Location: Ember HQ – Central War Room, Tavara
The ceiling lights flickered as the power grid struggled under the sudden lockdown. Archer stood tall at the threshold, a black coat swirling around his legs like a cloak of shadows, his weapon trained directly at Victor. Behind him, his elite enforcers poured in—faces masked, rifles gleaming, boots thudding in perfect synchrony.
"End of the line, Commander Kane," Archer said, voice calm, lethal. "You should have stayed in the ashes."
Victor moved in front of Nora and Lucian instinctively. "I've burned before. But this time—I'm the one holding the flame."
Lucian's jaw tightened as he slid a blade from his sleeve. "We're outnumbered."
"Not outmatched," Victor muttered, tapping his earpiece. "Activate Phase Echo."
A mechanical whir followed. From behind hidden vault walls, metal shutters slid open—and Ember's elite responded. Zane, armored in stealth-tech gear, led a counter-force with Reyes at his side, both men roaring orders. Smoke grenades hissed to life, plunging the war room into chaos.
Gunfire erupted. The room trembled.
Nora pulled Victor down just as a plasma round zipped over his shoulder. She rolled with him behind a reinforced desk. "You sure now's the time for surprises?"
He grinned, blood on his lip. "I learned from the best."
Lucian fought at Victor's side like a shadow, every strike precise. Archer's forces surged, but so did Ember's, room by room, floor by floor. Screens on the wall flickered to life, showing battles erupting across the building's corridors.
On-screen, one of Archer's operatives reached the nursery where Victor had hidden crucial files—and something far more precious.
Nora's expression froze. "Lena… the child."
Victor's heart dropped. He turned to Reyes. "Secure the lower vault. NOW."
"I'm on it," Reyes snapped, disappearing into the smoke with two men.
Lucian blocked a blow meant for Victor. "We need to take down Archer. Here and now."
As Archer advanced through the smoke, his gaze never wavered from Victor. "This was always the ending, boy. You just didn't see it."
Victor stood, chest heaving, and raised his weapon. "Then let's write it."
They charged—brothers on either side, Nora a heartbeat behind them. The clash of steel and soul shook the very bones of the headquarters.
But just as Victor reached Archer, a deafening explosion ripped through the west wall. A massive breach.
Through the dust and fire walked a woman—dark hair braided, body clad in silver combat armor. Her eyes locked on Archer with venomous hate.
"Surprise," she said, her voice like thunder. "You didn't think you were the only ghost returning to haunt him?"
Victor blinked, stunned. "Mother?"
Nora gasped. "That's… not possible."
Lucian's mouth fell open. "She died. I saw the report."
But the woman—Seraphina Kane—didn't hesitate. "The reports lied. Just like he did."
Archer's mask slipped for the first time. His hand trembled.
The tide of battle shifted.
And Tavara's fate twisted with it.