seren lead the counterattack—narrowing the field where the Hounds' speed means less. The air pulses with energy bolts, screams, and the sharp hum of Isu-forged steel.
Combat – Kaelen Unleashed
Kaelen moves like he's possessed. Not wild—but precise. Calculated.
He predicts attacks a second before they happen, turning counters into kills. He takes a hit—shoulder scorched—but doesn't falter.
For a moment, the battlefield bends to him.
But then the Alpha arrives.
A Hound far larger than the others, plated in obsidian and gold, crashes into the valley like a meteor. Kaelen turns in time to block, but the sheer force sends him skidding through the mud.
It speaks, voice distorted:
"The Flame walks again. Let's see if it still burns."
Turning the Tide – A Costly Victory
The Awakened fight desperately, sustaining heavy losses. Seren is wounded pulling a younger fighter out of harm's way. Taryn detonates a trap drone that scorches three Hounds—but it doesn't stop the Alpha.
Kaelen rises, blade in hand, and channels everything.
Not power.
Not rage.
Memory.
Vael'Ruun's final stance. His final strike. His refusal to submit.
The Alpha lunges—Kaelen sidesteps, plants his heel, and drives his blade into the Hound's core in a spiral twist that shuts down its power grid in an instant.
The beast falls, shuddering.
Silence returns, but it's not peace. Only aftermath.
Closing – Blood in the Dirt
The camp is wrecked. They lost six Awakened. Half their gear is gone.
Kaelen kneels beside the Alpha's body, pulling a data spike from its spine. He hands it to Taryn.
"Find out how they tracked us. And if more are coming."
He looks to Seren, battered but alive.
"This wasn't an attack."
"It was a test."
The others gather—shaken, but burning now with something deeper than resolve.
Kaelen turns toward the rising sun.
"Zarxes wants to see how far I'll go to protect them. He'll get his answer."