United Terran Alliance, New Avalon, Zone D.
A couple hundred yards away from Moon's apartnt, two imnsely powerful figures erupted into combat that obliterated entire city blocks within seconds.
"You will not escape from here alive! You're going to die here today!" the Awakener's Association Ascender shouted as he battled the masked Ascender leading the attack. "Backup forces are already en route—within minutes you'll be buried in this rubble!"
The masked Ascender offered no verbal response, continuing his relentless magical bombardnt with thodical precision. Each spell he cast claid hundreds of civilian lives while reducing multiple buildings to collapsed ruins and debris.
'Damn it! He didn't take the bait—he shows no fear whatsoever,' the Association Ascender cursed internally, frustration mounting.
His threatening words had been nothing but desperate lies designed to intimidate his opponent into retreating rather than continuing the destruction. But the enemy had seen through the deception imdiately.
The reality of the situation was grim. Most Ascenders spent the majority of their ti in deep seclusion within the Third Sanctuary, erging only occasionally—perhaps once every few months—to check on family mbers and business interests before returning to their advanced practice.
While the Awakener's Association did maintain Ascender-level personnel on Earth as a security asure, their numbers were limited and necessarily distributed across multiple major cities and important locations.
The nearest available Ascender to Zone D was approximately thirty minutes away by the fastest transport, and they couldn't simply abandon their assigned posts. Their own territories could face similar attacks if left undefended.
The defending Ascender could only attempt to minimize the catastrophic damage his opponent was inflicting while hoping for eventual reinforcent. Unfortunately, his adversary was no weak opponent—the masked figure clearly possessed combat experience and power levels that matched his own capabilities.
What frustrated him most was his complete inability to determine the enemy's identity. If he couldn't detain, injure, or at least mark this person before their inevitable escape, their identity would remain completely hidden.
Ascenders represented an extrely small, elite population where most individuals were known throughout the awakener world. The person he was fighting could very well be soone he'd encountered at important diplomatic etings or international conferences—a sobering thought that suggested the scope of conspiracy behind these attacks extended far deeper than anyone had anticipated.
The battle raged on as two titans clashed above a city caught in the crossfire of powerhouses.
Buildings beca rubbles, and people beca corpses. The attacks continued to destroy without rcy, and that included Moon's own apartnt, that had long since beco nothing but a mory of the past—turning into broken wood and stone.
Tens of thousands died, and more were bound to under their fight. Similarly, Evolvers and Awakener's from both factions died to either stray attacks or to their opponents.
♢♢♢♢
The Ironpeak base had beco nothing but a hollow shell of its forr glory. What had once housed hundreds of powerful awakeners now lay in ruins—half the buildings reduced to rubble, the other half scarred by the battle. Bodies of defenders and attackers alike were scattered across the base.
The attack had caused havoc in the facility before Kael could arrive to provide support.
Kael knelt motionless among the carnage, his own body bearing deep wounds and injuries from the fierce battle he'd fought to reclaim the base. Blood seeped slowly through his torn clothing, but he seed oblivious to his injuries. Although the attackers had been defeated and the threat was eliminated, victory felt hollow and aningless.
He had failed to protect the base. Failed to protect the people who had depended on him.
Kael's hands trembled slightly as he knelt beside the bloodied corpse of Marcus, his most trusted lieutenant and closest friend. Marcus—the man he'd entrusted as the base lord—lay unmoving on the debris-covered ground.
"Rest well... my old friend," Kael whispered, his voice barely audible.
"Kael..." Angela's voice cracked as she stumbled toward them, her face streaked with tears she couldn't control. "Marcus isn't really dead, right? He isn't actually gone. He'll wake up soon, won't he? Uncle Tom has just beca an Ascender—there has to be sothing in the Third Sanctuary that can bring Marcus back... right?"
Her words tumbled out of her throat desperately, clinging to any hope that might make this nightmare untrue.
Angela had been on Earth conducting so business when news of the attack reached her. She'd rushed back imdiately, pushing her transport to dangerous speeds, but arrived only to find smoking ruins and the aftermath of slaughter.
Marcus had stood his ground against the overwhelming odds, fighting with everything he had until his very last life was spent, until his final breath left his body.
Kael's shoulders sagged as if the weight of the entire world had settled upon them. His eyes, normally sharp and focused, now burned with an emotion he wasn't quite familiar with.
"He is gone on a long journey, Angela. Marcus will not return." Kael finally responded.
Angela shook her head violently, backing away as if it could sohow change reality. "No... no, that's not... we grew up together. He can't just leave like that, why didn't he hide…why didn't he run away…" Her voice dissolved into broken sobs as the truth she'd been denying was finally accepted.
Marcus wasn't just a teammate, he was a brother. Kael, Angela and Marcus went to the sa school, shared the sa teachers, and practically lived at each other's residence often.
They had known each other better than so families knew their own blood—childhood friends who had faced many challenges together, who had sworn to always watch each other's backs.
Now one of them was gone…forever.
The surviving awakeners gathered around them maintained respectful silence, many with their heads bowed and fists clenched in their own grief. So of these people owed their lives to Marcus's brave stand, but they made no sound, understanding that Kael and Angela's loss cut deeper than anything they could comprehend.
The entire base seed to mourn with them, the very base heavy with sorrow.
In the distance, smoke still rose from destroyed buildings, but the only sounds were Angela's quiet weeping and the whisper of wind through broken stone.
Kael closed his eyes, a single tear escaping his right eye as he carried Marcus's body away. Angela followed.
***
Author's Note: I know, I know. There is many people Marcus, but in fact there really isn't. There is only two important to the story. Marcus that's part of Kael's team, and Marcus Miller—Sarah's teammate and Moon's old classmate respectively.
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