Freedom. The word gnawed at Lior even as the Revenant descended through the mist. He had asked it silently—what is freedom, if even salvation feels like a cage?—and the thought refused to leave him.
The fortress filled the viewport, its black towers stabbing upward like judgment itself. But Lior barely saw it anymore. Ayasha’s words lingered in his mind, cutting sharper than any scar. Blades they kept sharpening. Was that all Veritas had ever made of them? Was that what it would make of him?
The Revenant shuddered faintly as the landing gear extended, jolting him back to the present.
Titan’s voice rolled through the cabin, steady and cold.
“Brace yourselves. This isn’t arrival—it’s return. And Veritas remembers everyone.”
Silence followed. Ayasha’s knuckles whitened around the armrest. Cael pushed his glasses higher, jaw tight. Carter leaned forward, every trace of humor gone. Even Rei stood straighter, her mask angled toward the opening doors.
The Revenant touched down soundlessly, as if the world itself was afraid to acknowledge it.
With a hiss of compressed air—PSSHHHH!—the ramp lowered. A blade of cold wind slashed into the cabin, sharp enough to sting skin and lungs alike.
They had arrived.
The ramp struck metal with a final CLANG! Cold air swept in, heavy with salt and steel.
Outside, floodlights cut through the mist, washing the landing platform in harsh white. Soldiers in matte-black armor lined the perimeter, rifles held in perfect symmetry. Their helmets gave them no faces—only blank visors glinting like mirrors.
They didn’t look like guardians. They looked like wardens.
Lior’s gaze swept across them, unease gnawing deeper. This was Veritas? This place built to stand against Potestas… it felt less like a shield for the world and more like a cage for everyone inside.
Titan strode down the ramp first, his boots striking with unshaken certainty. The others followed—Lior, Ayasha, Cael, Carter, Rei—each step echoing against steel. Not one soldier moved, though their rifles tilted almost imperceptibly, tracking them like prey.
No welcome. No recognition. Only silence and surveillance.
?
Inside, the cold steel gave way to colder halls. Cadets ran drills in perfect rhythm—boots pounding, Niches sparking in brief bursts of power. Orders barked by instructors cracked like whips against the walls.
Ayasha’s whisper cut low, meant only for Lior.
“So many new faces…”
Cael’s eyes flicked across the cadets turning to glance at them.
“And some old ones that haven’t forgotten us.”
They rounded a corner—and halted.
Team edge stepped forward.
Valor, Mirage, and sync.
Ego and confidence spewing from all three of them.
Valor was at the front, smirk sharp as a blade.
Casen Reeve — Codename: Valor — Team Edge
“Well, well. Royalty’s arrived. Thought you’d be taller.”
Lior tilted his head, meeting his eyes without a flinch. His voice came steady, quiet, almost bored.
“…Sorry to disappoint. Guess height went to your ego instead.”
Ayasha snorted before she could stop herself, hand flying to her mouth. Sync’s lip twitched into the faintest smirk before he turned away.
Valor’s face froze, then twitched, aura prickling sharp around him.
“You think you’re funny, boy?”
Lior didn’t blink.
“No. Just honest.”
Casen’s expression curved cruel.
“There’s no way the great Echo had a son like this. Your mother’s blood must’ve taken over. Weak. Ordinary.”
Lior kept walking—unbothered. Until his steps slowed. He didn’t turn right away. His reply came quiet, casual, but it cut sharper than steel.
“Strange. We just met… yet you seem to think about me an awful lot.”
The words landed like a slap. Valor’s grin snapped into a scowl as his eyes flickered yellow.
His aura detonated—Fffwip–BLAM!—a sudden vacuum followed by a whip-crack sonic burst, red and blue streaks thrashing like a flag torn apart by storm winds.
Lior turned fully, calm and steady. Pale sky-blue light rippled outward, faint rings of gold threading through it like sunlight across water.
TUNN! A glasslike tone, pure and cutting.
The forces clashed—CRRRAAASHHH!—the corridor vibrating with energy. Valor lunged, a blur of violent speed. Lior raised his elbow, aura tightening with precision.
WHSSHHH—CLANG! Sparks burst outward in a rippling wave.
