Chapter 22: Captain Eunchae!

  The wasteland night was thick with a silence that felt heavy, like a held breath. In the yard of the ancient temple, Yaejin stood with her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on the horizon while Jiwon remained fast asleep in the makeshift base camp they had cobbled together.

  Before Yaejin, the blue light of Aki flickered against the dark stone.

  "So the temple behind you... it literally leads to Oblivion? The realm of demons?" Yaejin asked, her voice low.

  "Yes and no," Aki replied, her holographic form glitching slightly. "Behind me is a pocket prison—a splinter of Oblivion itself. It houses demons and..." Aki’s eyes darted around, a programmed mimicry of genuine fear, "...the Ashen Ghost."

  Yaejin rolled her eyes, the tension of the mission fraying her nerves. "You’re annoying. Can’t you just change your personality to be exactly like Gaeul-unnie?"

  Aki straightened her posture, her expression shifting into a mask of stoic gravity. "Yaejin. I am Aki. A calm commander. Remember: Discipline. Squirrels."

  "No. Switch back," Yaejin sighed, rubbing her temples.

  Aki’s holographic face broke into a bright, cheerful grin. "Oh, thanks! I actually prefer this personality—the default. Gaeul made me this way for a reason."

  Yaejin couldn’t help it; a small, bittersweet smile tugged at her lips. "So... the Councils gave Gaeul an assignment to guard this temple?"

  "Yes," Aki nodded. "And she invented me to be a stationary AI. I was tasked to deliver this mission to her most trusted Elite in the event of her death."

  Yaejin’s smile widened, a spark of pride lighting up her eyes. "And that was me?"

  "No, it was Wonjung," Aki said with brutal, digital honesty. "But Wonjung wasn't responding, so it went to you. But you weren't responding either, so it went to Jiwon."

  Yaejin’s smile remained, though it turned reflective. She looked at the temple doors. "She... she really did trust Wonjung more than anyone."

  ***

  The Next Day: Early Morning

  The silence of the wasteland didn't just break; it was annihilated.

  BOOM!

  Massive war cries tore through the air as the morning sun hit the cross-center where the crater of Ven City met the jagged lips of the Outlands. Standing there, like a middle finger to the heavens, was the Zeal Tower. It was gargantuan—a monolith of cold steel and dark glass that seemed to swallow the light.

  The Zeal soldiers were ready. They manned five massive, high-tech cannons scattered across the front lines. These weren't primitive artillery; they were sleek, energy-based monsters that hummed before spitting out blinding beams of concentrated heat. Every hit sent the earth geysering upward in a fountain of fire and dirt.

  The Flux Resistance charged. It was a chaotic, beautiful display of power. Soldiers flew through the air, trailing fire and frost; others summoned spectral beasts that tore through the Zeal's perimeter, while waves of poison gas rolled across the trenches.

  An energy beam from a central cannon slammed into the ground, vaporizing the earth and killing four Flux soldiers instantly.

  "FRONTLINERS, TO ME!" Rin’s voice cut through the thunder of the artillery.

  Eunchae heard the call. She watched from the mid-line as Seonho grabbed Leeseo, the two of them disappearing in a blue flash to join Rin. Eunchae cleared her throat, her eyes bright with a mixture of nerves and excitement.

  Behind a massive, jagged boulder that shook with every explosion, the core team gathered. San, Rin, Kanghyuk, Haruka, Leeseo, and Seonho hived together as the war raged just meters away.

  "Seonho, Leeseo—take the cannons on the right," Rin barked, her eyes scanning the battlefield. "Seonho, abuse your Blink. Get in close, take the soldiers off the controls."

  "Kanghyuk, Haruka—you’re our infiltrators," Rin continued. "You’re the fastest. Get inside the tower before they can seal the blast doors." Both nodded, their faces grim.

  "San, we’ll take the middle and left cannons," Rin finished, gripping her staff.

  San drew his massive claymore, the heavy steel catching the morning sun. "Pillars do fall," he muttered, his eyes locked on the tower.

  "What do I do?"

  The group jumped as one. Standing there, leaning against the rock with a casual smile, was Eunchae.

  "Eunchae! What are you doing here?" Rin yelled. BOOM! An explosion rocked the ground nearby, and the group instinctively ducked.

  "Yikes," Eunchae chuckled, barely flinching.

  "You stay at the back!" Rin commanded, pointing toward the secondary line. "Your clones are already doing great work against the foot soldiers. Look!"

