Chapter 74 – Return at Nevermore
Three days later...
At the extraction point, deep within the ruins of Nevermore City, three agents of the Temple of Assassins remained stationed, awaiting the return of Zane and Shelby. It had been two full weeks since the duo had left, and still, there was no sign of them.
In all this time, the agents hadn’t left the ruined city once. They camped in the shadows of collapsed towers, ate rationed meals, and trained regularly to stay sharp.
As the morning sun rose through the haze, the three agents gathered as usual for their daily check-in, their breaths visible in the cold air of the cursed city.
This time, Agent Kassam broke the silence.
"If they don’t return today, we’re pulling out," he said bluntly. "Let’s assume they failed the trial and died somewhere in this wasteland."
The other two agents frowned.
Elizabeth McGraw, sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued, folded her arms. "Who are you to decide that?" she snapped. "When we accepted this mission, the instructions were clear: we wait at the extraction point as long as necessary. We know both applicants are still alive—so we stay."
Kassam narrowed his eyes. "Don’t twist this. There’s nothing in the rules that says I’m wrong. This so-called ’simple’ mission has taken far too long."
Elizabeth’s voice turned cold. "Ah, I see where this is coming from—your teacher’s philosophy, right? You and that mentor of yours... cut from the same stubborn, arrogant cloth."
Their argument was nothing new. Since the start of the mission, Elizabeth and Kassam had been at each other’s throats. They belonged to opposing factions within the Temple, often clashing over ideology and methods.