Twenty minutes after they’d been told to wait, Jorn reappeared and jerked his chin toward the back of the safe house without a word.

  "Joe," Jin sent through the whisperlink, keeping his expression bland. "You good to follow us in without being seen?"

  Joe’s answer came back instantly, lazy and offended. “Buddy. Deeply hurt, you even have to ask. I could follow you into a coffin, and the corpse wouldn’t notice. I’m that good.”

  "These guys have serious wards."

  “And I’m a serious mage.” Joe’s mental tone went mock-wounded. “Stop stressing. I’ll be right behind you, completely invisible. Probably stealing snacks on the way.”

  "Don’t actually do that."

  “No promises… but I’ll scout the area,” Joe said.

  Jin cut the link before Joe could say anything worse and fell in behind Jorn. Reyana moved up on his left and lightly bumped his shoulder, giving him a shake of her head towards Rudy.

  Jin nodded. He knew what was up with Rudy and didn’t need to be told to feel the tension bleeding off him.

  “Trust in him,” Jin said just to Reyana.

  Jorn silently led them through the surface base. No one stopped them, and Jin saw the tired yet relaxed expressions on most of the soldiers’ faces as they nodded at their group. Jin’s timely arrival saved many of the soldiers’ lives and won them their first victory.

  He kept his posture calm and chin up, but nodded back at the soldiers who greeted them from afar. Jorn said nothing, but Jin could read his approval somewhat from the aura. He was close to reaching ORDER III. The feeling of aura was the first threshold; now, he needed to manifest his own to step into the ranks of ORDER III. Which, for him and Rudy, was very close. Probably in the next battle in which they push themselves, they will be reborn.

  “The state of the soldiers here is not very good. From the equipment to how they are behaving… we don’t have many experienced soldiers.” Reyana said through the link.

  “Vienna has always been more of a tourist and fishing culture city. Far away from the factories and skyscraping buildings of the capital. All the soldiers here were more of guards with little to no combat experience.” Jin replied calmly as he saw their conditions himself.

  “Only the veterans from the Imperial Araxana Empire army have experience. And the ones we have are those who fell out of favour and were transferred from the prime locations.” Rudy said.

  And after a bit of a pause, he added. “Dad also used to be a high-ranking member before he met Mom and decided to settle.”

  “He’s okay, Rudy… That’s what matters,” Jin said, his voice barely a whisper as Rudy nodded, his gaze distant.

  Jorn stopped and gestured towards the ladder. They went from basement to basement. Ladder after ladder. Each level darker, colder, more cramped than the last.

  "How many basements inside basements did you people build?” Rudy’s voice finally broke the silence, and then he added through the link. “Last time I was here, we took an elevator."

  "Last time, we didn’t have a cult trying to raze the city," Reyana said.

  “Commander decided it was better to be vigilant when facing cultists.” Jorn turned and glanced at Rudy. “We’ve closed up every surface entrance, so now only this maze of basements and ladders leads to the bastion.”

  “That was good work.” Jin agreed.

