Chapter #73: Threads in the Darkness, Fire Beneath the Ice
The constant clatter of the train set the rhythm of Führer King Bradley's thoughts. Seated by the window, his gaze fixed on the white landscape sliding past like a frozen sea, he fitted invisible pieces together with the same precision he wielded a sword. Every jolt of the carriage seemed to push another idea into place.
"So it was you…" he murmured to himself.
The man he had been searching for in the mountains. The one who didn't quite fit. The one who had escaped when he shouldn't have.
Bradley narrowed his eye, replaying the scene again and again in his mind.
The soldier who had received him at the end in Briggs. The face he hadn't been able to see clearly. The posture—correct, too correct for a mere recruit. The steady but restrained voice. And above all, that uncomfortable feeling… as if something refused to align.
"The General must have sent him to do something," he thought. "I don't know what, but he panicked. He ran."
It fit. An Ishvalan citizen, perhaps infiltrated. Or someone connected to them. The dark skin could explain it, though he hadn't seen the man's eyes or any other defining features. That was what troubled him most: the lack of details.
"Strange…" he whispered.
But as always, Bradley found a practical answer.
"At most, Olivier Armstrong is protecting an Ishvalan citizen."
The train advanced, relentless.
"I don't think it's a problem," he continued thinking. "As long as she stays in her role, everything will be fine."
A barely perceptible smile appeared on his face.
"After all, no one suspects Father's plan."
With that certainty, he closed his eyes, letting the noise of the train drown out any remaining doubts.
Far from there, in the frozen heart of the North, the Base of Briggs concealed secrets as old as the mountain itself. General Olivier Mira Armstrong strode forward through a natural tunnel, Miles close behind her. Both wore heavy gear, yet the air inside the cave was surprisingly mild.
"This place…" Miles said, studying the walls. "The cold here is different. Softer."
Olivier gave a half-smile.
"Because it isn't natural cold," she replied. "We're standing on frost worm territory."
Miles frowned.
"Worms?"
"Enormous ones," she clarified. "Creatures that normally live in Dracma. To continue our scientific advancements, we need space, and this will be the perfect site for a new laboratory. But first…" She stopped. "We have to drive them out."
The cave stretched ahead like a living throat. The walls were coated in a crystalline layer, and from time to time a subtle vibration could be felt beneath their feet.
"These worms are giants," Olivier continued. "Their bodies generate heat. They use it to melt rock and dig tunnels. That friction creates a warm layer along the walls. Briggs' cold counters it, and that's how both extremes can coexist."
Miles nodded slowly.
"I imagine there are more complex chemical reactions behind it…"
"There are," she cut in, "but that's the simple version."
Miles took a deep breath and looked around.
"So what are we going to do?" he asked. "Just the two of us against them?"
Olivier rested a hand on the hilt of her sword.
"Drive them out, Miles."
Without warning, the General struck the wall with her blade. The metallic sound echoed through the cave.
A second later, the ground shook.
Three gigantic worms burst from the rock, each with a body coated in frost and a massive beak sharp as a lance. Their movements were slow, but carried brutal force.
"Fire on my command," Olivier ordered calmly.
Miles raised his weapon, aiming carefully, as one of the worms advanced straight toward the General. She planted her feet, gripped her sword with both hands, and held it before her, ready to strike.
The worm opened its beak.
Everything happened in an instant.
Olivier misjudged the distance. The worm lunged with unexpected speed and caught her, wrapping her in its icy body.
"General!" Miles shouted.
Without waiting for the order, he pulled the trigger.
The shots struck the worm directly in the eyes. The creature let out a guttural shriek and released Olivier, thrashing in fury. The General rolled across the ground and rose at once, a feral smile on her face.
"Well done, Miles."
The attack enraged the other two worms, which charged together. Olivier moved like a shadow, evading the first and driving her sword into the eyes of the second. Bluish blood spilled instantly.
The worm screamed.
They were semi-blind creatures. Losing what little sight they possessed was a death sentence.
The third worm stopped. Then it retreated.
Within seconds, all three withdrew, vanishing into the tunnels they themselves had carved.
Silence returned to the cave.
Olivier wiped her blade and looked at Miles with approval.
"Good work," she said. "Start mining."
Miles was breathing hard, but he nodded.
"I'll send up the flare in a moment and the miners will come down."
As he turned to carry out the order, Olivier's voice stopped him.
"One moment, Miles."
He turned back.
The General was looking at him differently. Her eyes—usually hard as steel—gleamed with an unsettling intensity. She stepped closer, just enough to invade his personal space.
Miles remained still.
"You have shown courage," she said. "And loyalty."
The silence between them grew heavy. Miles swallowed, unsure of how to respond.
Olivier smiled—a slow, dangerous smile.
"Remember this," she added. "At Briggs, fire and ice always go hand in hand."
She stepped away without another word, as if nothing had happened.
Miles stood there, stunned, his heart pounding.
Hours later, the flare lit up the gray northern sky. The miners descended to begin their work, unaware that the place had just been the stage of a silent trial.
Meanwhile, on the surface, General Olivier Armstrong watched the mountains with her arms crossed.
The Führer was weaving threads from afar.
A hooded man slept among tunnels and secrets.
And Miles, more than ever, found himself trapped between two worlds.
The North remained calm.
But beneath the ice, something had begun to burn.
(end of chapter)