  They glanced back. Dozens of Eunchae’s spectral clones were darting through the Zeal ranks, their daggers finding the gaps in the soldiers' armor.

  "Yeah, they’re there," Eunchae said, unbothered. "So... what do I do?"

  "Stay there! It’s too dangerous!" Rin’s frustration was peaking. "Let the frontliners do the heavy lifting!"

  Seonho looked at her, his expression soft but firm. "Eunchae, dear. I love you, but please... listen to Rin."

  "Guys, we’re running out of time!" Leeseo yelled, pointing to the cannons charging for another volley. "We need to bring those down now!"

  "Fine! Fine! I’ll go!" Eunchae said. She leaned over, giving San’s bicep a playful, encouraging squeeze. "Okay, I’m going now!"

  She turned and sprinted away, but not toward the back. She was heading right into the heart of the fire.

  ***

  On the far right flank, a Zeal soldier adjusted the dampeners on his massive energy cannon. Through his tactical visor, he watched the chaos of the battlefield—his allies were being slowly pushed back by the sheer desperation of the Flux trainees. He locked his targeting reticle onto a lone teenager running through the smoke. His finger hovered over the firing stud.

  Tap, tap.

  He felt a light poke on his shoulder. Thinking it was his loader, he turned with a snarl, only to find himself staring into the calm, handsome face of Seonho.

  "Hi. Just blinked in!" Seonho said casually. "Quick question: May I use your bathroom?"

  The soldier’s eyes widened. He scrambled to draw his sidearm, but he was already too slow. In a blur of motion, Seonho’s blade find the gap in his gorget. The soldier slumped over the controls.

  Seonho immediately Blinked back down to the ground where Leeseo was waiting. He was breathing heavily, sweat beading on his forehead. "The other cannon... it was too far for me to blink instantly," he panted. "I need to charge."

  He stood there, closing his eyes as a hum of brilliant blue light began to radiate from his skin, his body acting as a living battery for his spatial jumps.

  "Love you," Leeseo whispered, a small, teasing smile on her face.

  "Stop it, Lee—" Seonho’s eyes snapped open, glowing a fierce blue, but his cheeks were a bright, unmistakable red. He vanished in a crack of displaced air.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Left alone, Leeseo turned her focus toward the cannon Seonho had just cleared. She raised her hands, her brow furrowing with intense concentration. With a violent, twisting motion of her wrists, her Telekinesis took hold. The thick metal of the cannon groaned and shrieked, folding in on itself like paper until it was a useless heap of scrap.

  "One down," she muttered. "Four to go."

  In the center of the storm, San was a vision of absolute lethality. Three Zeal soldiers in heavy, cybernetic power armor roared as they charged him, their mechanical limbs whirring. San didn't flinch. He moved like a shadow, his claymore singing through the air. Stab. Impale. Slice. He moved with a brutal efficiency that left all three armored giants dead in the dirt before they could even trigger their energy shields.

  He looked up just in time to see a massive energy beam from the central cannon screaming directly toward him.

  "Minjoon," he muttered, invoking the memory of his master.

  San’s eyes ignited with a deep, swirling Corruption. He reached out a hand, and the laws of physics seemed to buckle. The massive beam of energy didn't explode; it began to spiral, sucking itself into a localized void in mid-air until it vanished into nothingness.

  While San held the line, Rin was a blur of acrobatic violence. She launched herself into a flying kick that sent a guard’s helmet spinning, then followed through with a thunderous whip of her bo staff. The strike caught a second soldier in the chest, hurling him backward into the machinery of the central cannon with enough force to knock him out instantly.

  San stepped forward, his hand glowing with dark, corruptive energy. He pressed his palm against the base of the machine. The corruption hissed, desecrating the internal circuits and melting the core. The massive weapon collapsed into a scorched, useless pole of metal.

  The remaining soldier jumped from the wreckage, pulling his pistol, but Rin’s blue eyes had already seen the movement before it happened. One swift, crushing whack of her staff to the side of his head, and he was down.

  Behind a nearby boulder, Haruka took a breath. Her body turned translucent, shimmering like a mirage as she phased through the very molecules of the tower's outer wall, disappearing inside.

  Moments later, Kanghyuk sprinted past San, his speed a literal blur as he darted through the main entrance before the blast doors could cycle shut.

  "They're in," San said, his chest heaving as he looked at the tower.

