"Rebirth is never gentle—it burns everything it cannot keep."— Erevos, Keeper of Cycles
Cael.
The man's dark hair fell across his face, his armor faintly scorched near the edges, the faint blue glow of Hellfire pulsing beneath his skin like veins of light. He looked up as Kaen stirred.
"Glad you're awake," Cael said, voice calm but weighted.
Kaen tried to sit up, grimacing at the dull ache that rippled through his body. "Where am I?"
"The Western Base," Cael replied. "One of four strongholds of the Ashes of the Sun."
Kaen's eyes flickered around. "Who runs this place?"
Cael leaned back slightly, crossing his arms. "That depends who you ask. I oversee this base — the western sector. But the Ashes themselves are led by the Council of Three."
He let the words hang, letting Kaen's curiosity breathe.
"Three Elders," Cael continued. "Veil — a healer with a Gold-tier Wind Resonance. Merek — an old Dominion warlord who controls the earth itself. And Ronin — the only man to ever burn a Dominion cathedral and live to tell about it. Fire user. Purple-tier."
Kaen frowned faintly. "You answer to them?"
Cael gave a half-smile. "No one answers to them. We listen. Then we decide how much of their wisdom applies to the day we're dying through."
He rose to his feet, motioning for Kaen to follow. "Come. You should see it for yourself."
The corridors wound deep into the earth. Dominion architecture still clung to the walls — faded crests, broken statues, shattered light fixtures. But life had reclaimed the ruin.
Tents made of stitched cloth lined the corridors, the smell of metal and sweat thick in the air. Children carried buckets of water while soldiers sparred in open alcoves. It wasn't an army. It was survival woven into structure.
When they stepped into the main chamber, Kaen froze.
The space was enormous — a dome carved into ancient stone. Dozens of fires burned across it, the flickering light reflecting off hanging banners painted with a red sun split by a black ring.
At the far end stood a woman with silver hair and frost-blue eyes, her coat flaring slightly with each movement. She was giving orders to a group of cadets, her tone sharp but even.
"That's Captain Elyra Valen," Cael said beside him. "She commands Unit 3. One of my best."
Kaen watched her, something about her presence striking him immediately — not her beauty, but her control. Her movements were precise, her authority quiet but absolute. Frost gathered faintly at her boots as she gestured to a map table.
"And the man beside her?" Kaen asked, noticing a silver-haired figure leaning lazily against a pillar.
"Vexen," Cael said with a dry chuckle. "Her Vice Captain. He smiles too much for someone who's killed as many Dominion officers as he has."
Kaen's gaze flicked between them. "How many of you are here?"
"Five captains per base," Cael explained. "Each with a unit of five cadets and a vice captain. It's not much, but it's what we have left. North handles reconnaissance. South, supply. East runs infiltration and sabotage. We're defense."
Kaen's brows knit. "You mean you hold the line?"
"Exactly." Cael's eyes glowed faintly blue in the dim light. "If the Dominion ever finds this place, we won't survive long. But we'll make them regret stepping foot here."
Elyra noticed them approaching. Her voice carried across the chamber — cold, crisp. "You should be resting."
Kaen met her eyes. "You're the one in charge?"
"Of this unit," she said. "The base belongs to Commander Ryden."
Cael gave her a faint look of amusement. "He's learning fast."
Elyra's gaze lingered on Kaen, studying him. "Your pulse is steady. That's good. I wasn't sure your body would hold after what you did."
He hesitated. "What I did?"
"The village," she said simply. No judgment — just fact. "You didn't lose control. You survived it. That's the difference."
Cael stepped forward, tone softer. "You're not the first to be broken by what the Dominion calls 'divine order.' But maybe you'll be the first to change what comes after."
Kaen glanced between them — Elyra's frost and Cael's flame, opposites orbiting the same quiet resolve.
"What happens now?" he asked.
Elyra folded her arms. "You train. You learn. And you decide what you'll be when the Source looks back at you."
Cael added, "And until then, you're under Unit 3's command."
Kaen blinked. "Meaning…?"
Elyra's lips curved slightly — not a smile, but something close. "Meaning you'll answer to me."
Vexen's voice drifted from behind her, smooth and teasing. "Congratulations, kid. You just joined the worst unit with the best record."
Cael shot him a look. "You talk too much."
"I compensate for your charm, Commander."
The faintest flicker of amusement crossed Cael's face before he turned back to Kaen. "Get some rest. Tomorrow, you'll see what the Ashes really fight for."
As the lights dimmed across the base that night, Kaen lay awake listening to the hum of distant forges, the murmurs of the living, the quiet rhythm of purpose.
Above ground, the world burned with false light. Below, in the hollow of rebellion, a new dawn waited — one made not of brilliance, but of defiance.
"Light may build empires, but only silence buries them."— From the Records of the Ashes of the Sun