They arrived at the gates of Sanctuary Nine just before noon.
After days of blood, fear, and death, it almost felt like a hallucination.
Massive steel walls reinforced with scrap metal and barbed wire towered over them. Solar-powered floodlights rotated above. A battered sign hung over the entrance:
> S9 – ENTER ALIVE. LEAVE REDEEMED.
Two snipers appeared above the guard station, rifles trained.
Maya raised both hands. "We're clean! Three survivors. No bites."
"Hold position!" a voice boomed from a megaphone. "Lower your weapons and submit to scan!"
Liam held back a breath as a small hovering drone floated down from a turret and scanned each of them.
[System Notice: Civilian Military Tech Detected – Compatibility Neutral]
> Warning: Higher system entities may be active within organized zones. Remain cautious.
The gate creaked open.
Two armed guards—real humans in armor and scavenged riot gear—motioned them in.
"Welcome to S9," one of them grunted. "No funny business."
Inside, it felt like a different world.
Makeshift buildings, generators humming, a small greenhouse growing edible plants. Children ran through the street chasing a volleyball. A woman tended to a wounded man's arm at a folding medical station.
It was… civilization.
The air still smelled like rust and decay, but not death.
Not rot.
Not hopelessness.
Lila gasped. "It's real…"
Artemis clutched Liam's arm tighter. "I feel something here. A presence."
Liam gave her a wary glance. "Good or bad?"
She didn't answer.
They were led to the central processing hall: a gymnasium converted into a command station. There were maps pinned to boards, radios buzzing, weapons stacked in corners.
And at the center, surrounded by guards and files, stood a woman in military fatigues.
Tall. Blonde. Mid-30s. Scar over her right eye.
"Name's Commander Sera Lin," she said as they approached. "You're lucky. We don't take just anyone. This isn't a soup kitchen."
"We're survivors," Maya said firmly.
"Good. We need survivors more than we need refugees." She flicked her eyes over Liam, then lingered on Artemis.
"You," she said. "You're infected."
Artemis tensed.
"She's stable," Liam said. "We're managing it."
Sera raised an eyebrow. "You're the handler, then?"
"I guess."
"Mm." She turned to one of her officers. "Put them through orientation. Check their vitals. Assign barrack space."
They were led to a side room where a medic scanned their bodies and gave Liam a mild sedative for the infection.
"You're suppressing something nasty," he said. "Mutant strain, maybe. Whatever's keeping you alive, it's not ours."
Liam shrugged. "Call it a lucky parasite."
The medic laughed. "Aren't we all."
Later that evening, the group was assigned a small room in Barrack C—just two beds and a mattress on the floor.
Maya sat near the window, sharpening her blade as usual.
Lila was watching kids play in the courtyard below, face alight with hope.
Artemis, meanwhile, hadn't spoken since they arrived.
Liam sat beside her on the mattress.
"You okay?"
"I don't like it here," she whispered.
"Why not? It's safe. It's clean. There's food."
She shook her head. "There's something under it all. I feel it. Like blood under the floorboards."
Liam looked at her closely.
The red flicker in her eyes had dimmed since the bonding. But it was still there.
Still pulsing.
"Is it the Prophet?" he asked.
"I don't know," she whispered. "But this place has secrets. You have to be careful."
[Side Quest Unlocked – "Sanctuary Secrets"]
> Objective: Uncover the hidden history of S9
Optional: Investigate Commander Sera Lin's past
Reward: Trust Paths, Potential Gear Unlock, Clue to Cure Formula (Fragment 1)
That night, after lights-out, Maya finally spoke.
"I don't trust her."
Liam looked over. "Sera?"
"She's too clean. Too calm. I've seen military outposts. None of them last long enough to get comfortable."
Lila piped up from the corner. "Maybe she just knows what she's doing?"
"Or maybe she's feeding the rot," Artemis whispered.
They all looked at her.
She was standing at the window, pale face glowing in the moonlight.
"I heard it again. In my dreams."
Liam stood and approached.
"What did it say this time?"
Artemis didn't look at him. She just pressed her hand against the glass.
"The Red Moon has already risen. It's just hidden behind the veil."
[System Update – Red Moon Chain Progressed]
> Clue Fragment: "Sanctuary Nine hosts the key to the first cure node."
Further bonding with Artemis may reveal location trigger.
[Bond Progress Available – Artemis]
> Option: Deepen link via emotional conversation
Outcome: Unlock Vision Trigger – Red Moon Memory
> Proceed? [Yes] | [No]
Liam mentally chose Yes.
He sat beside her. Quietly.
"You're afraid."
Artemis didn't deny it.
"So am I."
She turned slowly toward him.
"I died once," she said. "During the first surge. I drowned in my own blood."
Liam swallowed. "You didn't stay dead."
"No. I didn't."
She touched his chest—right over his heart.
"You didn't either, did you?"
He shook his head.
They leaned into each other, heads touching, breath slow.
Artemis kissed him softly—no hunger, no heat. Just connection.
[Bond Level Increased – Artemis: Rank 2]
> Vision Trigger Activated: Red Moon Memory #1
Liam's mind split open like a wound.
He stood on the rooftop of an obsidian tower.
Below him, the city burned.
Above, a blood-red moon pulsed like a heartbeat.
And at the center of the flame stood a man wrapped in chains.
Eyes glowing white. Hands dripping with rot.
> "When the 10th bond breaks, the Prophet awakens."
Liam jolted awake.
Back in the barracks. Sweat pouring down his back.
Artemis sat beside him, gripping his hand tightly.
"You saw it too," she said.
He nodded. Slowly.
And outside… the moon turned slightly crimson.
Just for a moment.