They returned to General Tarik's new safehouse, battered, bruised, but successful.
Kiera presented him with the data-chip containing the footage from inside The Forge. Tarik watched the recording in silence, his expression growing darker with every frame.
He saw the Vanguard's illegal arms manufacturing, the forced enhancement of soldiers, and the face of his rival's son, Valerius, corrupted and serving a new master.
"This is... an abomination," he growled, his voice low and dangerous.
The proof was undeniable. He had been a fool, a pawn in a game far older and more complex than he had imagined.
"They have made a mockery of the clans, of our honor."
His rage was a palpable force in the room.
He immediately began issuing a series of coded orders to his lieutenants.
"Lock down the border. I want every transport coming from Azure Dragon territory searched, top to bottom. General Kaito," he barked, speaking of the traitor within his own clan, "is to be placed under 'protective custody' for his own safety. He is not to speak to anyone. Is that understood?"
The Sunstone Jaguars, a clan known for their direct, aggressive power, began to move with a new, subtle, and terrifying purpose.
Tarik was not declaring war. He was beginning a purge.
He was using the information from the ledger to quietly and systematically cut out the cancer of the Vanguard from within his own ranks.
But he also made a move that shocked them all.
He leaked a portion of the ledger—specifically, the section detailing the Vanguard's infiltration of the Onyx Serpents—to the Serpent council.
It was a calculated, destabilizing move.
He wasn't offering an alliance; he was throwing a grenade into their leadership and watching the chaos unfold.
He was forcing them to look inward, to deal with their own traitors, distracting them from the larger conflict.
The Core Sectors were thrown into turmoil.
The Sunstone Jaguars were on a war footing, but not against their traditional rivals. The Onyx Serpents were consumed by a brutal internal witch hunt.
And the Azure Dragons, now under the influence of the traitorous Elder Valerius, were publicly accusing both clans of aggression and warmongering.
The city was a powder keg, and Vex, despite the loss of The Forge, had gotten exactly what he wanted: chaos.
In the midst of this, Tarik turned his attention back to Ryu.
"The boy's power," he said to Kiera, his eyes gleaming with a strategist's avarice.
"It is the key. Vex wants him. Which means I want him more. His training is to be your new priority. I will give you access to our best facilities, our best simulators, our best resources. I want his power honed into a weapon. *My* weapon."
Kiera felt a chill.
She had traded one master for another.
Tarik's methods were different from Vex's, but his goal was the same: control.
He saw Ryu not as a person, but as an asset, a strategic advantage in the coming war.
"He is not your weapon, General," Kiera said, her voice firm.
"He is my partner. We will use your resources, but we will follow our own path."
Tarik smiled, a cold, predatory expression.
"As you wish, 'partner.' But do not forget who is providing this sanctuary. Do not forget whose banner protects you from the storm outside. For now, our interests are aligned. See that they remain that way."
The threat was unspoken, but perfectly clear.
They were useful to him, but their usefulness was all that was keeping them alive.