During the weeks Lily spent hidden away with Absolute 2 Eva, the world outside continued to turn. Kael and his squad had not been idle.
They moved like ghosts through the Architect network—striking supply lines, ambushing transports, gathering intelligence. Every day brought new information. Every night brought new destruction. The Architects scrambled to respond, but Kael was always one step ahead, always gone before they could arrive.
They attacked a weapons convoy in the mountains. Destroyed a communication hub in the desert. Intercepted data shipments carrying fragments of information about the virus, about its origins, about the antidote that might exist somewhere in the labyrinth of Architect science.
And always, they searched for Damber.
The Superior Architects grew frustrated. Then fearful. Then desperate.
They started calling him by a new name.
Kael Nightfall.
The title spread through their ranks like a curse. Whispers in corridors. Warnings on mission briefings. The name carried weight—the weight of a predator who struck from darkness and vanished before dawn.
The Supers compared him to the Anomaly. Wolfen Welfric had killed the Boars alone—three of their strongest, gone in a single night. Now this new threat moved with similar precision, similar ruthlessness. They couldn't afford another Wolfen. Couldn't handle another variable they couldn't control.
They decided to deal with him themselves.
The trap was simple. Elegant. A cargo shipment, lightly guarded, moving through predictable territory. They would let Kael take the bait, and when he struck, the Superior Architects would be waiting.
Kael watched the cargo from a distance.
His squad waited in the shadows, ready to move. Stitch's silver form flickered with anticipation. Korgath cracked his knuckles. Nyx's iridescent skin shifted through colors, reflecting the dying light.
Kael raised a hand.
"Stand down."
They looked at him. Questioning. Confused.
"It's a trap." His voice was calm, certain. "They want us to attack. They're waiting."
He turned away from the cargo, melting back into the darkness.
"Let it go."
---
For days, nothing.
Kael changed every pattern, every route, every tactic. He observed from a distance, watching the Architects grow restless, watching their patrols become sloppy, watching their guard lower inch by inch.
And then he stopped attacking altogether.
The silence was more terrifying than any assault. The Architects didn't know where he was, what he was planning, when he would strike next. They waited. And waited. And waited.
When they finally relaxed—just a fraction, just enough—Kael moved.
He struck their lab at dawn.
The facility was supposed to be secure. Reinforced. Protected by the presence of no fewer than eight Superior Architects. But Kael's squad breached its defenses like they were made of paper, flowing through corridors of white, leaving destruction in their wake.
Superior 2 was there. Superior 3. Superior 6, 8, 7,. Eight of the Architects' finest, gathered in one place, ripe for the taking.
Kael wanted information. And he knew exactly where to find it.
The battle that followed would be spoken of in whispers for years to come. But Kael didn't fight for glory or revenge. He fought for one thing only:
A Superior Architect, alive, with information about the virus and its antidote.
The rest were obstacles.
And obstacles could be removed.