  “Indeed, it was. Kept us alive and hidden…” Jorn replied.

  ~~~

  At the bottom of the sixth ladder, Jorn stepped off and wiped a thin sheen of sweat from his brow. The corridor down here was bare stone, walls close enough that two people would brush shoulders walking side by side.

  "It’s a cumbersome path, but it has proven efficient in stopping pushes and unwanted entry," Jorn said, turning to face them.

  "That’s understandable," Jin said, scanning the walls. No obvious wards, but the stone felt wrong under his fingertips… he lightly knocked his knuckle… the voice came solid, but his intuition told him the wall was hollow in certain places, and those cavities were likely filled with explosives. "I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to survive this long while protecting the civilians.”

  Jorn’s eyes softened for a second. "It wasn’t easy. Especially after old Hobbs died in the first wave."

  He turned back to the wall. His hand trembled once, then went steady. "We survived because of Commander Mathew. He pulled us together. Set this whole thing up. We all owe him."

  Rudy went still at that, breath catching.

  Jin bumped his shoulder lightly. Just enough contact to say I see you without making it a moment.

  ? Your friend is exhibiting elevated stress patterns.?

  Yeah, Jin thought back. He thought his dad was dead. His dad thought he was dead. They’re about a hundred feet from each other now. You do the math.

  Jorn pressed his palm against the stone and traced a pattern. Sigils flared, lines of light racing out in a spiderweb. The wall shimmered and disappeared.

  Damn, Hidden passage revealed.

  Sergeant Vans waited just beyond the threshold with two soldiers. All three were armed and watching Jin’s group like they expected someone to sprout tendrils and start hissing.

  Jorn stepped aside. "Sergeant Vans will take you the rest of the way. I can’t leave the surface for long. We might’ve won a battle, but the war’s still up there."

  He held out his hand. Jin clasped it.

  "Appreciate the assist," Jorn said. "Whatever else happens, you helped us hold."

  "Same," Jin replied. "We all fight for humanity.”

  Jorn gave a tight nod and headed back toward the ladders, already barking orders before he was out of sight.

  "Your weapons," Vans said the moment Jorn’s footsteps faded. No greeting. No easing into it. "All of them. Don’t try lying. The wards will light you up if you’re carrying anything enchanted you didn’t declare."

  "That’s not going to work, regardless of who you are," Jin said.

  Vans’ eyes narrowed. "I wasn’t asking."

  "Neither was I." Jin met his gaze, not aggressive, not backing down.

  The silence turned sharp. Vans’ hand drifted toward his sword.

  "Let it go, Vans," Jorn called from the ladder shaft without even looking back. "If they wanted us dead, they had plenty of chances topside."

  Vans held Jin’s stare for three slow seconds, then stepped aside like it physically hurt him. "Fine. Go. But I’m watching you."

  "You’re welcome," Jin said mildly.

  "That was… something," Rudy muttered over the link. “We could have gotten our stuff back, anyway.”

  "It’s not, but the intentions, Rudy," Jin answered. "What I’m afraid of is what, or rather who, will be greeting us.”

  He felt the ward probe before he saw the caster.

  Essence brushed over his skin like cold fingers rifling through his pockets while glaring him in the eye. His mantle stirred, the chains coiling under his thoughts, wanting to answer the intrusion.

  Hold it, Jin snapped internally. Through the link, he added, "Don’t react."

  "Okay," Rudy said.

  "Yes," Reyana added.

  The probe pushed, slid across his essence, then withdrew. One of the soldiers—a blonde woman with cropped hair and eyes so tired they looked bruised—exhaled and leaned toward Vans.

  "They’re clean," she said. "No corruption. No cult brands. Essence patterns are weird, but not hostile."

  Vans grunted. "Commander’s waiting. Try anything, and there are more soldiers, more wards, and nowhere to run. Understood?"

  "Your subtlety’s overwhelming," Jin said with a sigh.

  "Good," Vans said, somehow turning that into a threat.

  They moved deeper, past two more checkpoints. Each one had more wards carved into the floor and ceiling.

  Vans finally stopped in front of what looked like solid rock. He pressed a sequence of bricks, and a section swung inward on silent hinges, revealing yet another stairway, lit by faint essence lamps.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “Let’s go.”

  Jin went first. Reyana followed, Rudy behind her. Vans brought up the rear, gaze boring into the back of Jin’s skull.

