[Day 67 Post-Awakening | LE: 1,604/10,000 | Time Remaining: 33 Days]
SCENE 1: EMBER'S VIGIL
[0200 Hours | Medical Bay]
I sat beside Ember's bed.
She was stable—Selene's LE infusion had restarted her core—but unconscious. Her body flickered between solid and flame-form, struggling to maintain cohesion.
The cost: 100 LE from me.
I was down to 1,604.
Thirty-three days left.
Thorn entered quietly.
His bark was bandaged—makeshift dressings soaked in LE-conductive gel. He moved slowly, still recovering from his own sacrifice.
But he came anyway.
"Sovereign." He knelt beside Ember's bed. Touched her hand—gently, like she might shatter. "She wakes?"
"Soon. Selene says her core's regenerating."
"Good." His voice was soft. "She is... fierce. Foolish. But fierce."
I almost smiled. "You care about her."
"She is family." He looked at me. "As you taught us. Family protects family."
He stood.
Walked to the window. Stared out at the Shanghai skyline—distant, glittering, indifferent to our war.
"Sovereign... when I gave you my LE. When I regressed. I was... lost. No thoughts. No self. Just... hunger. Fear."
He turned.
"I remember nothing of those hours. But I remember after. Waking. Seeing you. Knowing you had waited for me."
His voice cracked.
"You did not abandon me. Even when I was... nothing."
"Thorn—"
"Let me finish." He stepped closer. "I say this now, because I may not survive the next battle. None of us may."
He knelt.
Placed his hand over his heart—an oak-bark fist, steady and strong.
"I am yours, Sovereign. Unto death. Unto dust. And if you fall... I will carry your dream forward. I swear it."
I couldn't speak.
Just pulled him into an embrace—bark against bark, father and son, family.
"I won't let you carry it alone," I whispered.
"Then we carry it together."
[Thorn: Loyalty ABSOLUTE | Bond deepened]
[Primordial Morale: +20% (Thorn's oath inspires others)]
[Ember Status: Stable | Estimated recovery: 5 days]
SCENE 2: KIERA'S SURGERY — THE IMPLANT
[0400 Hours | Makeshift Operating Room]
Selene laid out surgical tools—scalpel, LE-conductive clamps, a nerve block injector.
Kiera sat on the table, arm extended, jaw tight.
"This is going to hurt," Selene said flatly.
"Everything hurts, Doc. Get on with it."
Selene injected the nerve block.
Kiera hissed. "Fuck. That stings worse than the tracker."
"Good. Means it's working." Selene picked up the scalpel. "Stay still. If you move, I might sever the nerve. You'll lose motor function permanently."
"Comforting bedside manner you got there."
Selene didn't smile. "I don't like you, Kiera. You're reckless, dangerous, and you led Helix to us."
"Wasn't intentional—"
"Doesn't matter. Intent doesn't stop bullets." The scalpel pressed into skin. Blood welled. "But Ethan trusts you. So I'll save your hand. Once."
Kiera's eyes locked on Selene's. "You love him."
Selene's hand hesitated. Barely.
"That's irrelevant."
"It's not." Kiera's voice softened—rare, honest. "I've seen the way you look at him. Like he's the last good thing in the world."
"He is."
"Yeah." Kiera smiled. Sad. "He is."
Selene cut deeper.
The implant was embedded in muscle tissue, fused to the radial nerve with micro-filaments.
"This was designed to be permanent," Selene muttered. "If you'd tried removing it yourself, you'd have bled out."
"Helix doesn't do half-measures."
"Neither do I." Selene's hands moved—precise, every motion calculated. "Kiera... why did you really defect?"
Silence.
Then: "They killed my team. People I'd bled with. Laughed with. Trusted." Kiera's voice was ice. "Helix decided we knew too much. So they detonated our safe house. Remote charge. I was the only one outside when it blew."
Her jaw clenched.
"I spent eight months hunting them. Burned Helix cells across three continents. Killed... so many. But it wasn't enough. They just kept growing."
She looked at Selene.
"Then I saw Ethan. This dying man who built a family out of plants. Who'd burn the world to protect them. And I realized... I was fighting the wrong war."
Her voice cracked.
"I don't want revenge anymore, Doc. I want to win. And Ethan's the only one crazy enough to pull it off."
Selene's hands stilled.
She looked at Kiera—really looked.
Saw the scars. The exhaustion. The desperate hope hiding behind amber eyes.
"I misjudged you," Selene said quietly.
"Most people do."
Selene resumed cutting. "This doesn't mean I like you."
"I'd be worried if you did."
The implant came free.
Selene dropped it in a tray—still glowing, still transmitting.
Kiera stared at it. "Think Helix tracked us here?"
"No. I jammed the signal before starting surgery." Selene sutured the wound. "But they'll know it went offline. They'll come looking."
"Let them." Kiera flexed her hand—testing, wincing. "I owe them a few more corpses anyway."
[Kiera Implant: REMOVED]
[Helix Tracking: SEVERED]
[Kiera Loyalty: DEEPENED (backstory revealed)]
[Selene/Kiera Tension: REDUCED (grudging respect established)]
SCENE 3: ARIA'S CONFRONTATION — "WHAT ABOUT US?"
[0600 Hours | Rooftop]
I found Aria on the roof.