  Away from the main heat of the cannons, the "Original" Eunchae stood before a line of four of her own clones. She paced back and forth, her hands behind her back, mimicking the stance of an Elite commander.

  "Listen up!" Eunchae barked at her duplicates. "We can’t just wait here. We have talents! We have sai's! And most importantly..."

  Clone 1 nodded vigorously, striking a cute pose with her hands under her chin. "We have aegyo!!"

  Clone 2 let out a low, terrifying growl. "No!"

  The original Eunchae bit her lip, looking toward the tower where the explosions were peaking. "I am a good fighter... I can help, right?" she asked, essentially looking for a vote of confidence from herself.

  Clone 3 nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, you are! You could probably take Pierce alone, honestly!"

  Clone 4 crossed her arms, pointing a sai toward the front lines. "Exactly. And besides, Leeseo was a trainee too. Why does she get to be up there while we're stuck in the dirt?"

  That was the final straw. The original Eunchae slammed her fist into her palm. "That’s it! I’m going in!"

  "Go, Captain Eunchae! Go!" the clones cheered in unison.

  "Louder!" Eunchae demanded, a grin spreading across her face.

  "CAPTAIN EUNCHAE!" the clones roared, their voices carrying over the sound of the war.

  High above the battlefield, the heavy doors of the tower's elevator hissed open. Kanghyuk stepped out into a staging area where a squad of Zeal soldiers was frantically loading heavy ordnance for the cannons below.

  They froze, staring at the intruder. Kanghyuk just smirked, cracking his neck. "Zeal... honestly, you guys are so easy to infiltrate."

  He slammed his foot into the metallic floor. His eyes flared with a brilliant, pulsing blue. A massive Kinetic Shockwave rippled out from his center, shattering the weapon crates into splinters and hurling the soldiers back like ragdolls.

  One soldier scrambled backward, his heart hammering against his ribs as he backed into a solid concrete wall. Suddenly, two translucent arms reached out from the stone. Haruka phased through the wall, her expression cold as she grabbed the man by his collar and pulled him halfway into the solid surface.

  "Where is Pierce?" she asked, her voice a deadly whisper.

  The man, trembling, pointed frantically toward the hallway on the left.

  Haruka didn't say thank you. She surged forward, pulling herself fully out of the wall while simultaneously slamming the man’s head back against the concrete with a sickening thud. He slumped over, unconscious.

  "Left hall!" she called out. Kanghyuk didn't wait; he was already a blur of motion, sprinting toward the hallway.

  Meanwhile,

  The backlines were a death trap. Zeal soldiers leveled their heavy arm-cannons at the trembling trainees, the high-pitched whine of charging energy filling the air.

  Then, the sky split.

  Ren plummeted from above like a meteor, his eyes glowing a fierce, Pulsing Blue. He used his force to propel himself downward with terminal velocity, slamming into the earth. The resulting shockwave didn't just crack the ground—it sent the soldiers flying like ragdolls.

  Only one Zealot remained standing, his weapon clattering to the floor in pure shock.

  At that moment, an Eunchae clone was kicked backward through the air. Without even turning his head, Ren caught her mid-flight and, with a violent surge of force, hurled her straight at the last man. The clone smirked in mid-air, her blade flashing as she buried it in the soldier’s neck before she even touched the ground.

  Back near the tower. The dirt was stained red and black. Seonho stood over the final guard of the fourth cannon, his blade dripping. Behind him, the massive artillery piece gave one final, screeching groan before Leeseo crushed it into a ball of scrap metal with a flick of her hand.

  "Nice," Seonho panted, wiping sweat and blue blood from his brow. "We’re... we’re almost done."

  Leeseo looked around at the burning wreckage and the retreating Zeal foot soldiers. "Are we actually winning?" she asked, her voice small, almost afraid to believe it.

  Before Seonho could answer, his combat instincts screamed. A hidden sniper behind a jagged rock fired a concentrated beam of heat. Seonho didn't think—he grabbed Leeseo and Blinked. The beam sliced through the air exactly where her head had been a millisecond before.

  They reappeared behind the sniper. Seonho’s face was a mask of pure, protective rage. He tackled the shooter, stabbing downward again and again in a frantic, desperate blur.

  "Seonho! Enough!" Leeseo yelled, grabbing his arm to pull him back.

