Rumors from the Broken Flame
A week after the collapse of Kurozai Base, the skies above Edenfall were unusually cloudy. Radio signals crisscrossed with static and false information. In an old observatory, Akihiko, Naeya, Lirea, and Kael gathered around a table covered in torn maps, lines drawn in blood, and faded photographs.
"There are eight control points this new mob is using to control Edenfall," Kael explained. "And if we don't destroy all eight at the same time, they'll regenerate."
"Simultaneously? Are they crazy?" Lirea muttered. "That requires complete military coordination."
"We don't have an army," Naeya said, "but we have the will."
Each vertex was a fortress protected by members of the new underground empire: the Noxis Clan . Powerful, organized, and without morals. The team's only advantage was information: each point was linked to a distinct emotional energy source. The siege would be psychological, physical, and spiritual... although no one ever spoke that last word anymore.
War Preparations
For the next few days, Akihiko trained alone. The Void within him responded uneasily. In a cavern sealed by metal ceilings, he practiced the technique he had yet to fully master: Anchor Fracture . Its purpose: to sever not just flesh, but intent.
Meanwhile, Lirea assembled a specialized sabotage team. Kael reprogrammed drones to overload sensor frequencies. And Naeya designed the assault routes, establishing temporary tactical commands in each neighborhood.
"We can't afford to make mistakes," Kael said. "These mobsters don't hesitate to use children as shields. They're more animal than human."
Akihiko didn't reply. He'd stopped seeing them as humans a long time ago.
III. The First Vertex: The Ash Bastion
The offensive began at dawn. The first target was Ashhold , a converted thermal power plant, a hideout for Clan Noxis smugglers and bioengineers. The walls were made of human remains fused with thermal cement.
Naeya and Akihiko broke into the underground canal. They encountered Arvak , a gangster covered in obsidian plates. His power: to concentrate body heat in specific areas to become incinerating without burning himself .
"Do you know how a heart dies?" Arvak asked. "It slowly burns away… just like your ideals."
The fight was brutal. Akihiko used the Hemodynamic Severing technique but was repelled by the thermal pressure. On the verge of collapse, he combined Vacuum with condensation to create an internal explosion that disintegrated Arvak's core from within.
The Bastion fell. One of eight.
The Second Vertex: Silent Blue Tower
Kael led the raid with drones and a sonic attack that overwhelmed the enemy's senses. She faced Mirai , a blind assassin who mastered echo. Her sonic waves could kill without touching, locating the heart by its rhythm.
"The heart lies, but the pulse doesn't," she said before activating her technique: Final Rhythm .
Kael used a counterfrequency with his vibrational gloves. The fight was mental, tactical, and resolved when he managed to artificially alter her heart rate, causing Mirai to attack a projected illusion.
Second vertex destroyed.
Falling Fragments
Elsewhere, Lirea faced a multi-armed titan named Koarth , who absorbed the bones of fallen enemies to increase his strength. The fight was bloody, but he defeated him using time-delayed poison that he infused into his own wounds.
Each vertex fell with sweat, blood, and pain. But the true enemy still hadn't appeared.
The Fog Before the Last Sound
Akihiko met up with the others at the old central station. They had six vertices destroyed. Two more to go.
"They let us do it. They're waiting for us," Naeya murmured.
"Yes," Lirea said. "And they're studying us."
At the back of the ruined carriage, a figure watched calmly. It had no face. Only a mark: the symbol of Clan Noxis carved into its throat.
END OF CHAPTER 199