  The air cooled with every turn of the spiral. Sigils crawled along the walls, humming softly. Whoever built this hadn’t just thrown wards on after the fact. This whole place had grown into the rock.

  The stairs opened into a cavern that made Jin stop without meaning to.

  The place felt like a hangar hollowed out of the mountain’s heart. Pillars rose to a ceiling far overhead, each one quietly pulsing with stabilization runes. Steel supports crisscrossed overhead. The concrete underfoot glowed faintly where someone had mixed powdered crystal into the aggregate.

  Hundreds of people filled the space. Soldiers on patrol, armor mismatched but maintained. Civilians clustered in rough sections—families with tired eyes, kids playing silently with whatever scraps they could find, and elders watching everything.

  Healers worked along one wall. Hands glowing with green and gold, shoulders slumped from essence fatigue. The wounded lay on cots, some unconscious, some staring blankly at the ceiling, some gritting their teeth through treatment.

  They were tired. Frayed. Held together with willpower and habit. But they were alive.

  "Welcome to the bastion," Vans said.

  "Okay," Jin murmured. "That’s… more than I expected."

  "Those were my thoughts exactly… besides, this is just the top level," Vans said. A hint of pride bled through the exhaustion. "We go all the way down to level one hundred. Civilians are in the deeper levels."

  He nodded toward the cavern floor. "Three hundred and forty-seven non-combatants down there. Eighty-two fighters. Fifteen support."

  "Still impressive," Jin said.

  "We do our jobs."

  They crossed the main thoroughfare. People watched them as they passed, whispers following in their wake. Three strangers in good gear, walking with Vans. Hope and suspicion in equal measure.

  Reyana had her mask back on. Rudy too. Jin stayed bare-faced.

  A woman in light armor pushing a supply cart glanced their way. Her gaze slid over Reyana and Rudy, landed on Jin, and stuck for half a heartbeat. Her brows pulled together, like something itched at the edge of memory. Then she shook her head and kept moving.

  "Seeing a lot of familiar faces," Rudy said quietly through the link. The strain was back in his voice. "Hartmann. Joss. That guy by the pillar taught me dice games. He used to cheat."

  "Almost there, man," Jin said. "You’ll have time to yell at every single one of them later."

  They reached the command section. A separate chamber, entrance guarded by two soldiers and protected by another layer of wards.

  ? Very heavy ward reliance. Layered, sophisticated, keyed to multiple triggers. ?

  Probably why they’re not all dead, Jin thought. If they had not leaned on the rituals, everything would have been wiped out long ago.

  Vans stopped at the glowing threshold. "Wait."

  He slipped inside, the door whispering shut behind him and leaving them under the scrutiny of the guards.

  Narrator… start cataloguing every essence signature we’ve seen since we came below. I don’t need full sheets, just flags if anyone’s carrying cult blessings or weird divine residue.

  ? Acknowledged. Beginning priority scan. Full capacity for thirty minutes. ?

  Good, give priority to those in the room we are about to meet.

  ? Okay. ?

  Jin leaned back against the wall, keeping his posture casual. "You good?" he asked Rudy, low.

  "No," Rudy said. Then he sucked in a breath, forced it out. "But I will be."

  The door opened again. Vans filled the frame. "Commander’ll see you."

  Reyana’s eyes flicked over the glowing runes in the doorway. "More wards," she muttered. "How in hell do they have the juice to keep all of this running?"

  "It doesn’t matter," Jin said. "Just means they’re resourceful."

  They stepped through.

  The command room had the feel of a storage vault turned war nest. Maps covered the walls, pinned and layered until some areas had three versions on top of each other—old city layout, updated cult zones, their guessed-at ritual network. Red ink. Blue ink. Areas scratched out entirely.

  Tables held crystal displays barely working under Veil suppression. A jury-rigged comms array sat in one corner, half its crystals dark, the others flickering like dying stars.

  Only 5 officers ringed the space. Some stood. Some sat hunched over maps, making notes. Every single one of them carried the same kind of bone-deep exhaustion.

  And at the center table, head bowed over a map, stood Commander Mathew Whitehart.

  Last time Jin had seen him, Mathew had been clean-shaven, armor crisp, eyes sharp but not haunted. This man looked like he’d been chewed on. His armor was a patchwork of repairs and field fixes. A bandage wrapped around his head covered one eye completely. Dried blood darkened the edges of his gauntlets.

