The VTOL clamped into the interstellar carrier's hangar, engines screeching as the ramp dropped. The Marines stumbled out one by one, armor scorched, visors cracked, stim-shots barely keeping their blood pumping. Medics rushed to stabilize the most wounded, while officers barked orders to reorganize the survivors.
But Jin's eyes weren't on the chaos. They were on Reaper.
The cloaked figure walked slowly, visor glowing faintly, cloak ragged from battle. Every Marine moved aside as he passed, silent.
Jin swallowed, his throat dry, and hurried to his side.
"Reaper... that thing you used." His voice cracked through the helmet comms. "That—conceptual existence erasure, or whatever it's called... what was that? What did you do?"
Reaper stopped. He turned his head, the twin blue visors gleaming like distant stars.
For a moment, he said nothing. Then his voice came low and steady:
⸻
Reaper's Explanation
"Existence Erasure isn't power. It isn't magic. It's understanding. Reality itself has rules—laws, like walls in a maze. But laws can be fooled. If you know where the walls are weakest, you can walk into the hidden corridors that no one else sees. You learned how Tactics can break reality laws and rules during your camp training, so you should know what I mean."
He raised his gauntlet slowly, the cloak shifting.
"When I stepped into the Other Realm, I didn't just touch her body. I touched the idea of her. Her soul, her concept. Once you reach that level, you can unravel it—tear it apart or lock it away forever. No resurrection. No return."
Jin's stomach twisted. "So you... you didn't just kill her. You erased everything she was?"
Reaper's visors flared faintly, almost like a sigh of light.
"Yes. Her flesh, her spirit, her memory, even the notion that she could exist again. Gone. That's why it must never be used recklessly. It's not just the body you end—it's the entire possibility of them."
⸻
The Marines Listen
Around them, other Marines slowed. Jerome, Raul, Marco, Min-seo, even the hardened veterans—Hunter, Hudson, and Carla, still wounded but conscious—turned their heads to listen.
Reaper looked over them all, his voice calm, but iron beneath:
"Understand this rookies —existence erasure is not ours by right. It is a tactic of last resort, learned through millennia's of war, sharpened through faith and necessity. It is not victory. It is judgment."
Carla steps up and said, "and you rookies haven't seen anything all yet"
Raul jaw dropped and deadpanned! "W-WHAT?!"
⸻
Jin nodded slowly, heart pounding.
He had asked for an answer.
And he had received the truth.
But as he looked at Reaper, walking forward again through the hangar silence, Jin knew one thing with certainty—
no training, no simulation, no weapon had prepared him for the reality of war.
And existence erasure was the clearest proof of that.
-
The hangar echoed with the steady hum of engines and the sharp hiss of med-pods sealing wounded soldiers. Marines staggered past, exhausted but alive, some crying, some silent, some whispering prayers.
Reaper stood off to the side, visor faintly glowing, his cloak draped heavy with ash and ichor stains. Jin, still shaking from stim-burn, hesitated before stepping closer.
Reaper's voice came low, steady, cutting through the din:
"I heard you survived Eryndor's invasion too, kid. And now Typonis. That's not luck—that's steel. That's some serious stuff."
Jin blinked, unsure how to answer. "...We just... kept moving. That's all."
Reaper tilted his head. The twin blue visors burned brighter for a moment.
"Tell you what. I'll teach you and your little squad some conceptual tactics. The basics, and a few useful tricks. Not all of it—you're not ready for that—but enough to keep you alive next time reality tries to kill you."
The words hit like a thunderclap.
⸻
The Squad's Reaction
Jin's eyes widened. "W-wait—are you serious??!"
Raul practically jumped, pumping a fist. "HELL YEAH MAN!!! You're telling me Reaper is about to be our teacher?! Count me in yesterday!"
Jerome nearly tripped over himself, laughing nervously. "I-I mean if it helps us not get erased next time, I'm not complaining!"
Marco just let out a long exhale. "...Yeah. We'd be idiots to say no."
Min-seo, still pale and stiff, managed a small nod.
John stood with his arms folded, silent, but his visor dipped ever so slightly in agreement.
And Asura—tall, calm, unreadable—merely nodded once, the faintest gleam in his eyes betraying interest.
⸻
Reaper's cloak shifted as he turned away, starting toward the training decks. His voice came over comms, sharp but steady:
"Good. When we arrived at base Genesis on Eryndor Prime, we'll start tomorrow. Rest tonight when we arrived. Tomorrow, you start over again. This time, I'll be your wall. If you can't climb it, you don't deserve the climb."
The Marines looked at each other, hearts pounding.
For the first time since boot camp, they weren't just recruits anymore.
They had a teacher.
They had Reaper.
And tomorrow, their real training would begin.
-
The interstellar carrier docked at Base Genesis, its hull still scorched from war. Marines staggered off, exhausted, their bodies demanding rest.
That night, they collapsed in the barracks. For the first time in like forever they felt, sleep came heavy and dreamless.
But dawn didn't wait.
