The wind scraped through the ruins like a whisper dragged across broken glass.
I knelt beside the corpse, breathing in shallow gasps, every movement laced with pain. My arms trembled as the adrenaline bled out of me. The silence wasn't victory.
It was reminder.
This wasn't over.
Voidscar still pulsed faintly in my grip, humming like a coiled storm — sated, but not calm. The blood along its edge was thick, dark, and laced with that violet shimmer unique to Dracus. It dripped slowly, burning into the sand where it landed.
I wiped the blade clean on the squad leader's shredded cloak, then slowly stood. My body screamed in protest. Pain surged through my shoulder, ribs, legs — everywhere that had met metal, Null, or the unforgiving ground.
My Essence was barely flickering now. Just a quiet ember burning somewhere deep inside.
The outpost looked like a war zone. Bits of armor, crushed Null-tech, charred corpses — all twisted in unnatural shapes, as if the very laws of physics had bent during the fight. Maybe they had.
But something gnawed at me.
He'd been reporting before I struck. I'd heard it. Speaking into something. Someone had been listening.
And now?
There was no comms device.
No relay station.
No tech that could have survived that Essence blast.
Which meant someone had taken it — or was still out here.
I turned, scanning the horizon. Let my breath steady. Stilled my pulse. And then, slow and focused, I reached outward with my Essence.
The world shifted. Not visually — spiritually. Echoes became louder. Vibrations surfaced beneath the wind. My skin prickled as I filtered out the static.
There — to the north. Faint. Moving. Injured.
Not Dracus. Not Null-born.
Human.
I moved, slow at first, then faster. Boots crunching over glassed sand, blood dripping from my knuckles. My muscles begged me to stop. My mind didn't care.
Each step was fueled by instinct.
And something else.
Hope.
I reached the edge of the ruins, where the land dipped into cracked dunes and jagged stone — and that's when I saw her.
Cloaked. Limping. Dragging herself through the sand like her body was already halfway into the grave.
She collapsed.
My heart dropped.
"No—!"
I rushed to her side, dropped to one knee, rolled her over gently.
Her face was pale. Blood matted the edge of her hood. Her breathing was shallow, wheezing. Her lips moved without sound, trying to form words that never made it past her throat.
Then her eyes fluttered open — and locked onto mine.
Panic flared in them. She tried to push away, weak and frantic.
"Wait—wait, it's me!" I raised my hands, kept my voice calm. "I'm not one of them."
She struggled again. I didn't move.
"I know you," I said softly. "Back in the forest… you helped me."
Her movements froze.
"You stayed when I was dying. Didn't say anything. Just stood there and made sure I didn't slip into the dark."
Her eyes searched mine — and this time, she saw something she recognized.
"You're the one Scarlett's been searching for," I whispered.
Her lip trembled.
She nodded.
Barely.
Emotion cracked through my chest like a fault line.
"Goddamn," I breathed. "We've been looking for you for so long…"
I glanced around. The wind was picking up. No movement yet — but it wouldn't be long. The squad leader's death would send ripples through the Dracus networks. A scout patrol, maybe even a High Captain, would eventually come looking for the source of that Essence burst.
I had minutes at best.
I slid one arm beneath her knees, the other around her shoulders, and lifted her into my arms.
She didn't fight me this time.
Didn't resist.
She just let her head fall against my chest, shivering — not from cold, but from exhaustion. Trauma. What she'd seen. What she'd survived.
And what she hadn't.
I moved as fast as my body would allow. Through jagged ruins, past scorched earth and shattered stone. My body screamed with every step. Muscles locking. Wounds reopening. My right hand had gone numb.
Didn't matter.
I wasn't stopping.
Not until she was safe.
We reached the far edge of the outpost. I found a natural rock outcropping, hollowed by wind and time. I set her down carefully, scanned the area again, then pulled one of the field blankets from my pack and wrapped it around her shoulders.
She tried to speak.
Her voice was a rasp, barely audible.
"They… they didn't know I was alive…"
I leaned in. "Who didn't?"
"The squad. I escaped when they attacked the last settlement. Hid in the wreckage."
Her eyes welled up.
"They killed everyone."
I saw it again — the images from my vision. The pile of corpses. The blood.
"I know," I said quietly.
"Scarlett… she's alive?"
"She is," I nodded. "She hasn't stopped looking for you. She never gave up."
The girl closed her eyes tight. Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"I… I thought I'd die out here."
"You're not dying," I said, sharper than I meant. "I won't let that happen."
I pulled a ration pack from my bag, cracked a water capsule, and lifted it to her lips. She drank slowly, trembling with each swallow.
"What's your name?" I asked.
She hesitated.
Then: "Violet."
I nodded. Committed it to memory. That name had weight now. Scarlett's missing thread had a name, a face, and a life worth fighting for.
"Violet… we need to move before they come looking for their dead."
Her fingers curled weakly around the edge of the blanket.
"There's… a place nearby," she murmured. "Cave system. Hidden entrance. I found it trying to avoid the squads. I couldn't go deep. No strength."
"Can you show me?"
She nodded.
Barely.
I helped her back up. Supported her with one arm. She leaned into me, her legs barely working, but determination in every step.
Each moment felt like a countdown.
But I knew one thing — this girl, Violet she wasn't just another survivor.
She was part of whatever was coming.
And I'd be damned if I let the Dracus take her again.