The black site didn't exist on any map.
It sat beneath an abandoned thermal plant at the edge of the industrial zone, its upper levels rusted and condemned, its lower levels humming with power far too clean for a forgotten ruin. Heat vents bled steam into the night sky, masking energy signatures and drowning sensors in noise.
The Ministry had built it perfectly.
Kael stood on a skeletal catwalk overlooking the facility, fire pulled inward so tightly it barely registered. Below him, Ashfall assembled in silence—unrankables wrapped in suppressive cloaks, a handful of defected post-rankers adjusting unfamiliar gear, drones hovering like nervous insects.
This was different from before.
This wasn't rescue.
This was war.
Mira's voice came through the channel. "Black Site Theta confirmed. Intelligence matches Seris's projections—containment labs, post-ranker development wing, and… a Restoration sub-level."
Kael's jaw tightened.
So that's where they hid it.
Lyra stood beside him, fire pulsing in steady rhythm, controlled but fierce. She caught his expression.
"You're thinking too loud," she said quietly.
Kael didn't deny it. "If we're right, this place is where they're breaking people back into 'useful' shapes. Where the Awakened doctrine came from."
"And if we're wrong?" Lyra asked.
Kael looked down at his hands.
"Then we burn it anyway."
---
They breached fast.
Seris's override cracked the surface defenses in seconds, Ashfall pouring into the facility like a controlled flood. Fire stayed minimal—precision over spectacle. Kael moved at the center, system running hot but stable, parsing every signal, every anomaly.
[SYSTEM STATUS: TACTICAL SUPPORT—ACTIVE]
[DEGRADATION INDEX: SUPPRESSED]
The suppression worried him.
It felt… borrowed.
They reached the first lab within four minutes.
The doors opened to reveal rows of containment chairs bolted to the floor, restraints burned black from repeated use. Frost-lined conduits ran into the walls—Freezer tech, repurposed.
A man hung limply in one chair, head lolling, eyes open but unfocused.
Lyra inhaled sharply. "He's still alive."
Kael approached slowly.
The man's lips moved.
"Too… many," he whispered. "Didn't stop… didn't choose…"
Kael felt something twist in his chest.
Seris scanned rapidly. "Neural overload. He assimilated at least six material profiles."
Kael closed his eyes briefly.
This is what happens when no one stops them.
A scream echoed from deeper inside the facility.
Kael snapped his eyes open. "Move."
---
The Restoration sub-level was worse.
Children.
Not all of them unrankable—some still dormant, some forcibly stimulated to trigger awakening. Screens displayed neurological charts, degradation curves, probability graphs calculating how much a mind could shatter before becoming "manageable."
Kael's fire surged, licking the edges of his control.
Lyra grabbed his wrist. "Kael. Don't lose it here."
He nodded stiffly, forcing the flames down.
Then he saw her.
A woman strapped upright, hair matted with frost, eyes clear but hollow. Electrodes spidered across her skull, fire dampeners glowing red-hot.
She looked directly at Kael.
And smiled.
"You made it out," she said softly.
Kael froze.
The voice.
Jin?
No.
But close enough to hurt.
Seris whispered, "Kael… she's—"
"I know," he said hoarsely.
The woman tilted her head. "They said you'd come back. That you'd try to fix things."
"Who are you?" Kael asked.
"Someone who stayed too long," she replied. "Someone who learned how to stop the cold… by becoming something else."
Her fire stirred—not wild, not unstable, but wrong. Structured in a way Kael recognized instantly.
Post-ranker counter-fire.
His stomach dropped.
"They turned you," Lyra said, horror creeping into her voice.
The woman laughed quietly. "They tried. I let them think they succeeded."
She looked back at Kael. "You need to leave. What's down here isn't meant for you yet."
Before Kael could respond, the alarms blared.
Red light flooded the sub-level.
Mira's voice cut in, sharp with panic. "Kael—multiple post-ranker signatures inbound. Heavy units. This was a trap."
Kael cursed under his breath.
Of course it was.
The woman's restraints disengaged with a hiss.
She stood—unsteady, but free.
"They're coming for you," she said. "For what you represent."
Kael met her gaze. "Come with us."
She smiled sadly. "I can't."
Lyra stepped forward. "We can get you out."
The woman shook her head. "If I leave, the failsafes trigger. Everyone else down here dies."
Kael's breath caught.
"How many?" he asked.
"All of them," she said simply.
The ground shook as the first impacts hit the upper levels.
Kael's mind raced.
Save her and doom the rest.
Leave her and—
"Go," she said gently. "This is my limit. I chose too much a long time ago."
Her eyes flicked to Lyra.
"She's your anchor," she said. "Don't let them take her from you."
Kael felt something crack.
"No," he said. "There has to be—"
The woman reached out, pressing a data shard into his hand.
"There isn't," she said. "But there's this. Proof. Names. Processes. Everything."
The door behind them exploded inward.
Post-rankers poured in—six of them, movements synchronized, fire inverted and lethal.
"Target acquired," one intoned. "Unrankable Prime."
Kael reacted on instinct.
"Fall back!" he shouted. "Now!"
Lyra hesitated—just for a second.
The woman met her eyes.
"Run," she said. "Before the cold takes you too."
Lyra grabbed Kael's arm and pulled him back as Seris sealed the corridor behind them.
The last thing Kael saw before the door slammed shut—
Was the woman turning toward the post-rankers, fire igniting in a final, brilliant surge.
---
The explosion rocked the facility.
Ashfall barely made it out.
They emerged into the night amid fire and smoke, the black site collapsing in on itself as internal containment failed. Sirens wailed in the distance—too late.
Kael dropped to one knee, chest heaving.
Lyra knelt beside him, gripping his shoulders. "You did what you could."
Kael stared at the burning ruin.
"She died buying us time," he said. "Just like Rhea. Just like Jin."
Lyra swallowed. "Kael…"
He looked up at her, eyes red but dry.
"They're going to keep doing this," he said. "Taking people. Breaking them. Turning them into weapons or warnings."
The system pulsed.
[ANCHOR STABILITY: FLUCTUATING]
Kael stood slowly.
"Next time," he said, voice steady but cold, "we don't just burn the site."
He clenched the data shard in his fist.
"We burn the lie holding it all together."
High above, Ministry channels lit up with emergency signals.
And deep within the Defense Complex, Director Harkon watched the black site feed go dark.
For the first time—
He looked uneasy.