  The other eye, though… the one Jin could see was still storm-grey and clear. It tracked them the second they stepped inside. Jin felt it weigh on him. Weigh Reyana. Linger on Rudy’s mask for half a heartbeat longer than the others.

  Something else lay over the room. A pressure. Like walking into a space that had already decided how many bodies it could hold if things went wrong.

  ? Mantle signature detected,? the Narrator whispered. ? Domain field partially active.?

  Weird, last I remembered, Mathew had the mantle of bastion… this feels more like I’ve stepped into an ambush.

  Rudy went statue-still beside him.

  "Lieutenant Jorn tells me you’re the ones responsible for knocking out the outposts," Mathew said, still looking at the map. “And help out in the battle.”

  "That’s accurate," Jin said. "We were there."

  "Skilled. Well-equipped." Mathew’s hand moved, tracing a route across the city. "And young."

  He tapped a point on the map that wasn’t marked. Jin recognized it anyway—their last surface base. "You also showed up exactly when we needed help the most. Almost like you knew where this place was."

  Jin opened his mouth, then shut it. Something about the angle of Mathew’s shoulders told him this wasn’t the time for glib.

  Mathew finally lifted his head. His gaze locked onto Jin’s with the weight of someone who’d looked ORDER IV threats in the eye and not blinked.

  "Which makes you either the luckiest bastards in Vienna," Mathew said, voice dropping, "or something else entirely. So let’s start simple. Who are you?"

  “Survivors…” Jin said and also sent over the link. “Kinda hoped he’d recognize me on sight. Guess the dungeon glow-up threw him off.”

  “You want me to step in?” Rudy asked. Hope and fear tangled together.

  “Not yet. Let me feel the situation out.” Jin refocused on Mathew.

  Here we go.

  "Circumstances, mostly," Jin said aloud. "Desperation fills in the gaps."

  "Circumstances." Mathew’s face didn’t move. "Where were you when the Veil fell?"

  "Wrong place, wrong time."

  "You’re deflecting." Mathew leaned forward, planting both hands on the table. "I don’t like deflection in my command room. Makes me think you’re hiding something worth hiding."

  Jin met his eyes. "Everyone’s hiding something, Commander. Question is whether what I’m hiding is a problem for you."

  "Is it?"

  "If it was, you’d already be dead."

  A ripple went through the room. One officer… black and greying hair, tight jaw… took a step forward, hand on hilt.

  "You’re speaking to the Commander," he snapped. "Show some respect."

  Jin didn’t look his way. "I am. I’m being honest."

  Mathew’s mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. "Stand down, Silas. The boy’s got spine."

  Captain Silas retreated a half-step, but his hand didn’t leave his sword.

  "But spine doesn’t answer questions," Mathew continued. "What were you doing before Vienna fell?"

  "Surviving." Jin shrugged slightly. "Same as now."

  The questions kept coming. Essence affinities. Combat experience. Gear sources. Jin gave him truth—just the parts that didn’t matter. Reyana stayed silent. Rudy felt like a live wire at Jin’s side.

  Status? Jin nudged the Narrator.

  ? No cult blessings or hostile divine residue detected in this chamber. I’m now continuing outward. ?

  Good. At least he wasn’t about to bare their throats to a room full of sleepers.

  Mathew’s eyes narrowed. "You’ve got answers for everything."

  "That’s kind of my thing."

  "And that’s mine." Mathew tapped the table. "Last time. Who are you really?"

  Jin opened his mouth to give him another nothing answer.

  Rudy smacked him in the back of the head.

  "Ow," Jin said, rubbing the spot. "Dude—"

  "Stop." Rudy’s voice came out rough and too loud. "Stop with the mysterious bullshit. Seriously."

  "Hey, paranoia kept us alive," Jin shot back. "You wanna maybe—"

  "No." Rudy’s hands were already at the straps of his mask. They fumbled once, then tore the thing off. "I’m done. I haven’t seen him in weeks. You can play spy all you want, I’m not waiting another second."

  He turned to the room, face bare. "You do your paranoid thing," he told Jin. "I’m telling my dad I’m alive."

  "Dad?" Mathew repeated. His good eye snapped fully to Rudy for the first time. His face smoothed out so hard it looked like he’d put on a mask.

  Then it cracked.

  "Rudeus?" The name came out like it had been stuck in his throat since the Veil fell.

  "Hey, Dad," Rudy said. His voice broke on the second word.