  Another Zeal soldier charged at her from the flank, but Leeseo was faster. She slammed her tonfas into his chest, used her telekinesis to lift him five feet off the ground, and then "swung" an invisible bat, throwing him through the air like a baseball until he vanished into the smoke.

  Seonho stood up, his chest heaving. "He almost... he almost got you."

  "But he didn't," Leeseo said firmly, taking his hand. "You saved me. Focus, Seonho. We have to catch up with the others."

  Seonho nodded, though his legs felt like lead. "I’m tired... it’s like the Ven war all over again."

  Nearby, San was a grim reaper. A Zeal commander tried to rush him with an energy blade, but San simply held out his hand. Using his Corruption, he didn't just kill the man; he caused the man’s internal organs to collapse and shrivel inside out. As the commander fell, another soldier charged. San didn't even look, spinning his claymore in a clean arc that impaled the attacker through the chest.

  He tapped his earpiece. "I just got comms from Kanghyuk. They’re inside. They're heading for Pierce's level now."

  Rin wiped a splash of oil from her cheek, her eyes scanning the perimeter. Suddenly, her brow furrowed. She spotted a small, dark-haired figure sprinting toward the main tower entrance with reckless abandon.

  "Is that... Eunchae?" Rin asked, her voice rising in disbelief.

  "No, Eunchae is right there," San said, pointing toward a figure at the backlines who was currently mid-kick. But as soon as he pointed, the figure poofed into a cloud of blue smoke after a soldier landed a hit. "Oops. Just a clone. She's... over there!"

  He pointed again, but that Eunchae also vanished into thin air.

  Rin’s eyes went wide. She looked back at the girl running into the tower. "Oh my god, San! That’s the real one!"

  "EUNCHAE!" Rin screamed, but the girl had already disappeared into the shadows of the entrance.

  Without waiting for San, Rin took off at a full sprint. "I'm going in! We can't let her get herself killed!"

  Now, the entire core of Flux was inside the hive. The siege had ended—but the real nightmare was just beginning.

  ***

  The elevator dings as it ascends. Inside, Eunchae bounces on the balls of her feet, her heart hammering a mile a minute. The doors slide open, and she bolts out like a rabbit, disappearing into the maze of the upper floors before the Zeal soldiers patrolling the hall can even register her presence.

  Moments later, a second elevator opens. Rin steps out, spinning her staff with a terrifying, rhythmic precision. She stops and looks at the startled guards.

  "Hi guys! Have you seen a young girl? Puffy cheeks, dark hair tied up, about... yay high?" Rin gestures with her hand. "Also, she’s carrying two totally dangerous pointy things. Very hard to miss."

  The soldiers don't answer. They level their rifles and charge.

  Rin sighs, her blue eyes tracking every movement. "Damn. I was really hoping for a shortcut."

  ***

  At the end of the grand hall, the massive double doors leading to the command center loom ahead. Kanghyuk and Haruka walk side-by-side, the sounds of distant battle echoing through the vents.

  "Remember when... San and Rahee were arm wrestling for the leadership position?" Kanghyuk asks suddenly, a nostalgic smirk playing on his lips.

  Haruka chuckles softly. "Rahee won, right?"

  "Yeah. I predicted she would win and then just let San lead anyway," Kanghyuk says.

  "And you were right," Haruka says, looking at him fondly. "You know us all too well."

  Kanghyuk stops, his expression turning solemn. He looks at Haruka. "Minjoon, San, Rahee... and you. You guys are the only family I have left."

  Haruka smiles, a flicker of warmth in her eyes despite the cold steel of the tower. "Kick the door for me, Oppa. I’m tired of phasing all day."

  "Same here," Kanghyuk grunts.

  Just as he raises his boot, they hear frantic, heavy breathing behind them. Eunchae skids around the corner, leaning against the wall as she gasps for air.

  "Guys—no time—to explain!" she pants, doubled over. "I really ran... a long way. Breathes. Who designed this hallway? It’s a literal marathon!"

  Haruka chuckles, shaking her head. "I'll watch her. Go on."

  Kanghyuk gives a sharp nod and kicks the doors. They fly off their hinges, crashing into the room.

  Pierce is standing there. He isn't surprised. He is clad in high-tech gauntlets, holding a specialized energy pistol. He stands perfectly still, his head bowed.

  "...Amen," he whispers, finishing a prayer. He turns to face the three of them as the doors hiss shut behind them, locking them in. "Either you all die, or I do. So, I want to ask you something."

