CHAPTER 119: WAR

A week crawled by. The rhythm of the castle settled into a strange routine. Training. Meals. Silence.

The clang of steel echoed across the training ground. Fin ducked under Arachne’s swift, slicing attack, the air whispering where the blade passed his ear. He pivoted, trying the low block she showed him, deflecting her follow-up thrust. The impact jarred his arm, but the block held.

’Better. Still too slow.’

Arachne flowed backwards, resetting instantly. Her expression held no praise, only assessment. Fin shifted his stance, breathing deliberately, trying to mimic the rootedness she possessed. He felt less like a flailing monkey now, more like a slightly clumsy bear trying to dance. Progress. Small, infuriatingly slow progress.

Across the packed earth, Scarlet drilled knife forms, her movements sharp, aggressive. She occasionally barked corrections at Meg, who practiced staff strikes against a thick wooden post. Meg’s movements were gaining confidence, her footing surer, the white light of her core a steady, faint pulse beneath her simple tunic. She still tired quickly, her face flushed with exertion, but she didn’t stop.

Mara sat on the stone bench near the edge of the training ground. She wasn’t reading, wasn’t sketching. She just watched. Her fear seemed less immediate now, replaced by a quiet, guarded resignation. She looked pale, tired, a captive audience to their strange preparations for war. Fin felt her eyes on him sometimes, judging, weighing.

’She’s still deciding if I’m a monster.’ He didn’t care what she decided. He just needed her quiet.

Arachne lunged again, faster this time. Fin blocked, parried, stepped back. He saw an opening, a brief one, and launched a counter-strike – a straight punch aimed at her shoulder.

She wasn’t there.

Her hand closed around his wrist, redirecting his momentum. Her other hand pressed flat against his chest. He found himself staggering backward, landing hard on his backside in the dirt. Again.

He looked up at her. Arachne offered him a hand. He ignored it, pushing himself up, brushing dust from his trousers.

"Too eager," Arachne stated calmly. "You saw the opening, but you abandoned your guard. Balance, my Lord. Always balance."

He grunted, nodding curtly. He knew she was right.

Scarlet laughed from across the yard. "Nice sprawl, Boss! Getting good at eating dirt."

Fin ignored her. He looked from Arachne to Scarlet, then to Meg, who paused her staff work, leaning on the wood to catch her breath. His gaze finally settled on Mara, still watching silently from the bench.

"Enough," he called out, his voice cutting through the sounds of training. "Gather round."

Arachne retrieved her sword. Scarlet sheathed her knives with a flourish. Meg walked over, wiping sweat from her brow. They formed a loose semi-circle around him. Mara remained on the bench, but her attention was fixed on him.

He looked at each of them. Arachne, ready. Scarlet, expectant. Meg, determined.

He held up the small datachip Mara gave him. "I’ve analyzed the data." He pocketed the chip. He didn’t need to display it; the relevant facts were burned into his memory.

"Mara was right to worry," he stated, his voice flat. "The Association won’t stop. Jericho proved they can find this place, or bypass its defenses somehow. Waiting for them to send someone else isn’t an option."

He saw Mara flinch slightly at the mention of Jericho.

"We take the fight to them," he continued. "We need to cripple their ability to hunt us. Specifically, their trackers, their seers, their Hunter coordination hubs within Valerius and Arclight."

Scarlet grinned, a sharp flash of teeth. "Finally. Getting tired of sparring."

Arachne nodded slowly. "A proactive strike is logical. It disrupts their command structure."

Meg gripped her staff tighter, her knuckles white, but her expression remained resolute.

Fin looked towards Mara. "The list you provided identified key personnel. Divination specialists operating out of the Valerius Spire. Alpha-grade trackers embedded within Arclight’s Hunter Guild liaison office. Command nodes coordinating Omega Alerts."

Mara stood up slowly from the bench. "Fin," she started, her voice strained. "Those people... they’re not all combatants. Diviners, coordinators... targeting them is..."

"Necessary," he finished for her, his voice leaving no room for argument. "They are the eyes and ears. Without them, the Association is blind. They can’t coordinate a hunt if their command structure is decapitated."

"But killing non-combatants..." Mara protested, shaking her head. "That’s assassination. That’s what they do!"

"They started this," he countered, his voice dropping, cold and hard. "They sent Jericho. They put a price on my head. They operate outside their own laws when it suits them." He took a step closer to the group, his gaze sweeping over Arachne, Scarlet, and Meg. "We do what we must to survive. We eliminate the threat. All of it."

Scarlet’s grin widened. Arachne’s expression remained impassive, but her hand rested near where she kept her hidden blades. Meg looked down at the ground for a moment, then lifted her chin, meeting Fin’s gaze.

