CHAPTER 302: CHAPTER 302: THE THRESHOLD OF FIRE

Capital — Rafa

Palace of Versailles

Alberto’s Office

Elizabeth stood rigid before the obsidian desk, shoulders squared, hands clasped behind her back.

"The Indiana Empire has responded," she said. Her voice was steady. "They demand we withdraw all fleets from their territorial waters within 24 hours. If not, they’ll engage."

Alberto didn’t flinch. He leaned back in his chair, rolling his fountain pen slowly between his fingers. The war map behind him glowed faintly, a massive holo-display of three continents under his looming ambition.

"So they’ve rejected the offer." His tone was almost amused.

Elizabeth let out a long breath. "Of course. What did you expect? Indiana is ranked sixteenth in global power. They’re proud. They won’t bow after a single ultimatum."

Alberto stood, walking toward the towering windows that overlooked the capital.

"I expected defiance," he said quietly. "But I also expected desperation." He turned. "This is a signal of arrogance, not strength. And arrogance breaks easily under pressure."

He picked up a small device from the desk and pressed a button.

"Alert the fleet," he said into it. "They are to maintain formation just outside Indiana waters. Do not fire first. But if attacked... retaliate, full force. Push through. Enter Indiana territory and disable every military node in the Northern Sea."

Elizabeth nodded once and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Elizabeth," Alberto added, pausing her at the doorway. "Activate Black Protocol. Quietly. I want the Shadow Company embedded within Indiana’s command structure within the next 48 hours. I want their decisions clouded, their loyalties bent."

"Understood."

She vanished through the gilded doors.

Ongoing QUESTS

[Main Quest: Conquer Three Continents]

Time Limit: 5 Years

Progress: 31%

Objectives:

Subjugate 3 entire continents (0/3)

Activate 5 Flamebound Accords (2/5 — Britannia, Amazonia)

Construct the Cradle of Fire (0/1)

Slay one Awakened Eldest Evil (Progress: 0/1)

Alberto sat back down, the soft hum of the palace fading into the silence of thought. He stared at the glowing quest log displayed before him.

"Hmm..." he murmured. "Conquest I understand. But how do you kill a nightmare?"

♦♦♦

The Unknown World

By midmorning, the trees stopped.

What lay ahead wasn’t natural. The land was cracked, dry, and lifeless. The forest ended in a clean, crooked line like someone had burned the world from this point forward. The air buzzed — faint, low, constant.

They had reached it.

The Hollow Rift.

Kain raised his fist, halting the group.

A field of shallow craters stretched before them. Beyond it, a jagged scar split the earth — the Rift itself. It pulsed faintly. Fissures glowed from within, red-orange like coals. The air was hot. The ground hummed.

Something was wrong. More than just the Rift.

The silence was too complete.

Then—

A single, sharp hiss.

Then dozens.

From every direction, they came.

Ravagers.

Black-skinned beasts loped from the hills, long limbs rippling with muscle, bone-plated shoulders gleaming. Their molten cracks pulsed orange as they ran. Some sprinted in twos, others crawled from beneath the ash — dozens, maybe more.

"CONTACT!" shouted an ISSD man.

Kain’s voice came low, steady. "Form line. Bernardians forward. Exo Knights staggered. Holy Guard — shield wall."

The field turned to fire.

The Bernardian soldiers opened up.

Muzzle flashes lit the haze.

Silenced rifles popped in rhythm, dropping Ravagers mid-charge.

Armor-piercing rounds tore through skulls, spraying molten gore.

An Exo Knight fired a shoulder launcher — a Ravager exploded midair.

The first wave crumpled. But more came.

Twenty more. Then thirty. From the far ridge. From behind the rocks. Climbing over their dead.

"Reload!" barked a sergeant. "Sector sweep — left to right!"

A second volley dropped another dozen — but now the beasts were too close.

A tail slammed into one paladin’s side — sent him flying ten meters. He hit hard, rolled twice, armor dented but alive. Two ISSD troopers dragged him back, one firing bursts to cover, the other scanning for targets.

On the right flank, a Ravager tore through a patch of earth and lunged at the Holy Empire line.

"Brace!" yelled Solas.

Shields locked. Spears met flesh.

The Ravager hit the line — snarled — then reeled back, three spearheads buried in its chest. It thrashed, tail whipping, breaking one man’s leg — before Solas stepped in.

With a roar, the Knight-Commander slammed his sword down in a glowing arc, cleaving through its neck. Sparks of divine light flickered from his blade — weak, dim, but still real.

"Hold formation!" Solas growled, dragging a fallen knight back into the line. "Faith is your shield!"

Elara knelt behind them, hands glowing faintly.

Two knights staggered toward her — one bleeding from the thigh, the other dazed.

She touched their armor with trembling fingers.

Faint light spread, slow but steady. Not miracles, but enough. Flesh closed. Pain dulled. They rose, pale but standing.

She looked up. Her voice barely a whisper.

"Too many..."

The center line buckled. A massive Ravager — taller than the rest, blistered skin glowing like lava — plowed through the corpse pile and leapt straight at Kain’s squad.

Kain didn’t flinch.

He sidestepped, raised his weapon, and fired two bursts point-blank into its skull. The beast dropped mid-leap, skidding across the rock.

A second Ravager slammed into a Bernardian gunner from behind — crushed him under sheer weight. Blood sprayed the ground. The others reacted fast — two rounds to the beast’s flank, then an Exo Knight finished it with a blade, powered gauntlets crushing vertebrae.

"Watch the flanks!" Kain snapped. "Keep your heads!"

And still the beasts came.

"Fall back!" Kain yelled. "Regroup behind the rocks! Exo Knights cover!"

The group pulled back in tight formation, firing as they moved. Elara stumbled, but Raihan caught her, dragging her behind a stone ridge.

"Breathe," he said.

She nodded, hands shaking, light flickering in her palms.

From their new position, Kain gave the order.

"Clean them up."

And that was when the Bernardians unleashed hell.

High-caliber rail shots.

Grenade launches.

Sustained bursts.

The sky turned red with smoke and blood.

Ravagers dropped in clusters — burning, twitching, dead.

One tried to flee. It didn’t make it ten steps.

Five minutes later — it was over.

Only the hum of the Rift remained.

They stood among smoking corpses.

One Holy Empire soldier was dead. Two more wounded.

The Bernardians hadn’t lost a single fighter.

But Kain wasn’t relaxed.

He stepped toward the edge of the Rift. Red glow reflected in his visor.