CHAPTER 128: CH 128: RESISTANCE- PART 3

The journey to the resistance base was tense and wordless for the most part. Clara walked a step behind, arms crossed and lips pressed tight.

Kael led them through winding alleys, ducking under laundry lines and hopping over broken fences until they reached a nondescript shed near the outskirts of the city.

A hidden passage inside took them underground.

The tunnels opened into a broad cavern lit with crystal lamps embedded in the walls.

Makeshift buildings had been constructed out of scavenged metal and stone, and groups of people moved about—some in armor, some cloaked, all of them moving with urgency.

It was the heart of the resistance.

As they walked through, Clara finally spoke up, her voice dry with disdain.

"You’re a fool, you know. For joining the resistance."

Fenrir didn’t bother to look at her.

"I didn’t say I joined anything."

"You might as well have,"

Clara snapped.

"This place is a sinking boat. They’re desperate, underfunded, and running out of places to hide. If you want to survive—if you want a future—you need to do things the lawful way. Register, wait for clearance, take the proper tests. That’s how you get through the floors."

He turned his head, eyebrows slightly raised.

"How long would it take to leave the floor the ’lawful’ way?"

Clara sighed.

"If you start the process now, maybe a year. If you’re lucky. But at least you won’t have to watch your back every day."

Fenrir let out a low scoff, shaking his head.

"I don’t have a year to waste. I don’t have a month. If I let time decide for me, I’d still be rotting in a cage somewhere. I take what I want."

Clara rolled her eyes.

"Exactly the kind of arrogance that’ll get you killed."

"I’ve heard that before."

He muttered.

They reached the resistance’s central command building—a reinforced structure deeper in the cavern. Kael stepped ahead and pushed the heavy doors open with both hands.

Inside was a room packed with tired faces, weapons stacked in corners, and a map of the city sprawled over the central table. Kael raised his voice.

"Everyone, this is Fenrir. He—"

"Another one?"

A grizzled man with a scar down his face interrupted.

"Kael, we told you already. Stop bringing random people here. We’re not a shelter."

"He’s not just anyone—"

"And we’re not a daycare either. We’ve got a mission to plan and we don’t have time to babysit."

Said a sharp-eyed woman from the corner.

The mood turned sour immediately.

No one even looked at Fenrir beyond a passing glance. Some returned to the map, others just ignored them completely. Kael’s shoulders stiffened under the weight of their rejection.

"I—I know this looks bad. They’re just tense. We lost a team last week, and another got captured. Normally, they’re... they’re helpful. Good people."

He said to Fenrir, now clearly flustered.

Fenrir looked around, expression unreadable.

"I’m not here for approval. I’m here for results."

Clara stepped beside him, eyes flicking around the room.

"You’re not getting anything out of this lot. They’re too tired and scattered to do anything that’ll help you."

Kael turned on her.

"You don’t know that!"

"No? You’ve been dragging this place around on its last leg for months now, Kael. They don’t need more strangers. They need a miracle."

Clara’s voice sharpened.

"That’s enough,"

Fenrir cut in.

"I don’t care if you think it’s a mess. I didn’t come here to fix your problems. I came because you said you had a way to help me get out. That’s the only thing that matters."

_______

The resistance base buzzed with low murmurs and hurried movement, but none of it mattered to Fenrir.

He sat on a cracked bench near the edge of the camp, arms crossed, half-listening to the constant bickering behind him.

Kael approached, looking nervous but determined.

"Hey. I know things didn’t go well earlier, but... give the resistance another shot. They’re not bad people. They’re just on edge."

He said, trying for a smile. Fenrir didn’t answer right away. His eyes stared ahead at the flickering torchlight on the walls.

He had no interest in petty causes or the nostalgia-filled speeches of dreamers.

Clara’s voice rang out sharply as she stepped into the open area, arms folded.

"There he goes again. Glorifying the resistance like they’re heroes out of some bedtime story."

Kael frowned.

"Clara—"

"No. You need to hear this. You keep talking about the resistance like it’s the same organization your parents served in, but it’s not. It’s a shadow of what it used to be. A crumbling pile of good intentions and no execution."

She cut him off.

"That’s not true! They believed in something—"

Kael snapped, visibly upset.

"And they died for it,"

Clara said coldly.

"You’re still chasing ghosts, Kael. You want this place to mean something so badly that you can’t see how flawed it is. You’re dragging yourself—and others—into a fantasy. You’re going to get someone killed."

The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the distant clanging of tools.

Fenrir stood, brushing dust off his coat.

"I’m bored."

Kael blinked and looked up.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"To the gate."

Fenrir said flatly, already walking.

Clara raised a brow, a smirk curling on her lips.

"The gate? You do realize it’s being blocked by a military outpost, right? Heavily armed guards, automated barriers, detection spells? How do you plan to get through that?"

Fenrir met her gaze with calm, unshaken eyes.

"Brute force."

Clara snorted.

"You’re joking."

He didn’t respond. He just kept walking.

"Seriously? You’ll be torn apart before you take five steps."

She called after him.

Still no reaction.

Kael hesitated, then jogged to catch up with him.

"Wait! You can’t go alone."

Fenrir shot him a sideways glance.

"Watch me."

Kael didn’t back down.

"No—I mean, you shouldn’t. Look, I know you don’t care about the resistance or our goals, but if you get caught, they’ll interrogate you. Maybe even kill you. And if they find out where you came from, they’ll come here next."

Fenrir didn’t break stride.

"Sounds like a ’you’ problem."

"Maybe. But I still brought you here. So it’s my responsibility to make sure you get out alive."

Kael admitted, his voice softening.

Fenrir stopped, turned just enough to glance at him. Kael’s expression was earnest—nervous, but firm.

It wasn’t the look of someone trying to manipulate him. It was just guilt. Naïve guilt, the kind Fenrir had seen far too often.

"Do what you want."

Fenrir said, then resumed walking.

Kael sighed but followed him anyway. Clara stared after them, conflicted. Then she turned and walked back into the shadows of the camp, muttering.

"Idiots. Both of them."

As the two moved through the crumbling back alleys toward the zone perimeter, Kael tried to keep up with Fenrir’s long strides.

"I don’t get you. You’re strong. And smart. But you act like none of this matters."

Kael said finally.

"It doesn’t."

Fenrir said without turning.

"But why are you even climbing the Tower if you don’t care about anything?"

Fenrir glanced at the sky briefly, a flicker of thought behind his eyes.

"I have my reasons."