  "NO!" Eunchae yells, ready to pounce, but Haruka catches her collar and pulls her back.

  "What?" Haruka asks, her eyes narrowing.

  "If I die... keep my son safe," Pierce says, his voice devoid of malice, sounding only like a man who knows his time is short.

  Kanghyuk doesn't answer with words. He nods once and draws his twin axes. He slams his foot down to summon a kinetic shockwave to end the fight quickly, but—nothing happens.

  "Guys?" Eunchae calls out, her voice trembling. "My sisters... they aren't coming out."

  Haruka touches the wall, her eyes widening. "This room is Antibound. The walls are lined with dampeners. Our Aion cells are being forced into sleep." She reaches for her ankle blades manually.

  Pierce moves forward, his gauntlets humming with a sinister, synthetic light. "Your Aion cells sleep... but my technology is very much awake."

  He raises his gauntlet, a red laser scanning Eunchae. Within seconds, a holographic shimmer hardens into reality. A perfect clone of Pierce steps out of the light.

  "What? No way!" Eunchae gasps.

  The two Pierces attack simultaneously. Kanghyuk engages the original, his axes swinging in brutal arcs. Pierce is fast, dodging with mechanical assistance, and every time he tries to fire his pistol, Kanghyuk twists mid-air, dodging the lethal beams by a hair’s breadth.

  Haruka moves like a swan, a flurry of kicks aimed at the clone, but the machine-logic of the duplicate blocks every strike. Eunchae sees an opening and charges with her sais, but the clone pivots and fires at her.

  "Eunchae!" Haruka screams, lunging forward and pulling the girl out of the way. The energy bolt misses Eunchae's chest but sears deeply into her arm.

  "AHHH!" Eunchae yells, clutching her wounded limb.

  Haruka shoves her against the far wall. "Stay back, kid!"

  The distraction costs Haruka. The clone lands a heavy, mechanical kick to her ribs, sending her crashing to the floor.

  Meanwhile, Kanghyuk finds his opening. He lands a thunderous roundhouse kick across the original Pierce’s face, sending him sprawling. Kanghyuk raises his axe for a non-fatal blow to the shoulder to end the fight—but Pierce’s gauntlet flashes. He scans Haruka.

  Suddenly, the axe passes right through Pierce’s shoulder. He has copied her intangibility.

  Kanghyuk’s eyes go wide with fear. Pierce doesn't stop; he scans Kanghyuk next, rolls to the side, and slams his palm into the floor. A Kinetic Shockwave—Kanghyuk’s own move—explodes outward, hurling Kanghyuk across the room.

  Haruka recovers, her blade-kicks finding purchase. She wounds the clone's chest, and a well-timed sai thrown by Eunchae thuds into the clone's shoulder, staggering it. Haruka catches Eunchae’s wink and delivers a final, crushing kick to the clone's neck, shattering the projection.

  The original Pierce fires a shockwave at her, but Haruka leaps high. He fires his gun, forcing her into a desperate aerial dance. Eunchae rushes in again, her sai slicing into Pierce’s arm, while Haruka’s blade nearly grazes his throat.

  Pierce can only copy one power at a time. He sticks to the shockwave, unleashing a massive burst that sends Eunchae flying.

  "KID!" Haruka screams.

  Eunchae hits the wall with a sickening crack. She slumps down, unable to move. "Unnie... agh..."

  Haruka spins for a killing strike, but Pierce is ready. He scans her again. Her kick phases through his head harmlessly, but his solid gauntlet finds her stomach. The impact sends Haruka reeling back, gasping for air.

  Pierce stands over her, leveling his energy pistol directly at her forehead. Haruka, exhausted and unable to move, closes her eyes. "Rahee..." she whispers.

  BLAST!

  The sound of the discharge echoes through the room. Haruka waits for the darkness, but it doesn't come. She opens her eyes.

  Standing directly in front of her is Kanghyuk.

  There is a smoking hole in the center of his chest. He had stepped into the line of fire at the very last second.

  "Kanghyuk..." Haruka whispers, her voice breaking. "KANGHYUK!!!"

  Kanghyuk turns his head slightly, a small, peaceful smile on his face even as the light begins to fade from his eyes.

  "There..." he coughs, blood trickling from his lips. "Now, San can be the best man."

  He collapses to the ground, his body hitting the floor with a hollow thud. He is gone.

  Copy.