The sky above was gray, endless, and low.
Max stepped off the helicopter with the rest of Unit Twelve, boots sinking slightly into the ash-covered concrete.
Unit Twelve had arrived in Zone K-8.
The air was thick—like breathing through cloth—and the entire sector felt drowned in silence, as if the city had forgotten how to make sound.
Ahead stood the ruins.
Buildings leaned like broken teeth. Roads twisted unnaturally, buckled and cracked from something deep beneath. Glass shimmered in fragments across the ground, glittering like ice.
The Glass Graveyard.
Kaz whistled low. "Creepy as hell."
"This place makes my skin crawl," Mira muttered, pulling her hood tighter.
Samira was smiling, because of course she was. "Damn, and Loyalty says Dying isn't an option."
Max ignored them.
His eyes scanned the ruins, each step forward slow, deliberate.The field assignment was simple on paper:
Locate the black box drone that went dark.
Confirm threat presence.
Return.
But judging by the sight, this was going to be anything but simple.
Max checked the wristband strapped to his arm. A blinking red dot pulsed on the map, marked: Last Drone Signal. According to HQ, a scout unit went dark two days ago after entering the ruins. They were sent to track down a disturbance—unregistered Vice activity.
This means we're being used as bait.
Max thought grimly.
He tapped the screen and turned to the group.
"This way," he said. "Stay alert. No one goes off alone."
"And remember, we have been given weapons so don't use your Vices unless it's an emergency," Max added. "Let's move."
They moved as a mostly unit. Samira walked a bit ahead, twirling a combat knife in one hand like she was bored. Mira hung near the back, quiet, eyes flicking at every shadow. Kaz stuck to Max's side, cracking jokes under his breath.
The deeper they went, the more the city changed.
Buildings lost their structure, melting into jagged sculptures. Reflections lingered too long in broken windows. And Max couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking straight into danger.
They arrived at a metro station by dusk. The drone's signal had gone cold near there. Its tunnel leading underground looked like a throat swallowing light.
"There," Max said. "It's inside."
Mira frowned. "Of course it is."
Kaz grinned while cracking his fingers. "Underground horror mission? Hell yeah."
"You've got to be kidding me," Samira whined, flicking her knife with lazy annoyance.
"Something must've took it there," Max added, "Keep your guard up."
The air shifted as they stepped into the darkness.
Each stair felt colder than the last. The walls were wet with condensation, or maybe something worse, and the lights—still faintly flickering after all these years—buzzed like dying insects.
Max kept walking.
Down.
Down.
Down.
Until the hallway leveled, opening into a shattered transit platform.
And there it was.
The black box drone lay half-buried in glass and rubble, blinking dimly. Max approached, kneeling beside it, fingers brushing against its shell.
Still intact.
Kaz crouched beside him. "Can you pull the data?"
"I'm trying." Max tapped the interface, but the screen glitched—just static and garbled symbols. "No signal. Might be jammed by whatever's down here."
"I hate this place," Mira whispered from behind them. "It feels... wrong."
"It's more than wrong," Samira said, slowly lowering her knife. Her eyes narrowed toward the far side of the platform. "We're not alone."
Everyone stilled.
Max stood.
And then, they heard it.
A dragging sound. Like metal scraping glass.
Then the lights went out.
All of them.
Darkness swallowed the station in an instant. Mira gasped. Kaz cursed. Max reached for the flashlight on his belt and clicked it on, the beam shaky in the pitch black.
Glass crunched.
Max turned the light.
The beam caught something.
A figure stood in the center of the platform—silent, unmoving. No face. No features. Its body shimmered like it was made of cracked mirrors, stitched together in a humanoid shape. Long arms. Head tilted sideways. And its entire body pulsed like it was breathing.
"What the hell is that?" Kaz said quietly.
Samira didn't answer. She had already moved into a stance, knife reversed in her grip.
Max stepped back. "Everyone—"
The thing twitched.
Then it ran.
Glass exploded around them as the creature launched itself forward—inhuman, fast. Max barely dodged in time, falling to the side as its arm sliced the air where his head had been. The creature hit the ground and skidded, turning mid-movement, twisting its body like it had no bones.
Kaz roared and rushed it, fists lighting with heat—but held back the full ignition of Scorch Fang.
"Don't use your Vice!" Max shouted.
Kaz swung wide, and his punch collided with the creature's chest, sending it staggering back—but it didn't fall. Instead, it shifted. Its skin warped and reformed, absorbing the hit like smoke hardening into glass again.
"Regenerating?" Mira said, voice shaking.
Samira dove in, fast and low. Her blade scratched across the mirror flesh, carving a line—but the creature spun and kicked her aside with brutal force. She hit a bench with a loud crack.
"Samira!" Max called.
She groaned, winded. "Still pretty," she muttered weakly.
Max turned back to the thing. His heart pounded. Not fear. Something else. The drone. The mission. This thing—it wasn't just a cursed person. It was something worse. Something wrong.
Its head turned toward him.
Then it spoke.
"—you don't belong here—"
The voice wasn't a voice. It was like a chorus. Like hundreds of people whispering at once through broken glass.
Max felt his stomach twist.
This isn't a cursed human. This is a Pure Vice.
He felt it in his bones. His mark—it pulsed under his skin like it was reacting.
The creature lunged again—this time straight for Mira.
Max didn't think.
He moved.
Tackled her out of the way just in time as the creature's claws slammed into the wall behind them, cracking tile.
They hit the floor hard.
"You good?" he asked quickly.
Mira nodded, trembling. "Yeah. Yeah—"
Kaz was back in, fists glowing red.
"Emergency now, right?" he growled.
Max nodded. "Burn it."
Kaz's eyes lit with fury—and then flames burst from his arms, swirling as he charged forward. The station filled with light as scorching flames came alive, fire dancing across Kaz's body as he collided with the creature in a fiery tackle.
The thing shrieked. For the first time, it reacted.
It was burning.
Kaz screamed as well—rage and release—as he punched it over and over again, each hit spraying molten shards across the platform.
"Get the drone!" Max shouted at Mira.
She rushed to grab it.
The creature flailed, stumbling. Cracks were spreading across its form. It tried to speak again—but this time, it was all static. No words. Just sound. Angry, broken sound.
Samira was back on her feet, blood at her temple. She limped over beside Max, eyes fixed on the thing. "Guess fire still works," she said.
"You alright?"
She flashed a grin. "Still pretty."
Then the Vice burst—shattering like a dropped mirror.
Glass exploded outward in all directions. Everyone ducked.
Then it was over.
Silence returned.
Max rose slowly, heart still racing. Bits of glass rained from the ceiling. Kaz stood in the middle of it all, flames dimming, chest rising and falling.
"That... was not a normal cursed," he muttered.
"No," Max said. "It wasn't."
Mira came back, cradling the black box. "Got it. Still intact."
Max nodded, eyes lingering on the spot where the Vice had died.
Loyalty's words echoed in his mind.
"Pure Vices don't usually show themselves. If you see one, run."
But this one hadn't just shown itself.
It had spoken.
"You think it's over?" Mira asked quietly.
Max shook his head. "No."
He looked around at the wreckage, the blood, the smoke.
"This was just a warning."