“Besides,… Nolan returned from the north.”

Tristan exhaled slowly. “The days of peace are over. The students… they’ll have to get used to real war.”

The room went still again. They all understood—something darker was coming.

…

Axel didn’t stir until nearly noon the next day. A newscaster’s voice echoed softly from his phone:

“...The beast tide was repelled late yesterday. Authorities urge citizens to remain calm…”

He locked the screen.

Across the room, Annabelle was sitting upright, cross-legged, her eyes closed.

Her body vibrated with quiet, coiled power.

“Annabelle… how do you feel?”

Axel had already sensed it. Yesterday, she’d taken advantage of the chaos to absorb massive amounts of mutant blood. Now—she no longer needed to drink blood at all.

Her blood field—once chaotic—now throbbed with an unnatural rhythm. It reminded Axel of high-level Force fluctuations, the kind usually reserved for advanced Awakeners.

He studied her closely.

“Around 700 to 800 Force...”

Then his gaze drifted to the corner of the room, to the small communicator device that had been silent for far too long.

“Captain... what the hell happened to you?”

Axel had tried contacting him multiple times since the beast tide ended, but there had been no response.

It was like the entire Obsidian Squad had vanished into thin air.

........

That evening, as the cold deepened and the last light faded behind the clouds, Axel’s phone finally rang.

“Axel, come to Drakenfall,” Wesley said on the other end, voice clipped and urgent. “Obsidian needs you.”

That was all. No details. No explanations.

Axel knew instantly—something had happened.

He grabbed his gear and stepped out of the dormitory, intent on saying goodbye to Tristan and the others before heading out. But as he crossed the courtyard, he slowed.

On the playground, students and teachers walked silently around a row of black coffins. No one spoke. The only sound was the crunch of snow under solemn footsteps and the soft sobs of grief.

Axel stepped into the line without a word.

The quiet procession made its way west across campus, toward a corner. The Bloodstone Cemetery.

There, under falling snow, hundreds of white-dusted gravestones lined the frozen earth.

Brandon and Marcus stepped over as the group gathered.

Brandon said quietly. “Seventeen more names carved in stone.”

Axel nodded. He accepted a white flower from a fellow student and stepped forward to place it at the base of one of the coffins.

A girl began humming a funeral song. The melody was delicate, almost like a lullaby, but it carried a raw ache that made several students weep openly.

Then Tristan stepped forward, bowing low.

“The flame of humanity will never die,” he said.

Everyone—students, faculty, injured or whole—raised their arms in salute.

“The flame of humanity will never die!”

.......

As the crowd dispersed, Tristan caught up to Axel. The two of them walked together under the fading pink-orange sky, Annabelle following quietly a few steps behind.

“You sure you’re leaving already?” Tristan asked.

“There’s a mission. I need to go.”

Tristan nodded. “Then swing by the logistics department before you head out. There’s something waiting for you.”

Axel raised an eyebrow. “Principal, you’ve already given me too much.”

Tristan laughed. “Kid, relax. It’s not from me.”

“The Whisper Syndicate mission payout: one million. Plus your performance defending Shiverstone? That added another three million. Total: four million dollars. Not to mention, Nolan left instructions for two pieces of D-grade equipment.”

Axel blinked.

He was still wearing a suit of E-grade armor—worth 1.5 million by itself. D-grade equipment was a serious upgrade, forged from high-tier mutant beast materials. Each piece could easily sell for over three million on the black market.

“Go pick them up yourself,” Tristan said. “And Axel… the world’s getting messy. Keep your head low and your blade ready.”

Without another word, Tristan turned and walked back toward the school building, snow crunching under his boots.

Axel found his way to the logistics department and presented his clearance. A few minutes later, he stood in front of a weapon rack, choosing his gear.

“Dagger forged from the bones of an Icebone Serpent, a level 4 beast. Excellent Force conduction—significantly enhances offensive output.”

“D-class acceleration boots. When infused with Force, they boost speed dramatically.”

Perfect.

He took the two items, suited up, and made his way toward the school gate.

Waiting for him were Brandon and Marcus. Marcus still carried a new bamboo sword on his back.

Brandon stepped forward and clapped Axel on the arm with a tired but proud grin. “Axel, I hope we get to fight side by side again.”

“I’d like that.”

Marcus gave a half-smile. “Next time we meet… don’t hold back on me.”

“You’re welcome to try anytime,” Axel replied, returning the smile.

He didn’t look back as he walked out the gate and down the icy road toward his next war.

Brandon and Marcus stood at the gate until Axel disappeared from sight. Then, wordlessly, they turned and walked back into Bloodstone.

None of them knew when—or if—they’d fight together again.

.......

Axel boarded the train bound for Drakenfall under the cover of night. The station was far more crowded than usual. Families dragged suitcases, clutching children and whispering anxiously. Even in Dune, people with money and means were starting to flee inland.

In the sleeper car, the lights had officially gone out, but most passengers were still awake. Conversations buzzed in the dark: hushed voices speculating about the recent mutant beasts incursion, arguing about where it would strike next, wondering what the military was hiding.

The green train smelled faintly of smoke and engine oil. Lying on his narrow bunk, Axel closed his eyes and dropped into a state of internal focus.

Now, finally, he had time to examine the strange red crystal he’d found.

[Mutant beast Talent: Alienation]

Use Force to mimic the form of a weaker mutant beast. Transformation drains Force over time.

A new branch emerged from the ancient tree within his consciousness.

“So this is different from an awakening skill,” Axel muttered internally.

The information streamed into his mind. The instincts. The shifts in anatomy. The visceral sensations of bones twisting and skin reshaping—it all embedded itself automatically. He absorbed the red crystal.

The train rumbled on, pushing deeper into the mountains.

Drakenfall, nestled in the heart of Mirabelle Province, sat in a region with notoriously rugged terrain. The mountains here had long been infested with alien beasts—persistent and impossible to fully eradicate. Of all Krythos’ provinces, Mirabelle remained the most unstable.

Something serious had to have happened for the entire Obsidian team to go dark.

But the Syndicate had its hands full dealing with beast waves. Axel had no reliable intel. No way to contact anyone.

With thirty hours still ahead, he focused on what he could control—absorbing the life crystals he’d collected. One-third of the regular ones went to Annabelle. The rest he consumed slowly.

......

By the third morning, the train was winding through humid valleys thick with greenery. The accent of the conductors and nearby passengers had shifted—softer vowels, slower cadence. Definitely Mirabelle.

A buzz from Axel’s communicator broke the silence.

“Mr. Axel?”

“Speaking.”

The voice on the other end sounded young and nervous. “I’m Sawyer, Student Union President of Mirabelle Academy. We’ll be picking you up shortly.”

“Got it.” After a quick description of his appearance, Axel stepped off the train with Annabelle.

The air was warmer here—easily over 20°C despite it being late October. Drakenfall’s climate was stubbornly temperate, its sunlight filtering lazily through shifting clouds.

They sat on a bench outside the station, watching the crowd surge past. A few minutes later, a group of men in crisp suits came rushing across the plaza.

“Mr. Axel!” one of them called, clearly relieved. “Apologies—we hit traffic.”

“No problem,” Axel said. “Let’s move.”

“We’ll take you straight to Velvet & Vine. The others are waiting.”