Fog hung low over the ruins of Old Halrath. Crumbled towers jutted from the forest like bones, and ivy strangled what remained of once-golden walls. Somewhere beyond the mist, hidden by illusion and silence, stood the Spire.

Ash adjusted his gloves and stepped off the gravel road. Behind him, Sable and Elric followed in silence. The fourth member of their team—a young hacker named Nell—typed furiously on a portable crystal console as they moved.

"Shield grid is cycling every forty-seven seconds," Nell muttered. “We’ll have an eight-second gap to cross the main barrier.”

Ash nodded. “Then we don’t miss it.”

Elric scanned the tree line. “No patrols?”

“None visible,” Ash replied. “Which is exactly why I’m nervous.”

They reached the clearing where the Spire’s cloak shimmered faintly against the morning haze. It looked like a mirage, a half-seen tower veiled in light.

Ash turned to his team. “This is it. Once we step through, there’s no pulling back.”

Sable smirked. “We weren’t planning to.”

Ash waited, counted the seconds, then said, “Now.”

They darted forward.

The illusion parted.

And the Spire revealed itself—obsidian black, rising like a dagger from the forest, humming with arcane energy. Around its base, elite guards in silver armor moved with precision.

Elric whispered, “We’re walking into a war zone.”

Ash nodded. “Let’s give them a war they never saw coming.”

---

Inside the Spire

The moment they passed the threshold, a pulse ran through Ash’s skull. The air felt heavier, dense with enchantments.

They moved silently down a spiraling corridor of black stone, lit by cold-blue torches. No windows. No natural light. Just shadows and walls that whispered.

Nell’s voice echoed from her comm device. “You’ve got one blind spot ahead—marked as a service tunnel. It’ll bypass most of the patrol routes.”

Ash gave a hand signal. The team shifted course.

They entered the tunnel. Old wiring hung from the ceiling, some broken and sparking. Strange symbols pulsed faintly on the walls.

Sable ran a hand along one. “These aren’t just security runes. They’re memory markers. This place was built as a prison before it became a fortress.”

Ash narrowed his eyes. “Then the cells might still be functional.”

They moved deeper. The Spire seemed alive, humming beneath their feet.

At last, they reached a central hub—a chamber with six corridors branching like a star. On the far side stood a sealed vault door, marked with the Ouroboros.

Nell tapped on her crystal interface. “That’s the command node. Whatever’s behind that door—it’s feeding data to every sleeper agent in the network.”

“Kill the signal,” Ash said, “and we stop the assassinations before they begin.”

She nodded. “But it’s encrypted with a living key.”

Sable’s brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”

“It’s bio-coded to one person,” Nell replied. “Probably Orion.”

Elric drew his blade. “Then we find him. And we bring him in.”

Ash said nothing.

He didn’t plan to bring Orion in.

---

Orion’s Sanctum

The sanctum lay at the Spire’s peak—an ivory room veined with gold, its floor a mosaic of ancient sigils. Bookshelves lined the walls, but the center was empty save for a single chair facing a curved window.

Orion sat there, silent.

He turned before they entered. “You came.”

Ash stepped forward. “You made it easy.”

“I wanted you to see the culmination,” Orion said. “It’s all ready. With one word, I can awaken every agent in the kingdom.”

“You’ll start a war,” Ash said.

Orion rose. “A war is already coming. I’m just making sure we’re not the ones caught sleeping.”

“We?” Ash scoffed. “There is no we. You joined monsters.”

Orion’s voice cracked. “Because they remembered me, Ash. When you walked away, they picked up the pieces. They made me useful.”

“You were always more than useful,” Ash said quietly. “You were my brother.”

Orion hesitated.

Ash took one step forward.

“Don’t do this.”

But Orion turned and pressed a hand to the command console.

A siren shrieked.

Lights turned red.

“All agents will awaken in twelve hours,” a voice announced.

Ash drew his weapon. “Then I have twelve hours to end this.”

They fought—blades and fists and memories clashing with every strike.

Orion was faster. Stronger. Enhanced.

But Ash was smarter.

He feinted left, twisted, and drove a needle into Orion’s neck.

The serum pulsed.

Orion staggered, eyes wide. “You…?”

“Disruption toxin,” Ash said. “It severs your link to the command network.”

Orion dropped to his knees.

“I’m sorry,” Ash whispered.

---

Aftermath

Nell breached the vault.

The command console glowed. She worked fast, disabling the transmission protocols.

Across the continent, agents programmed to kill went still. The roses, it seemed, would not fall after all.

Ash watched from the chamber door, silent.

Elric stood beside him. “You did it.”

Ash nodded. “No. We did.”

Sable joined them. “And your brother?”

Ash didn’t answer right away.

He stared at the fallen figure in the sanctum.

Then he said, “Alive. But broken.”