The night in Outpost 17 was filled with the sound of silence—heavy, tense, almost sacred in its stillness. Fires flickered in oil drums, casting monstrous shadows on the twisted walls. Marcus sat across from Lucien Vale in what used to be a subway control room, now converted into the warlord's makeshift throne hall.
Danny worked quietly on rerouting a portable comm array in the corner, his back turned to the two evolved men.
Lucien poured something dark and foul-smelling into a metal cup. He downed it in one go before tossing the cup aside. "So," he rumbled, "you want to take on the Legacy Protocol. The god-machine. The architect. The...mother."
"She's not a god," Marcus replied evenly. "Just a remnant. A relic trying to rewrite the ending to a story that already changed."
Lucien chuckled, a deep and gravelly sound. "And you think we can fight her?"
"No," Marcus said. "We can out-evolve her."
He tapped his temple. "The System's still adapting. It's learning from every battle, every change. But it's not enough alone. We need more like us. Survivors. Outliers. Awakened."
Lucien leaned forward. "You have someone in mind."
[Target Profile: Ember Rune – Codename: Pyrebride][Status: Rogue Awakened / Class: Fire-Synth / Threat Level: Volatile]
Danny looked up sharply. "You want her? She burned an entire zone clean to escape a Genesis Purge. No one's even sure she's stable."
"She's not," Marcus admitted. "But she survived a direct clash with the Protocol. And she still has her mind...or most of it."
Lucien's stone hand tapped against the arm of his throne. "I heard she speaks to fire like it's alive. Like it speaks back."
Marcus stood. "That's because it does. At least in her head. The Spiral twisted her hard, but the System kept her from breaking completely."
Danny looked between them. "And you think she'll join us?"
Marcus walked to the map displayed on a cracked screen, one of the last functioning grid overlays in the outpost.
"No. I think she'll try to kill us first."
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They left before dawn.
The wasteland between Outpost 17 and Zone Ashfall was scorched and blackened, an endless stretch of cracked earth and fused glass where forests once stood. Storms still brewed occasionally over the land—red lightning without rain, flickering with static malice.
As they crossed the charred ridge, Marcus's System flared.
[Warning: High-Density Evolution Energy Detected][Subject Class: Tier IV Anomaly – Identity Match: Ember Rune]
Smoke twisted unnaturally in the air, rising into spirals that pulsed like veins. The ground was still hot to the touch. Even the rocks seemed to whisper with residual heat.
Lucien narrowed his eyes. "We're close."
Danny was sweating, not just from the heat. "I hate this already."
A figure stood in the center of a wide crater—a woman wreathed in embers, her long hair flickering like molten threads. Her skin was marred with glowing cracks, like cooled lava split by hidden fire. She wore no armor, only a scorched cloak that moved in windless air.
"Marcus Chen," Ember said without turning. Her voice echoed like flame cracking dry bone.
"You were expecting us," Marcus said.
She turned slowly. Her eyes were like burning coals.
"I saw your coming in the fire. Three flames. One steady. One flickering. One... about to be extinguished."
Danny stepped behind Lucien immediately.
"We're not enemies," Marcus said carefully.
"That depends," Ember whispered. "Do you want to reignite the world—or burn it clean?"
Marcus stepped forward, letting the System rise within him.
"Neither," he said. "I want to make sure it never dies again."
Her gaze narrowed. Fire danced at her fingertips.
[Challenge Detected: System Sync Initiated][Pyre Trial Commencing]
Ember smiled.
"Then prove it."