  Mathew’s fingers uncurled from the table edge. "They told me you were dead. Your signature vanished from the life crystal. They showed me the readings."

  "Yeah." Rudy’s shoulders hunched. "That… tracks. I almost was."

  "Two weeks." Mathew straightened. Something in him unwound and rewound at the same time. "Two weeks I thought—"

  Three strides and he was in front of his son, hands coming up to clamp onto Rudy’s shoulders like he expected them to phase through. His gaze swept down, cataloguing bruises, cuts, and the way Rudy was holding himself.

  "Are you hurt?" His voice was raw. "Anything broken? Corruption?"

  "I’m okay." Rudy’s laugh came out half-sobbed. "I’m okay, Dad."

  Mathew hauled him into a hug that looked more like a grapple. One hand in Rudy’s hair, the other across his back, holding on with a white-knuckled grip.

  The room’s tension snapped. Someone cursed softly under their breath. Someone else made a choked sound that might’ve been a laugh or a sob.

  "Seems like Rudy was popular," Reyana said quietly over the link.

  "He basically lived at the city guard and wall when he wasn’t with me," Jin sent back. "He knows these people. They know him."

  He and Reyana both took a step back, giving the two Alders space. Jin forced himself not to look away.

  ? You’re thinking about your own family,? the Narrator observed.

  Yeah, Jin answered. Part of me wonders what happened with Ren… he would be devastated, but me… no, Ryujin's dying was an eventuality that we long ago came to terms with.

  As for my family, as Jin? I have no idea. I know Amelia must have figured out something’s wrong and kicked up a ruckus. Marcus is smart, so maybe we could get some help, but…

  He shoved that thought into the box with the other things that didn’t help him kill cultists and kept watching.

  "Reyana," he murmured through the link.

  "Hm?"

  "No cult presence in this room, but I’m not betting on the whole shelter. Remember their faces. And they feel."

  "Already doing it," she said.

  Mathew finally eased back, though he kept one hand on Rudy’s shoulder like he was afraid the boy would get snatched away if he let go completely.

  "How?" His voice had steadied again. Command tone creeping back in. "How did you survive? Where were you?"

  Rudy jerked his chin toward Jin and Reyana. "Them. Jin and Rey. They dragged my dumb ass out of the fire. Mostly Jin, honestly. He’s been putting me through hell since."

  Mathew’s gaze swung back to Jin. His brows drew together. "Jin?"

  "Jin Winters," Jin said. "In the flesh. Mostly."

  "You’re Marcus’s nephew," Mathew said slowly. “Last time I saw you, you were—" His eye flicked over Jin’s changed physique, the way he held himself. "Smaller. Less… everything."

  "Yeah, circumstances did me dirty," Jin said. "Long story. Involves pain, trauma, questionable life choices, and me making a series of deals with myself I’m absolutely going to regret later."

  Rudy huffed something that might have been a laugh. "He’s not kidding."

  "Rudy’s kept us alive plenty," Jin added, uncomfortable under Mathew’s attention. "We got through this together."

  "Jin’s underselling it," Rudy cut in. His voice had steadied, even if he was still half-leaning into his father. "He’s the reason we’re not corpses. He killed an ORDER IV basically solo before we could even do anything. Scrounged gear, set plans, trained us till we puked. If I had a zen for every time he saved my life, I could buy this whole shelter."

  "That is not how math works," Jin said.

  "You know what I mean."

  Reyana’s mental voice slid in dry. “He’s right. You consistently undervalue your contributions. It’s annoying.”

  Love the support, Jin thought. Truly feel cherished.

  Mathew studied Jin again. Longer this time. Different weight to it.

  "Then we have a lot to discuss," Mathew said.

  The door opened.

  The woman from the supply cart stepped in, now in full officer gear. Late twenties, armor scuffed but maintained, insignia on her chest. She had a stack of reports in her hands and her eyes on the papers.

  "Commander, the north perimeter ward just—" She looked up. Her gaze hit Rudy full-on and stopped.

  The reports slid from her fingers and scattered across the floor.

  "Rudy?" she whispered gently.

  Rudy’s head snapped around. "Trish?"

  Mathew didn’t even look back. "Lieutenant Trish," he said. "Not now. Handle the north perimeter. We’re stable here for the moment."

  She tore her eyes away from Rudy with visible effort, snapped to attention. "Yes, sir."

  Jin felt the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand up as she turned to leave. Trish glanced his way and smiled, small and sharp.

  Narrator… I want a status check.

  NOW!

  ~~~

  ? ? ?