Velvet & Vine, Drakenfall’s only five-star hotel, stood like an oasis of calm in the bustling city. Their car pulled up to its grand, ivy-wrapped entrance.

“Thank you for everything,” Axel said, stepping out and taking Annabelle’s hand.

Inside the lobby, someone familiar was waiting.

Wesley.

But he looked worse for wear—pale, disheveled, dark circles under his eyes, and hair that hadn’t seen a wash in days. When he saw Axel, he opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, then forced a smile.

“Mr. Wesley.”

“Come,” Wesley said quietly. “Phoenix is inside.”

They walked into a private suite that reeked of antiseptic and blood. Medical equipment beeped softly. Nurses moved quickly, silently.

Axel froze the moment he saw Phoenix.

The man who’d once been a pillar of Obsidian’s power now lay broken on the bed.

There was a hole the size of a fist blown through Phoenix’s lower abdomen. His knees were shattered, his skin blotched purple with internal bruising, his chest marked by deep gashes that hadn’t fully closed. Tubes ran from his arms. An oxygen mask covered his face.

But he was breathing—barely.

Axel took a slow breath. His throat felt tight.

“What the hell happened to you...?”

He stepped closer, the low hum of the monitors suddenly louder than anything he'd heard in days. The stronger man he’d ever fought beside now looked like a corpse being kept alive by wires and willpower.

And if Phoenix was in this state, then .....captain... Rosaline... where were they?

Wesley gestured for him to sit. After a pause, he began slowly.

“After the beast tide broke out, the Obsidian team was ordered to assist the Drakenfall Ministry of Defense. We were deployed to reinforce their frontline efforts.”

He rubbed his temples, visibly drained.

“In the chaos of battle, a mutant emerged. A half-step beast general: the Black-Scale Sky-Swallowing Python.”

Axel’s brow furrowed.

Wesley clarified, “A beast general-class is the equivalent of a level 6 human awakener. A half-step general? Right at the peak of level 5.”

Axel’s stomach turned cold.

“After Vince and the team suffered heavy losses, they retreated—deep into the Mirabelle wilderness—to draw the creature away from the city.”

He paused. “It’s been four days. No word. No trace. Phoenix is the only one who made it back alive—and he hasn’t woken up since.”

Wesley leaned forward, voice grave. “Axel, you’re now a full member of Obsidian. HQ wants you to reorganize the team.”

Reorganize Obsidian. That phrase sat like lead in Axel’s lungs.

“They’re not dead,” he said through clenched teeth. “They’re just... deep in the mountains. They’ll come back.”

Wesley said nothing.

Mirabelle’s mountain interior was known for its treacherous terrain, brutal storms, and unpredictable beast habitats. Being hunted by a half-step general-class mutant... and surviving four days without communication?

The odds were close to zero.

Wesley’s eyes glistened. He quickly looked away.

“Axel,” he said gently, “I know this is a lot. But—”

“I’ve got questions.”

Wesley hesitated, then stood. “Let’s talk in the hallway.”

They stepped outside the hospital suite into the cool corridor, the door shutting softly behind them. The sterile air smelled faintly of disinfectant.

“Go ahead.”

Axel didn’t waste time.

“How far was the battle site from the city wall?”

“Roughly ten kilometers.”

Axel blinked. Ten kilometers? That was practically next door. Even the main battlefield at Shiverstone had been hundreds of kilometers out.

Wesley continued, “Mirabelle’s walls are unique. Each section is outfitted with energy cannons. High cost, high consumption—but a single beam can vaporize a level 4 mutant in seconds.”

“Were there no surveillance recordings?”

Wesley shook his head. “All power was diverted to the cannons. No video. No logs.”

If the Obsidian squad had been the frontline primary unit—if they’d led the python away—then removing them would’ve left the entire city exposed.

So why had the Ministry allowed that? Why wasn’t there any coordinated backup?

And if Obsidian wasn’t the primary unit... what the hell were the others doing?

“So you’re saying only Vince them faced the Black-Scale Python? Where was the Ministry of Defense? Did their specialists follow them into the mountains?”

“I don’t know,” Wesley said. “Everything I’ve learned came from Cody—the Ministry’s regional commander: Cody.”

Axel narrowed his eyes. The Ministry of Defense, the Whisper Syndicate, the Survey Corps—these were the three major military branches.

“How strong is Cody?”

“Mid-level 4,” Wesley replied. “Comparable to Millers. After Vince led the python away, the beast tide retreated almost immediately....”

Axel was quiet.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Wesley added. “But don’t go chasing shadows. This might just be bad luck.”

Axel didn’t respond.

Just then, a man approached them—middle-aged, clean-cut, dressed in a crisp white shirt. His presence was calm, his expression warm.

“Captain Wesley. This is Axel, right?” He smiled politely. “You’re younger than I expected.”

Wesley straightened. “Axel, this is Simon—a medical awakener, fourth-level. He’s with the Whisper Syndicate too. He’s the one who saved Phoenix.”

Simon raised a hand modestly. “Barely. The injury missed his heart by a few inches. If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”

Axel bowed slightly. “Thank you, sir. Did Phoenix ever wake up, even briefly?”

Simon shook his head. “No. The injuries are catastrophic. It'll take at least a week before there's even a chance of waking him.”

He looked toward the suite. “Come in. I need to check his vitals again.”

Inside the suite, Simon extended his hand, and a strange green algae-like plant bloomed mid-air, hovering just above Phoenix’s mangled body. It radiated a soft, living glow. As it lowered over his wounds, droplets of thick sap began to weep from its edges, soaking into the raw flesh.

Axel stepped closer, eyes fixed.

“Axel, you're a medical awakener too. Come see for yourself,” Simon said gently.

“Thank you, Mr. Simon.” Axel leaned in, watching intently.

The algae plant moved like a surgeon’s hand, its edges slicing away necrotic tissue while its living energy nourished what remained—knitting cells, easing the trembling strain of Phoenix’s damaged body.

......

Minutes passed in silence. Eventually, Axel stepped out into the hallway, his thoughts tangled.

Wesley followed.

“I know this is hard,” he said softly, resting a hand on Axel’s shoulder. “But Phoenix is still alive.”

“I want to go to the city wall,” Axel said suddenly. “Can you organize a search team? Into the forest?”

Wesley hesitated. “Axel… I want to say yes. But with the beast tide barely over, every resource’s already stretched thin.”

He paused.

“If we send another team out there now, they might not come back either. Unless Mr. Nolan himself goes... which he won’t.”

Axel’s voice was calm, but resolute. “Then just take me to the site.”

Wesley looked at him for a long moment, then nodded. “Alright.”

They left together. Axel’s expression had shifted—calmer, calculating. In the back of his mind, he was already turning over possibilities.

His new talent: Alienation. He hadn’t tested it yet. But maybe…

The area outside the city wall buzzed with activity. Vendors had already returned, setting up makeshift stalls along the wide outer road. Children laughed nearby, tossing pebbles into puddles. Life was trying to resume.

But the scars of battle were everywhere.

From the elevated platform on the wall, they could see everything. Not far away, a massive obsidian-colored energy cannon loomed over the outer field—its surface scorched, its mouth still faintly glowing from recent use.

After showing their credentials, Wesley led Axel through a secured checkpoint and up onto the western battlement.

In the distance, Axel saw the battlefield.

Dozens—no, hundreds—of charred beast corpses were scattered across the torn landscape. Most were little more than ashen husks, burned clean through by cannon fire. Those that weren’t usable had been abandoned in the mud.

The field stretched out for about five kilometers, a barren buffer zone scorched to nothingness. Beyond that: a forest—dark, tangled, ancient.