Chapter 6
July 7, 2029
Jace POV
I stare at the faded signposts ahead. The lettering is unfamiliar at first—almost like symbols. Upon closer inspection, I realize they're Japanese characters.
A Japanese city. Once upon a time.
Now it's just ruins.
One thing I've learned about cities? They're almost always nests.
"On guard. Could be a nest," I say into the radio. "If you find one, I repeat, do not engage. Run and report back."
I step past the rusted metal barriers and into the city proper.
It's quiet. Too quiet.
The silence wraps around everything like fog. There's a massive tree at the city center. A colossal thing. Blooming with delicate pink petals that fall like snow over the shattered streets and broken windows.
It's hauntingly beautiful. A strange kind of peace in a world that has none.
Then the radio crackles.
"Commander! There's—" The voice cuts out.
"Aaaahhhhh!!!"
Snarling. Screams.
"Shit," I breathe, breaking into a sprint.
He was assigned to the west quadrant.
I run.
My boots slam against the cracked pavement. I round the corner just in time to see movement—teeth, claws, twisted limbs. Corrupted.
Click. Boom.
I fire.
One.
Two.
Three go down in bursts of glowing gore.
There are already bodies on the ground. Mangled. Torn.
Too late.
I count at least ten more. Damn it.
I can't use my ability—too many allies, that are too close.
I reload on the move, gunning down another, but I can't get clean headshots. Every second I delay, more regenerate. Shoot a leg? They're limping toward me again in seconds.
Another scream.
Another one down.
It never gets easier. Losing men.
Blood pools in cracks along the street. One of my newer recruits lies face-down, half his body missing. Another soldier tries to drag a wounded comrade to cover while firing blindly with his sidearm.
"Fall back to the inner line!" I yell, voice cracking.
I drop two more. A corrupted leaps at me and I slam a mana burst into its gut at close range. It crumples but not before clawing my arm.
Pain sears up my side. I grit my teeth, ignoring it.
*
I'm exhausted, I look around at the dead bodies of our people and the corrupted, this scene never gets easier.
And then—
"Yo," Elias says casually, rolling up on a skateboard like we're at a fucking park.
I swear, he has to be using his ability to keep it moving, because the street is nothing but cracked concrete and overgrown roots.
He surveys the chaos, eyes narrowed.
"How many?" he asks.
"Five," I say through gritted teeth, watching two bodies being carried by medics.
He doesn't speak for a second. Just looks at the blood. Then sighs.
"So where is this person?" I ask.
"The one you dragged us all the way out here for?"
Elias removes one of his earrings—a floating mana crystal, glowing faintly—and tosses it into the air. It floats upward, pulsing.
"Here," he says.
That's when a voice drifts through the petals.
"Didn't know you were bringing company, Eli."
It comes from behind the tree. I can't see their face. They're wearing a knee-length black puffer jacket, hood pulled low. They have a mana gun resting lazily in one hand.
Something about the stance, the way they walk—confident, unbothered.
"You were here the whole time?!" I snap, my blood boiling.
They shrug. A slow, unapologetic movement.
"You could have helped!"
My hand goes to my gun.
So does theirs.
Click. Click.
We draw at the same time.
Their voice is flat. Calm.
"Now why would I do that? Seeing as how you're pointing a gun at me, I don't think I was wrong."
Their stance doesn't waver.
Neither does mine.
Elias steps between us. "Jace. Avery. Put the guns down."
The name hits me like a punch.
Avery.
I don't move.
Neither does he.
We stand there, guns raised, petals drifting between us.
Elias sighs.
And then I feel it—a shift in pressure. Like air itself is pulling.
I'm pushed back, not by force, but by space itself.
Telekinetic barrier. A gentle one. But firm.
I lower my and so does the person opposite me.