At 0400 hours sharp, alarms blared. A sharp command echoed through the barracks:
"Up! On your feet, Marines! Simulation grounds—NOW!"
⸻
The Training Ground
The simulation hall at Genesis was massive, stretching miles across. The air shimmered with hard-light constructs, walls able to shift into anything from urban ruins to alien landscapes. Hundreds of Marines stood in ranks, their armor clean but their bodies still bearing scars from Typonis.
Among them stood Jin, Raul, Jerome, Min-seo, Marco, John, and Asura—nervous but ready. Other survivors filled the lines, each of them having earned this moment with blood.
At the front stood Reaper. Cloak draped, visor glowing twin blue flames, his presence drowned the entire hall in silence.
Then his voice cut through like a blade:
"Marines. Yesterday, you survived Typonis. That makes you rare. That makes you dangerous. But don't think for one second you're untouchable."
His tone sharpened.
"You are here to learn. Not to fool around. You will treat every tactic like it's your lifeline—because it is. If you waste my time, I'll have you running until your armor burns out. Now—ARE YOU READY TO LEARN OR ARE YOU HERE TO FOOL AROUND?!"
The hall roared back: "READY TO LEARN, SIR!"
Reaper nodded once.
⸻
The Lesson Begins
He raised a gauntlet, the floor shimmering beneath his feet as hard-light walls rose.
"Now before we begin, all of you have seen these three Tactics: Ashes of Warfare in action before, back on Typonis. So let me go through them."
"First. Phantom Tactic."
Reaper walked calmly toward the wall. Without slowing, his entire body phased through it—cloak, armor, rifle—gone, until he stepped back out the other side.
"This allows you to phase through solid objects. Walls. Barriers. Even incoming strikes—if your timing is perfect. But mistime it?"
He snapped his fingers. The simulation showed a Marine phasing half-way, trapped in solid stone. The image collapsed in a scream.
"You're paste. Respect the timing."
He moved on, cloak fluttering as he stopped mid-air.
"Second. Air Step."
Reaper stepped upward as though onto invisible stairs. Then again. Then ran, his cloak whipping as he sprinted across the air itself, circling above the Marines before dropping lightly back onto the ground.
"Walking. Running. Fighting. On air. Do it right, you become untouchable. Do it wrong? You plummet. Control is everything."
Then his visor flared brighter.
"Third. Blink Step—Type Two."
In a flash, Reaper was gone. His voice echoed across the hall.
"Type Two is not limited to distance."
He reappeared high above the Marines, then vanished again. He appeared across the room, then at the simulation's control tower, then back in front of them—each shift instant, seamless.
"Anywhere you know. Across a battlefield. Across a planet. Across a star system. Even... into other realms, if your will is strong enough."
The Marines shifted uncomfortably, some whispering prayers. Raul's eyes went wide. "Yo—this is INSANE."
Reaper's voice cut sharp, silencing the awe:
"Blink Step Type Two is the most dangerous of the three. Teleport blind, and you rematerialize inside a star—or worse, somewhere that never lets you out again."
His visor flared one last time.
"Understand this: these tactics are not tricks. They are survival. You will practice them until your bodies burn with exhaustion. You will master them, or you will die trying. Do I make myself clear?"
The Marines roared: "YES, SIR!"
Reaper's blue visors locked on Jin for a moment, then Raul, then the rest.
For the first time since Typonis, they didn't feel like survivors.
They felt like students staring at the edge of something far greater.
-
The simulation hall fell silent after Reaper's last demonstration.
He stood tall, cloak rippling as his voice boomed across the arena:
"These tactics are not games. They are not luxuries. They are what stand between you and enemies beyond comprehension. Cosmic horrors. Eldritch monstrosities. Beings that laugh at your physics and bend your reality."
His twin blue visors burned brighter.
"Or have you lunatics forgotten one of the infamous lingos of the UNE?"
He raised his gauntlet slowly, voice echoing through the chamber like thunder:
"We are UNE Soldiers. We fight cosmic horrors... beyond comprehension."
The words slammed into every Marine like a memory.
⸻
Flashback – Six Months Ago
Back at Camp Genesis, before they were Marines, before Typonis, the recruits had been lined up in sweat and exhaustion. Drill Sergeant Mason's voice had torn across the training ground:
"We are UNE Soldiers... we fight cosmic horrors beyond comprehension! Don't forget that, recruits!"
At the time, it had been a line of pride, a chant to keep them running. A phrase shouted into the air to scare them into obedience.
But now... after Typonis, after watching billions die, after seeing the Queen erased—
they understood.
It wasn't a chant.
It was truth.
⸻
Back to the Arena
The hall erupted with a roar. Marines slammed their fists against their armor, their voices shaking the walls:
"WE ARE UNE SOLDIERS! WE FOUGHT COSMIC HORRORS, BEYOND COMPREHENSION!"
Reaper nodded once, satisfied.
"Good. Then prove it. Training time starts now."