Mara looked horrified. "Fin, this is madness! You’ll turn everyone against you! You’ll become the monster they claim you are!"

"Maybe I already am," he replied, the words flat, devoid of emotion. He turned away from her, addressing the others. "We move tonight. First target: the Arclight Hunter Guild liaison office. We neutralize their embedded trackers. Arachne, Scarlet, you’re with me. Meg, you stay here. Guard the castle. Guard Mara."

Meg opened her mouth as if to argue, then closed it, nodding silently.

Mara stared at him, aghast. "Tonight? Just like that? No more planning? No reconnaissance?"

"The list was the reconnaissance," he said, turning back to her briefly. "More planning means more chances for leaks, for them to prepare." He looked back at Arachne and Scarlet. "Get ready. We leave in one hour."

He walked away, towards the castle entrance, leaving them standing in the sudden silence of the training ground. The air felt heavy, charged with the decision just made. The first move in his war was about to begin.

The hour dissolved like smoke.

Fin stood near the massive stone doors of the main hall. He wore dark trousers and a tougher, dark grey tunic, something less likely to tear than his usual clothes. No armor. Speed was more important tonight. The datachip felt small and cold in his pocket.

Arachne materialized from the shadows beside him, a silent wraith in dark, practical gear. Her eyes were focused, alert. Ready.

Scarlet emerged from the armory corridor, adjusting gauntlets on her forearms. She carried several visible blades, and likely more hidden. A predatory energy buzzed around her, a stark contrast to Arachne’s stillness. She caught Fin’s eye and gave a sharp, eager nod.

Meg stood near the archway leading deeper into the castle, her wooden staff held firmly. Her face was pale, her knuckles white where she gripped the wood, but her stance was unwavering. She watched them, worry etched around her eyes, but determination set in her jaw.

Mara lingered further back, near one of the cold stone walls, arms wrapped tightly around herself. She looked small in the vast hall, her face drawn, eyes filled with a sickening dread. She didn’t speak, didn’t move closer.

Fin met Meg’s gaze across the hall. "Secure this place," he ordered, his voice flat, echoing slightly in the cavernous space. "Let no one in. Let nothing out."

Meg swallowed, then nodded stiffly. "Understood." Her voice was quiet but steady.

Scarlet rolled her shoulders, the leather of her gear creaking faintly. "Okay, kids, playtime," she muttered, flexing her fingers. "Try not to get blood on the nice stonework when we get back."

Arachne ignored her, her attention fixed on Fin, waiting for the signal.

Fin turned towards the empty space before the doors. He focused, pulling on the power within him, the familiar sense of twisting reality. He raised his hand.

"Fin, wait!"

Mara’s voice, tight with desperation, cut through the hall. She pushed herself off the wall, taking a few hesitant steps forward. "Please. Don’t do this. There has to be another way. Think about what you’re doing!"

He paused, hand still raised, but didn’t turn fully towards her. He felt Arachne tense beside him, felt Scarlet’s impatient energy simmer.

"There is no other way," he stated, his voice devoid of inflection. He didn’t look at her. Her fear, her morality, they were luxuries he couldn’t afford. They were weaknesses. "They made their choice. Now I make mine."

He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, picturing the target location – a deserted rooftop overlooking the street adjacent to the Arclight Guild liaison office, mapped from Guild schematics he forced Mara to acquire before her flight. The air before him warped, shimmered. Lines of light converged, tearing open a fissure. Not the chaotic rip of an uncontrolled breach, but a precise, controlled slice in reality. Through it, the dark, rain-slicked rooftops of Arclight flickered under the city’s perpetual grey sky. The smell of wet pavement and city fumes drifted faintly through the opening.

"Let’s go," he said. He stepped towards the tear.

Arachne moved with him, melting into the fissure without a sound.

Scarlet shot Mara a look that was equal parts pity and contempt, then grinned fiercely and followed Arachne through the shimmering tear.

Fin paused at the threshold, glancing back only once. Meg stood like a statue, staff held ready, her eyes wide but fixed on her duty. Mara stared at the portal, her face a mask of horror, tears finally starting to track silently down her pale cheeks.

He stepped through, leaving the silence and shadows of his castle behind.

The portal snapped shut with a faint pop, plunging the main hall back into its quiet gloom.

Meg flinched at the sound, then took a deep, steadying breath. She shifted her grip on the staff, planting its butt firmly on the stone floor. Her gaze moved from the spot where the portal vanished to the distressed figure of Mara, then swept across the empty hall, listening to the profound silence. Her watch began.

Mara sank back against the wall, sliding down until she sat huddled on the cold stone floor. She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking. The faint echo of Fin’s parting words resonated in the stillness.

’Now I make mine.’

The war had begun.