Chapter 26: Raging flame
The battlefield lay in ruins, broken armor and bodies scattered across the blood-soaked ground. Ash moved through the wreckage, his blade flashing in sharp, clean arcs. Every swing found its mark. The Apex soldiers dropped before they could lift their weapons, metal clanging against the dirt.
Max fired again. A bolt of energy shot across the field, hitting a trooper square in the chest. The body jerked, then dropped, smoke rising from the blackened wound. Max barely glanced at it.
Something else pulled his eye.
Through the chaos, a lone trooper ran. Not toward the fight—away from it. Fast and Focused. In his arms, he carried a metallic disc.
Max stiffened.
The soldier reached a clearing. No hesitation. He slammed the device onto the ground and turned without a word, sprinting back toward the fleeing Apex forces.
Max's gut twisted.
Ash didn't see. He stayed locked in the fight, blade swinging, body running on raw instinct. Each step grew heavier. His arm burned with the weight of the sword. His breath came rough, but he didn't stop. Another enemy. Another strike.
Then it hit him.
A pulse through his chest, cold and sharp. His limbs dragged. The edges of his vision blurred.
A voice, low and steady, slipped into his mind.