Chapter 5: Break The Body
The sun had fully risen by the time Loyalty returned.
Max was still sitting on the edge of his bed, half-dressed in a light gray uniform they'd laid out for him — fitted, reinforced, flexible. The jacket had a red insignia over the heart: a circle of white flame, the symbol of the Virtue Corps.
She didn't knock. She never knocked.
"It's time," she said.
Max didn't ask where they were going this time. He just followed.
The training grounds were nothing like he expected.
Beneath the main facility, hidden behind layers of steel and silence, was an open chamber the size of a football field. The floor was cracked concrete. Pillars jutted from the ground like broken teeth. Scorch marks, claw marks, even dried blood stained parts of the walls.
The others were already there.
Kaz, stretching his shoulders, flames flickering at his knuckles.
Ava, bored as always, blowing another pink bubble with her gum.
Samira, struggling to tie her hair right.
Rika, sitting on a crate, staring at nothing.
Mira, bouncing on her heels like she was waiting for a fight.
Renji, pale and silent, with dark circles under his eyes.
And the last one — Noel, who stood apart from the others, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable.
Max stepped in and the temperature seemed to drop. Or maybe that was just the nerves crawling under his skin.
Loyalty stood before them, her white eyes sharp.
"Today," she said, "we break the body."
A few of them exchanged glances.
Kaz cracked his neck. "Sounds fun."
"You're not here to be comfortable," Loyalty continued. "You're here to survive. And that starts with learning control — of your strength, your instincts, and your fear. Because out there, you don't get second chances."
She gestured to the far side of the arena where metallic humanoid dummies rose from the floor — some armed, some with reinforced armor, others shaped like twisted beasts.
"These simulate the monsters you'll eventually face. Some of them have cores that regenerate. Some fight dirty. Some will kill you if you hesitate."
Mari grinned. "So don't hesitate."
Loyalty nodded. "Correct. Today is only physical drills. No powers. Just body and mind."
A few groans. One very audible sigh from Ava.
"No complaints," Loyalty snapped. "You're not civilians. You're weapons. Move."
They started with combat sparring.
Max was paired with Kaz first. It wasn't a fair fight.
Kaz was faster, sharper, and used his size like a hammer. Every punch felt like it could dislocate something.
Max hit the ground twice before he even landed a strike. The third time, he didn't get up immediately.
"You fight like you're still scared of yourself," Kaz said coldly, offering a hand.
Max slapped it away and stood on his own.
"You don't get it," Max growled. "You've had time. I haven't."
Kaz's eyes narrowed. "Time doesn't fix fear."
Loyalty's voice cut through the tension. "Switch."
Max stumbled back into line, chest heaving. His ribs ached where Kaz had caught him. He didn't look at the others, didn't want to see pity or amusement.
He was paired with Mira next — lighter, quicker, but unpredictable. Mira moved like a boxer, dancing around Max's slower reactions, peppering him with body shots that left him breathless.
"You got power." Mira said, ducking under Max's swing. "But no control. You're all heat and no aim."
Max's reply was another missed punch.
Again and again, he hit the ground.
Then Rika.
Rika didn't move much. She just waited. Let Max come to her. And when he did — she sidestepped, hooked her arm, and slammed him onto the mat with a precision that felt surgical.
He tasted blood in his mouth and spat it on the floor.
"Damn," Mira muttered. "Kid's a ragdoll."
Max stood. Again. Unsteady.
Again.
And again.
By the time drills ended, the group was bruised, bloodied, and silent.
Loyalty stood like a statue.
"You want powers?" she asked. "You want answers? Earn them."
She turned and walked away. No praise. No acknowledgment. Just dismissal.
Max watched her go, fury smoldering under the bruises.
He was still standing.
That night, the red-doored room was quieter than ever.
Max sat slumped in a chair, pressing an ice pack to his shoulder.
Across from him, Mira lay stretched out on the floor, groaning. "Tomorrow's worse, isn't it?"
Ava didn't even look up. "Obviously."
Kaz sat alone, sharpening a knife. Renji hadn't spoken a word since training. Samira was reading. Rika stared at the wall.
Then the door opened.
Loyalty walked in, a metal case in hand.
She placed it on the table, clicked it open.
Inside: seven glowing vials. Red. Blue. Green. Purple. Gold. Black. Silver.
They shimmered in the low light, faint pulses of energy rippling off of them.
"These," Loyalty said, "are the reason you're here."
Everyone looked up.
"They're called Vices. The raw, cursed manifestations of the worst human emotions. Envy. Wrath. Lust. Deceit. Pride. Gluttony. Sloth."
Max froze. Something inside him stirred.
"They infect people. Twist them. Turn them into monsters. Sometimes slowly. Sometimes all at once."
Loyalty's white eyes scanned the room.
"But they're not the only forces out there. For every Vice, there is a counterpart — a Virtue. Loyalty. Hope. Courage. Love. Patience. Mercy. Humility."
She tapped the gold vial. "Virtues don't infect. They bless. And sometimes, when the world needs them most, they manifest into people, like me. Virtues that are bone from the world are called Pure Virtues. Just like Virtues, Vices can also be born from the world, those are called Pure Vices."
"So are you… Pure?" Ava asked.
Loyalty nodded. "Born a Virtue."
Samira whistled. "Neat."
She ignored her.
"You're all different. Some of you were cursed. Some of you are something else entirely. Abnormal. Hybrid. We don't fully understand it yet."
Max felt all eyes flick to him for a moment. He didn't react.
"But understand this," Loyalty said. "If Pure Vices find you, they'll want to use you. Or destroy you. And if you lose control… we'll have to do it for them."
Max leaned forward. "And what are we to you?"
She didn't hesitate.
"Loaded guns."
Max clenched his fist.
"Then what does that make you?" he asked.
Loyalty's voice was quiet.
"Someone who pulls the trigger when it matters."
Max leaned forward.
"Okay, how do we leave?"
Loyalty turned her gaze toward him.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Then, slowly, she answered.
"You don't," she said. "Not the way you're thinking."
Max's fists clenched on his knees. "Then what? Are we prisoners?"
"No," she said. "You're weapons."
"Then what's the way out?" His voice rose slightly. "What's the end of all this?"
Loyalty's expression didn't change. But something in the room shifted. The air felt colder. More still.
"To leave..." she said quietly, "you have to kill the source of your curse."
The others looked up.
Max frowned. "What does that mean?"
Loyalty stepped closer, her voice low and steady.
"You were all cursed by Pure Vices — entities born of humanity's darkest instincts. As long as they live, the curse stays. Spreads. Grows inside you."
She looked him dead in the eyes.
"To walk free — to sever the chain — you must destroy the one who infected you."
Max felt the world narrow.
"Kill... a Pure Vice?"
Loyalty nodded once.
"The thing that made you what you are. That's your only exit."
The room fell into a silence so heavy, no one dared break it.
Max leaned back in his chair, heart hammering.
So that was the price.
Freedom... for blood.