The road to the Ragnarok sector was a blur of gray pavement and desperation until a hand clamped down on John's wrist like a steel vise. He was jerked to a violent halt. Standing before him was General Leah, her head tilted down, her eyes lost in a mask of shadow. Her voice was not a plea; it was a command of ice and iron.
"You are coming with me, Commander."
John blinked, his chest heaving as he fought for breath. "But what about Victoria?"
Leah's grip tightened until the leather of her glove creaked against his skin. "Are you going to risk your life just to save one soul rather than the world? Wake up, John. The world is the foundation. Without it... she is already gone. Use your common sense."
John stared at her, his expression a fractured mosaic of terror and heartbreak. The fire in him flickered and died, and he finally slumped, his resistance vanishing into the cold air. "F-fine..."
He pulled his arm away, and they stood for a moment in a silence so tense it felt ready to shatter. John was visibly shaken, his spirit fraying at the edges, but Leah remained a statue of grim professionalism. Together, they turned away from the rising smoke of the battlefield and entered the maw of a massive, abandoned Factorium. The air inside was heavy, tasting of ancient grease and the bitter chill of cold iron.
The Forbidden Truth
"I see... you have come."
The voice drifted down from the rusted rafters, echoing through the hollow ribs of the factory. General Leah's instincts flared; her weapon was drawn and aimed before the echo could fade. "Who goes there?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing at the darkness.
A shadowy figure descended from the upper catwalks, stepping slowly into a pool of flickering, amber light. It was the Vile Engineer. He adjusted his maroon cowl, the mechanical whir of his optic lens cutting through the silence as it locked onto them.
"You violated the policy of the energy," the Engineer spoke, his voice carrying a booming, rhythmic resonance. "It is not our fault that you... in your arrogance... tried to harness our forbidden god."
Leah's brow furrowed in genuine confusion. "What forbidden god? What are you talking about?"
The Engineer paced the floor with a slow, predatory rhythm, his boots clicking against the metal plating. "The forbidden god? It is... The Nemesis. And deep down, General, I know that you know her."
"I don't know a damn thing about a Nemesis!" Leah's voice rose, echoing off the distant walls.
The Engineer let out a long, metallic sigh—a sound of mock disappointment. "I shall not spoil the revelation... but I did forget to mention one thing. Remember the Catastrophic? You believe you have tasted war, but you only fought a mere Calamity. A scout. A shadow of what is to come."
John's teeth ground together. The fear that had paralyzed him moments ago was suddenly consumed by a white-hot, jagged rage. He stepped forward, his eyes burning. "Enough chit-chat! Who is actually leading this fucking faction?!"
The Vile Engineer let out a sharp, dry laugh that sounded like stones grinding together. "Oh, you still do not understand. We are the Sub-Calamity. We are the Awakened Army. We are not technically the Calamity ourselves... we are merely the heralds."
The Engineer stopped his pacing, his frame tensing as a toxic purple energy began to leak from his core, staining the air. "Well... the time for talk has reached its end. I shall finish this now."
TO BE CONTINUED