⸻
The Grind Begins
The arena shifted, hard-light walls rising. Marines split into groups, each assigned their first tactic. Phantom Tactic simulations flickered alive—walls, debris, plasma strikes.
"GO!" Reaper barked.
Marines ran forward, trying to phase through walls. Most slammed into them with bone-rattling force. Some half-phased and stumbled out screaming as their armor sparked. Med-bots rushed to drag them back.
Jin tried, slamming his shoulder into the wall—thud! "Dammit—"
Jerome tried next, face-first—SMACK! "OW! Not the nose, man!"
Raul laughed, holding his stomach. "Bro, you're supposed to phase through it, not hug it!"
Marco cursed, shaking his helmet. Min-seo gritted his teeth, calm but still got stuck halfway, gasping as his armor screamed errors.
And Asura?
He walked up. Stepped through the wall like it wasn't even there. Turned. Walked back out. Did it again. And again.
Reaper's visor locked on him, twin lights narrowing.
The legendary soldier tilted his head, cloak shifting.
"...Impressive. So this must be the so called first prodigy of Juno."
For the first time, Reaper's voice carried a hint of something almost like pride.
Hours of learning and soldiers were sweating like bullets.
-
Cafeteria
The group talked about how hard it is. Raul straight up looked at Asura and said "Yo! How the hell are you doing this so well! It's not fair! I wish I was born a damn prodigy like you!"
Jin just laughs and told everyone to just keep training "Guys, just keep training. If we keep practicing everyday, then we'll be unstoppable! No ego warfare though"
Jerome agrees, "I agree with Jin here, if we can master these, then our chances in wars and battles will skyrocket in survival."
John and Asura just simply kept eating not saying a damn word whatsoever.
Raul looks over them and said "Argh! How are you two so calm and quiet all the damn time?! Y'all always mute or something?! Even in battle ya'll was quiet... Mr shadow cool guys!" Then Raul laughs!
Marco was sitting there listening to the chaos and just chuckles! "HEY! I bet ya that Raul likes Tortas! HAHAHAHA!!!"
The group laughs except for John and Asura.
Raul then looks at Marco, "yeah I like tortas! So what?!! I like them big and chunky! Soft and big! What are you going to do about it!? Huh??! Huh??!"
Everyone stops laughing, not expecting this response from Raul...
Marco was speechless then... "uh... my bad dude... didn't know you like tortas that much..."
Jin just chuckles. "Alright guys enough goofing around, we're here to talk about our training. So remember stay on track"
Min Seo simply nods in agreement with a small smile across his face. "Yeah guys, like Jin said we got to stay focus."
-
The war room in Genesis Base was dim, the only light coming from the vast holomap projecting Typonis's shattered star system. The ruins of the hive-world glowed red, fragments of its surface scattering in orbit.
Around the long table sat the leaders of the Juno system's command: Commander Shepherd, his face carved by years of war; Sergeant Drill Mason, his expression heavy, jaw locked; and a dozen high-ranking officers, their armor polished but their eyes hollow.
The room was silent, until Shepherd finally spoke.
⸻
The Debrief
"Billions." His voice was low, almost hoarse. "We lost billions of Marines, soldiers, mechs, and droids. Hundreds of captains. Even our elites. Entire families won't see their sons, daughters, fathers, or mothers return."
The holomap shifted, displaying casualty charts in crimson. Entire divisions blinked out in silence.
Mason exhaled through his nose, his voice deep but steady.
"A sad loss. But one that carried meaning. Their sacrifice broke the Typonian Hive. Their blood gave us the first true victory against this enemy."
Another officer leaned forward, her fists clenched. "And yet, when I close my eyes, I don't see victory. I see the chamber. I see how easily she erased them. We won—but at a price beyond words."
The table went quiet.
⸻
Shepherd's Voice
Shepherd looked at each officer, then lowered his head.
"May God be with them. Every soldier who fell. Every captain who stood. Every Marine who gave their last breath. Without them, none of us would be standing in this room."
He paused, his voice hardening.
"The UNE doesn't fight for conquest. We fight to endure. We fight for the lives behind us. And we fight with faith that our Creator carries us through even the impossible. That truth must never be forgotten."
Mason added, his voice thick with emotion but firm:
"I called those kids Marines six months ago, back at camp. Many of them are now gone. But those who remain... they've carried the weight of billions. They are UNE soldiers now. True soldiers."
⸻
Resolution
The room bowed their heads in silence. Some officers whispered quiet prayers. The holomap dimmed, showing only a faint outline of the UNE banner—its golden wings spread across the void.
Shepherd finally straightened.
"We won the war of Typonis. Let history record it as such. But let history also remember the cost. Billions gone, yet not forgotten. Their sacrifice will echo through the stars."
Mason whispered under his breath, but every ear heard him:
"Rest easy, Marines. God is with you now."
The council sat in silence, the weight of war pressing like a stone. Victory had been claimed. But peace, even for a moment, was buried under the grief of sacrifice.
——————————————
To be continued...