The shockwave tore through the corridor, floor panels shuddering.
Mirage’s eyes widened, thoughts racing.
How…? He wasn’t trained here. Not raised by Potestas. But still—he matched Valor. No… stronger than him.
Before the energy could break free—
FWOOOM!
Valor lunged, aura flaring red and blue, his kick cutting through the corridor like a blade meant to end it.
Lior surged forward, fist blazing with gold-blue light. Two forces closed in, inches from collision—
VVVRRMMM—!
Then—two shadows cut between them.
THOOM!—SHHHP!
Titan’s scarred hand caught Lior’s wrist mid-punch, stopping him a hair before impact. The shock of contact never came—only the sound of strain in the air. His stance didn’t shift. Not even a tremor.
Across from him, Kaito stood poised, one hand behind his back, the other gripping Valor’s ankle mid-strike. His eyes were calm, unreadable, as if he’d been there all along, waiting for the exact heartbeat when both boys forgot their place.
The corridor trembled under the pressure of two suppressed attacks—ZZZTTTT!—aura sparking off the walls like caged lightning.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Lior’s breath caught.
When—?!
Valor twisted, rage flickering behind his teeth.
“Let me go!”
Kaito didn’t move. His voice came quiet, exact.
“You attack before command, Valor. You disgrace your form.”
Titan’s tone followed, deeper, like a verdict.
“And you—” his eyes fixed on Lior, “—learn restraint before power decides it for you.”
Both captains released them in perfect unison. The air snapped back—WHOOOMPH!—as the aura collapsed. Casen and Lior stumbled, breath heaving, but neither dared raise their head again.
For a moment, no one spoke. The silence itself bowed.
Kaito’s attention slid to Lior. For the first time, his voice carried not just authority, but disdain.
“So this is the boy Titan stakes himself on? Overconfident. Reckless. Just like his father.”
Kaito Arai — Codename: Captain Edge
The words dripped with venom. Not judgment alone—but jealousy, old and unforgotten, wrapped in ice.
Titan’s single eye narrowed, but he said nothing.
Kaito pressed on.
“Echo never knew when to stop. Always one step ahead—until the day he wasn’t. I see the same fire in this one. And fire without control only burns itself out.”
The insult landed heavy.
Titan released Lior’s wrist. His voice was stern, even.
“You’re not ready. None of you are. Not yet.”
Kaito’s cold eyes never left Titan.
“They’re undisciplined. If this is your team, they’ll die out there.”
Titan’s reply came flat, immovable.
“…We’ll see.”
Kaito’s jaw tightened. His gaze swept his cadets, sharp as glass.
“Drills. Now.”
His squad moved instantly, formation snapping tight.
Titan lingered, gaze fixed on Lior.
“If a little banter is enough to rattle you,” he said low, “then you’ve got further to go than I thought.”
The words sank deeper than the clash itself.
?
The Revenant’s echoing halls gave way to silence as Carter and Rei were ushered into the inner sanctum of Veritas.
The Council Chamber was vast but suffocating—a circle of obsidian steel walls and high-backed chairs carved more for judgment than governance. Pale blue light traced across the floor in geometric patterns, cold against the stone. At the center floated a spherical projection table, dormant for now.
Eight chairs ringed the chamber. Seven were filled. The eighth, at the far side, sat empty.
The doors sealed shut behind them with a hollow CLANG.
The first voice to break the silence came sharp and unforgiving.
“You defied orders. Hid the child. Vanished for sixteen years. And now you dare to walk back in here asking for trust?”
Director Elira Dauthen—her hair pulled so tight it seemed to sharpen her already severe features—leaned forward, eyes like blades.
Carter smirked faintly, though the chamber’s weight pressed on his shoulders.
“If we hadn’t, he wouldn’t be standing at all.”
Rei stepped ahead, voice calm, steady.
“We followed Brock because he saw what others refused to. He knew who Lior was—just as you did. That’s why you sent Ayasha and Cael to him. Brock understood the boy needed more than drills and orders. He needed to grow as a child… not as a weapon.”
A low chuckle slipped from the shadows. Director Selan Myros leaned forward, long fingers steepled under his chin. His thin frame cast a spiderlike silhouette in the blue light.
