Chapter 11) "The Web" Part III
They didn't stop running until the sky turned from iron to ink.
Through alleyways, over ruined rooftops, beneath tangled bridges of broken steel and wet moss. Only when the sounds of the search faded into the distance, boots on gravel, radios barking orders, did Vey finally slow.
They ducked into an abandoned storehouse near the edge of the Undermarket, its glass shattered and long forgotten, old dust curling in the air like ghosts.
Cael dropped to the ground, heart pounding. His clothes were soaked through, cloak clinging to his back like dead weight.
"What the hell," he gasped. "What the actual hell just happened?"
Vey didn't answer at first. He paced, jaw clenched, dripping rainwater onto the cracked floor.
Cael pushed himself up, dizzy. "Vey. Talk to me."
Vey finally turned. "You really didn't know any of it?"
Cael looked at him, angry, confused. "Know what? That the people we trusted are organizing a war? That we're not fugitives , we're ammunition? That the entire damn Arven Sector is about to be set on fire?"
His voice cracked. "No. I didn't know."
Vey ran a hand through his wet hair and sighed. "Alright. Sit down. I'll explain everything."
Cael hesitated, then dropped back to the floor, still breathing hard.
Vey leaned against a rusted metal shelf. "You asked what Arven Sector is, right?"
Cael nodded slowly.
"It's land between Zones," Vey began. "Neutral. Unclaimed. Technically lawless, but people live there anyway. Farmers. Traders. Some exiles. Some like us. The Circle pretends it doesn't exist, but they've been building there for years."
"Building what?" Cael asked.
"Bunkers. Barracks. Armories. Supply routes. Smuggling tunnels. You name it." Vey's eyes flickered. "Same with the other side."
Cael narrowed his eyes. "The other Zone?"
"Yeah. The one that keeps changing names. That's not just for confusion , it's strategy. If no one knows who they are, no one knows who to blame. But they're not innocent either. They're doing the same thing. Quietly stacking weapons and troops in Arven."
Cael frowned. "But… why Arven?"
"Because it's huge. A battlefield waiting to happen. The one who takes Arven first…" Vey raised a brow. "Wins. Or at least, gains enough control to make the other side hesitate."
Cael let that sink in. "And the Circle , our Circle , they're not trying to stop this?"
Vey scoffed. "The Internal Circle started it."
Silence.
"Come again?" Cael said, flatly.
Vey sat down across from him, voice low. "The Internal Circle isn't just the council or the judiciary or whatever pretty name they give themselves. They're the real power of our Zone. The puppeteers behind every mission, every draft, every fake trial."
"But they're supposed to be…" Cael paused. "They run the registries, the training programs, the law."
"They run the war machine," Vey said. "They've been planning this for years. And now it's all in motion. The tests, the scans, the registration protocols , they're just tools to find System Users like you and me. People with real potential."
Cael's throat tightened. "For what? Frontline?"
"For whatever they need," Vey said bitterly. "Scouts, assassins, saboteurs, weapons. They don't care. The moment you awaken, they mark you. They test you, evaluate you, and push you where they need you."
Cael shook his head slowly. "I thought we were avoiding registration because it would bind us. Force us to serve…"
Vey nodded grimly. "Because it would. And no one comes back the same."
The air was quiet for a moment , just the whisper of rain against broken glass.
Then Cael asked, almost reluctantly, "Powder Vein. What are they?"
Vey gave him a long look. "Dangerous."
"That's not an answer."
"They're a group," Vey said slowly. "But not like the Circle, or the Council of Lira, or even the militia guilds. Powder Vein doesn't answer to anyone."
Cael tilted his head. "You mean… they're independent?"
"They're untouchable."
That made Cael pause.
"They pretend to be criminals," Vey continued, "smugglers, mercs, the usual scum. Act like they're just another gang of power-hungry mutts taking scraps from the high tables. But that's all surface."
"What's beneath?"
"They're stronger than they look. Much stronger. Every member's a trained killer. Some of them have abilities that'd put Circle Generals to shame. And the worst part?" He leaned forward. "They take jobs from both sides."
Cael blinked. "Wait.. both?"
"Yep. The Circle hires them to break barriers, test defenses, scout weak spots in enemy Zones. But the other Zone does the same thing. They don't care who pays , just that the mission gets done."
"So they're mercs."
"No," Vey said sharply. "They're not just mercs. They're ghosts. They cross Zones like shadows, slip through borderseals, destroy enchantments, leave no trace. If a barrier fell and no one saw how? Powder Vein."
Cael rubbed his face. "Then they're the ones behind all those sudden breaches."
"Exactly. Varn told us that much, but I've heard rumors for months. They test our defenses , and when they report back, the real strike begins."
"But why would the Circle let that happen?" Cael asked. "Why hire someone so… uncontrollable?"
"Because they can't stop them," Vey said simply. "They're too strong. Too hidden. No faces. No public names. Only codenames and whispers."
"And the Circle can't fight them?"
"They tried," Vey said. "Years ago. Lost an entire outpost in one night. No survivors. Since then, they pay Powder Vein instead. Let them do the dirty work. Keep them at arm's length."
Cael leaned back, stunned.
"And the public?"
"Still thinks they're a rogue element. Just some terrorist cell. The truth would break too many illusions."
Cael shook his head. "This is insane."
"It gets worse."
Cael looked up, dead-eyed. "Of course it does."
"You asked what the Internal Circle wants, right?"
"Yeah."
Vey's voice dropped. "They want domination. Control over all connected Zones. They don't just want Arven , they want everything. Resources, territories, awakened individuals, relics, even Dungeon systems."
"But why start a war?" Cael asked. "Why not just negotiate?"
"Because war brings obedience," Vey said. "When people are scared, they obey. When Zones are shattered, they can be rebuilt , in the Circle's image."
Cael exhaled shakily. "And the System Users?"
"Tools," Vey said. "Nothing more. They recruit the awakened early. Push them into special missions. Test dungeons. Unstable territories. If you come back, you get promoted. If you don't, they mark you as an 'acceptable loss.'"
Cael stared at the floor. "Like bullets."
Vey nodded slowly. "Exactly."
"I thought…" Cael's voice trembled. "I thought we were the lucky ones. Being born with abilities. That it meant something."
"It does," Vey said. "It means we're targets."
The rain finally stopped outside. Or maybe it just faded.
Cael sat in silence, the weight of everything pressing down on his shoulders.
After a while, he asked, voice hoarse, "So what now?"
Vey looked at him. "Now we choose. Keep running. Or start digging deeper."
Cael glanced at him. "Into what?"
"Into everything," Vey said. "Powder Vein. The Circle's plans. The real purpose behind Arven. We find allies. We learn what they're hiding."
"And then?"
"Then we burn the script they wrote for us," Vey said. "And write our own."
Cael stared at him. Rain dripped through a broken beam behind him, tapping a slow rhythm on the floor.
Then he nodded.
Once.
But his voice was still cold when he spoke. "If we're going to fight this… we'll need more than just guts."
Vey gave a thin smile. "Good. Because I know where we start."
Cael raised a brow. "Where?"
Vey stood, pulled a folded slip of paper from inside his soaked coat, and handed it over.
Cael unfolded it.
One word was scrawled in sharp, jagged ink:
EMBERMARK.