She was cleaning her knives—methodically, each stroke precise. But her hands were shaking.
"You almost died," she said. Didn't look at me. "Again."
"We won."
"You spent 100 LE on Ember. You're down to 1,600. You have thirty-three days left." Her voice was steel. "And you're giving yourself away."
She stood. Faced me.
Storm-grey eyes burning.
"What about us, Ethan? What about the people who need you alive?"
I stepped closer.
"Ember was dying—"
"So are you!" She grabbed my shirt—bark and cloth, crumpling in her fists. "Every day. Every hour. And you keep throwing yourself into fire like you're invincible."
Her voice broke.
"You're not. You're dying. And every time you sacrifice yourself for someone else, you're taking time away from—"
She stopped.
Couldn't finish.
I covered her hands with mine.
"From you?" I asked softly.
She looked away. Jaw tight.
"From everyone who loves you, you stubborn bastard."
"Aria—"
"No." She pulled free. Stepped back. "You don't get to fix this with words. You want to stay human? Fine. But don't die trying. Because if you do..."
Her hands clenched into fists.
"...I'll drag you back from hell myself. Just to kill you again."
I laughed.
Couldn't help it.
Aria's eyes went wide. "Why are you laughing?!"
"Because you're terrifying and beautiful and I don't deserve you."
Her cheeks flushed. "You—that's not—shut up."
I stepped closer. "You're right. I'm dying. And I'm scared. But I can't stop fighting, Aria. Because if I do... what was any of this for?"
I touched her face—bark-rough fingers against her cheek.
"I need you to keep me human. Remind me what I'm fighting for. Can you do that?"
She stared at me.
Then grabbed my face.
Kissed me.
Hard. Fierce. Claiming.
Not soft like Selene. Not wild like Kiera.
This was war and devotion tangled together—a warrior's kiss, desperate and unyielding.
When she pulled back, her forehead pressed against mine.
"You die on me," she whispered, "and I'll burn the world down."
"Noted."
"I'm serious, Ethan."
"I know." I smiled. "That's why I'm not dying."
[Aria Chen: Romance LOCKED]
[Harem Status: 3/? (Selene, Kiera, Aria)]
[Emotional Complexity: HIGH | Recommend managing relationships carefully]
SCENE 4: INTERCEPTED TRANSMISSION — DR. VOSS INCOMING
[0800 Hours | Command Center]
Mira was waiting when I came downstairs.
Her face was grim.
"We intercepted a Helix transmission. Encrypted, but I cracked it."
She pulled up a hologram—voice-only, heavily distorted.
But I recognized it.
Dr. Marcus Voss.
Selene's father.
"Shanghai operation failed. Primordial Alpha remains active. Casualty count: unacceptable."
Another voice—higher-ranking: "Your recommendation, Doctor?"
"Deploy the Reclamation Protocol. I'll handle Alpha personally. And... retrieve my daughter."
"She's compromised. Verdant Syndrome—"
"Which makes her valuable. She's the only one who's studied Alpha's biology intimately. If she won't return willingly... we'll ensure compliance."
The transmission cut.
I looked at Mira.
"He's coming for Selene."
"And you." She crossed her arms. "Ethan, this is a trap. Voss knows you'll protect her. He's counting on it."
"Then we spring the trap first."
"With what army? We just crippled Shanghai. Half our Primordials are injured. You're at 1,600 LE. We're bleeding out."
"Then we adapt." I looked at the hologram. "Where's Voss now?"
Mira pulled up a map. "En route to Neo-Tokyo. ETA: 72 hours."
"That's three days." I turned to her. "Enough time to heal. Reinforce. Prepare."
"Or enough time for him to bring an army."
"Let him." I smiled—cold, predatory. "I've got one too."
[NEW MISSION UNLOCKED: "RECLAMATION PROTOCOL"]
[Threat: Dr. Marcus Voss + Helix Strike Team]
[Objective: Protect Selene | Confront Voss | Survive]
[Time Until Contact: 72 hours]
SCENE 5: SELENE'S CHOICE
[1000 Hours | Medical Bay]
I found Selene running diagnostics on Ember.
She didn't look up when I entered.
"I heard the transmission," she said quietly.
"Mira told you?"
"Didn't have to. I've been expecting it." She finally looked at me. Violet eyes resigned. "My father doesn't let go of things easily. Especially not me."
"He's not taking you."
"Ethan—"
"No." I stepped closer. "I don't care what he brings. I don't care if he brings an army. He's not taking you."
She smiled. Sad.
"You can't protect me forever."
"Watch me."
She stood.
Walked to me. Placed her hand on my chest—right over my LE core.
"I'm dying too, you know. Verdant Syndrome. Maybe a year left. Maybe less."
"Then we fight for that year."
"And after?"
"After..." I covered her hand. "...we'll figure it out. Together."
Her eyes shimmered.
"You're an idiot, Ethan Cross."
"Yeah. But I'm your idiot."
She laughed—soft, broken, hopeful.
Then pulled me into a kiss.
Gentle.
Desperate.
Alive.
And for one moment, in a world of war and death and dying plants—
We were just human.
[Selene Voss: Loyalty ABSOLUTE]
[Romance: DEEPENED]
[Warning: Dr. Voss's arrival will force Selene to choose—Family or Ethan]