“Romantic words,” he murmured, soft but mocking. “But Veritas doesn’t run on sentiment. It runs on results.”
Another director cut in, crisp and rehearsed—Astrid Rothgard, draped in white, eyes unmoving.
“So tell us,” she said coldly. “What do you propose?”
Carter’s smirk sharpened.
“Simple. Give me and Rei fifteen days to run reconnaissance on the North Pole weather machine. That’s all we need. Bring back the data, and we’ll know how to take out the mega-core controlling it. No storms, no reach, no threat.”
Director Kaelen Veyr, gaunt and half-lidded, stirred at last.
“And who leads the strike? Kaito’s team?”
A heavy thud followed—THOOM!—knuckles slamming against steel.
Director Havel Grist leaned forward, scarred jaw tight.
“The answer is obvious. They are disciplined. Trained. Ready.”
The doors groaned open again. Cold light spilled across the floor as two figures entered together—Kaito and Titan.
Kaito’s posture was sharp and commanding, every step deliberate. Titan’s presence rolled in like a storm contained in human form—calm, yet impossible to ignore.
The chamber shifted around them; even the directors sat straighter.
Kaito’s voice carried first.
“Precisely.”
Titan followed, his single eye sweeping the room.
“Lior, Ayasha, and Cael have seen death. They’ve fought beyond drills—blood, chaos, survival. That makes them more ready than any cadets here.”
The chamber bristled.
And then—
The back doors hissed open again.
Another figure entered. His steps were quieter, but the shift in the room was immediate.
Director Xun Ren.
The air changed. Cold judgment thinned. Where others carried weight, he carried calm.
“I have an idea.”
The projection table sparked to life. A holographic bracket unfolded in pale light, simple, empty, waiting.
“Why don’t we allow the cadets themselves to show us who should carry this mission? A tournament. Proof through action.”
Kaito’s voice cut like a blade. “My cadets are already the strongest here. This is unnecessary.”
Titan’s tone was calm. “Then it shouldn’t be a problem for you.”
Xun smiled faintly. “Exactly.”
He turned to the council. “Rei and Carter will proceed north. Meanwhile, this tournament will decide which team carries Veritas’ banner.”
Agreement rippled through the table—some reluctant, some intrigued.
Kaito stood abruptly, cloak snapping behind him. He stormed out without a word.
Titan rose more slowly. Xun called after him.
“Solomon.”
Titan paused.
“It’s good to see you doing well,” Xun said, voice warm—almost brotherly.
Titan gave a faint nod, unreadable, then walked out.
?
The training yard pulsed with noise. Titan walked with Lior, Ayasha, and Cael at his side.
“Starting now, I lead you,” Titan said evenly. “Rei and Carter will be going on a reconnaissance mission.”
Ayasha’s head snapped toward him. “Wait—they’re leaving?”
Cael frowned. “Just like that?”
Before Titan could answer, Rei appeared ahead, mask lowered.
“We’re proud of you,” she said, eyes soft but steady. “All of you. But it’s time to grow.”
Carter smirked. “Titan’ll break you in, but it’s the good kind of pain.”
Lior swallowed. “How long will you be gone?”
“Twelve… maybe fifteen days,” Rei answered.
The words hit harder than expected. It wasn’t forever, but it wasn’t short either.
The group walked in silence toward the Revenant’s shadow. Floodlights gleamed across its hull.
?
Deep within the compound, in an unlit corridor, a lone cadet stopped before a sealed door. The voice came quiet, almost casual.
“…They suspect nothing.”
A reply crackled through the comm.
“Phase One begins now.”
A faint flicker of yellow light stirred—eyes unblinking, patient, watching.
And as Veritas prepared its youth for trials of honor and teams sharpened for combat, another war had already begun in silence.
Not in the arenas. In the shadows.
The stage was set. The players chosen.
While Veritas trained its cadets for glory, Potestas had already placed its knife among them.
The war to come would not wait.
It had already begun.
?
END OF VOLUME II
Threads have been tied, others quietly cut.
The shadows have moved, and the first piece of the next game has already been placed.
The Island of No Return.
What are you most excited for in Volume 3 Part 1?
