Ashes of the Silent War
Chapter 7 – The Second Leviathan
Dawn never truly reached the wasteland anymore.
Smoke from burning cities had turned the sky into a permanent gray shadow. Even the sun looked weak behind the clouds of war.
Kael and Lyra stood on a rocky ridge overlooking the destroyed Dominion research base.
The facility behind them burned quietly.
Whatever secrets had been hidden there were now either stolen… or destroyed.
Lyra held the data device tightly in her hand.
Inside it were the stolen Leviathan files.
And the deeper she searched through them…
…the worse the truth became.
"Kael," she said quietly.
"We need to talk."
Kael cleaned the blood from his knife and looked up.
"That sounds serious."
"It is."
She activated the data device.
A holographic screen appeared between them.
Hundreds of classified documents flashed across the screen.
Military reports.
Scientific experiments.
Genetic modifications.
Then Lyra opened one final file.
The title appeared in red letters.
LEVIATHAN PROJECT – PHASE OMEGA
Kael frowned.
"I thought Titan was the final result."
Lyra shook her head slowly.
"No."
Her voice lowered.
"He wasn't the final weapon."
"He was just the beginning."
The screen changed.
A massive underground structure appeared on the map.
Located beneath a ruined megacity called Eidolon.
Once, Eidolon had been home to millions.
Now nearly 200,000 survivors still lived within its fortified walls.
Refugees.
Civilians.
Children.
People who had nothing to do with the war.
Kael studied the map carefully.
"What does this have to do with Leviathan?"
Lyra swallowed.
"The second Leviathan project is hidden beneath that city."
Kael's expression darkened instantly.
"They're using civilians as cover."
"Yes."
She opened another document.
Kael read the words slowly.
Then his fists clenched.
PHASE OMEGA OBJECTIVE: MASS BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION
TEST SUBJECTS REQUIRED: 200,000
Kael felt cold anger spread through his chest.
"They're planning to experiment on the entire city."
Lyra nodded.
"If the Omega experiment succeeds…"
She paused.
"…Rourke won't need an army."
Kael finished the thought.
"He'll have an entire population of Leviathans."
Miles away, the city of Eidolon still believed it was safe.
High steel walls surrounded the ruins.
Guard towers scanned the wasteland for approaching armies.
Markets were open.
Families moved through the streets.
For the first time in years, many people believed they had found a place where the war could not reach them.
They were wrong.
Hidden in the shadows outside the city…
Observers watched through long-range scopes.
Black-cloaked figures with white masks.
The Obsidian Veil.
One assassin spoke quietly into a communicator.
"The city is secure."
Another voice answered calmly.
"Good."
It was the voice of Noctis.
"The assassination operation begins tonight."
Inside the city of Eidolon were leaders of every major faction.
Diplomats.
Military commanders.
Strategists.
They had gathered secretly to negotiate peace.
They believed the city walls would protect them.
But the Obsidian Veil had already infiltrated the city.
Hundreds of assassins hidden among civilians.
Waiting.
Watching.
Preparing.
Tonight, the leaders of the wasteland would die.
And the war would become unstoppable.
Back in the desert, Kael and Lyra prepared their vehicle.
They needed to reach Eidolon before the Leviathan experiment began.
But as Kael loaded weapons into the armored truck…
…he noticed something strange.
A small communication device hidden beneath the driver's seat.
It wasn't one of Lyra's.
Kael picked it up.
The device activated instantly.
A transmission log appeared.
Coordinates.
Battle reports.
And one chilling message.
TARGET: KAEL VARDEN
LOCATION: TRANSMITTED EVERY 30 MINUTES
Kael's eyes narrowed.
Someone had been tracking them.
From inside the vehicle.
From inside Lyra's own forces.
Lyra looked confused.
"That's impossible."
Kael held up the device.
"You sure about that?"
She studied the signal.
Then her face turned pale.
"It's… a Crimson Legion transmitter."
Kael's voice turned cold.
"Meaning someone in your army has been reporting our position."
Lyra whispered the word slowly.
"A traitor."
At that exact moment, far away inside the city of Eidolon…
A young soldier stood on top of the city wall.
He wore the armor of the Crimson Legion.
But his eyes watched the streets below with cold calculation.
He activated a hidden communicator.
"The target has discovered the tracker."
A voice answered.
"Expected."
The soldier nodded slowly.
"They will arrive in Eidolon soon."
The voice replied calmly.
"Good."
"Prepare the city."
The soldier looked toward the massive underground facility hidden beneath the streets.
Thousands of unaware civilians walked above it.
He smiled slightly.
"Phase Omega will begin soon."
Back in the desert, Kael finished loading his weapons.
Lyra still stared at the transmitter.
"I trusted my commanders."
Kael closed the truck door.
"War makes trust expensive."
She looked up at him.
"What do we do?"
Kael started the engine.
"We find your traitor."
"And stop the Leviathan experiment."
Lyra nodded.
But before the truck could move—
A distant explosion shook the horizon.
They both turned.
A city burned in the distance.
Kael checked the map.
His voice lowered.
"That's Northgate."
One of the last supply cities controlled by the Crimson Legion.
Lyra's eyes widened.
"No…"
Kael grabbed the radio and searched for signals.
The emergency channel suddenly burst to life.
A terrified voice shouted through the static.
"THIS IS COMMANDER RYDER—"
Gunfire erupted behind him.
The voice screamed again.
"THE OBISIDIAN VEIL HAS INFILTRATED THE CITY—"
Another explosion.
Then a final desperate shout.
"THEY'RE KILLING EVERY—"
The transmission ended with a gunshot.
Silence followed.
Lyra stared at the radio.
Commander Ryder had been her oldest ally.
Her most trusted field commander.
He had helped build the Crimson Legion from nothing.
Now he was gone.
Killed in seconds.
The first victim of the Obsidian Veil's assassination campaign.
Kael slowly put the radio down.
His voice was cold.
"The war just escalated."
Lyra looked toward the burning horizon.
Then toward the distant city of Eidolon.
"Then we'd better move fast."
Kael pressed the accelerator.
The truck roared across the desert.
Because somewhere ahead…
A city of 200,000 people was about to become the next Leviathan experiment.
And if they were too late…
The world would never recover.