The air was thick with heat and silence as the 55 stood gathered.
Juno was still unconscious, breathing shallow and uneven, her shoulder marred by the branded COMA insignia. The message she had whispered — "traitor" — still clung to their minds.
And Riya was missing.
“We split,” Luce said, sharp and direct.
“Into two teams,” Lev added, “One protects Juno. The other finds Riya.”
Erik stepped forward immediately, voice rising. “Wait—what the hell are you saying? We’re not allowed to split. Valgrave rules strictly forbid group separation during Crucible Cycles.”
“We know,” Avni said coldly. “But we don’t have a choice. This is not a game anymore.”
Raiden nodded. “Let them punish us later. If Riya dies out there, we all fail anyway.”
The decision was made, unsanctioned and necessary.
Scouting Team: Lev, Luce, Avni, Raiden, and a handful of others.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjwPVVIUsA
Camp Team: Sayaka, Erik, Ishaan, Veer, Dev, Saira, and the rest.
With a quiet nod, the teams split. No goodbyes.
Four hours later, the scouting team had nothing.
No signs. No blood. No clue. The forest stretched endlessly, and every rustle of leaf sounded like a trap.
Raiden kicked a root. “We’ve searched everywhere—”
Then.
A scream.
Piercing. Human. Close.
Everyone froze.
“That wasn’t Riya,” Luce said immediately.
“No,” Avni whispered. “It came from the camp.”
Back at the base, Sayaka’s eyes narrowed. “They’re trying to mislead us. Don’t move.”
But it was already too late.
Fear bled into panic. Students shouted, pushed, ran — some towards the sound, others in the opposite direction. Wild eyes. Trembling hands. Survival instincts overwhelming training.
“We stay in formation!” Sayaka barked.
No one listened.
And then—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDVVCAJ2Tf
A blood-choked scream.
“JUNO’S DEAD!”
Veer stumbled back. Dev froze. Ishaan vomited. Someone shoved Saira. It was chaos.
Someone had gotten to Juno.
Unaware of the disaster, the scouting team pressed deeper.
Until—
Gunshots.
Not one.
A burst.
Then silence.
Lev didn’t hesitate. “That’s not camp. Move!”
They crashed through underbrush. Mud clung to their boots. Branches sliced their skin.
Then they saw her.
Riya.
Brutally mutilated. Hands and legs cut.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahY5XiduSm
Blood soaked the rocks beneath her.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCjKayw80d
Sixteen empty bullet shells lay beside her like a ritual.
Avni’s face went white. “Who the hell—”
Luce turned slowly, eyes landing on a message scorched into a tree behind them:
SHE KNOWS US. WE WON’T LET HER LIVE.
Raiden stared, silent, horrified. “If they did this to her… what if something happened to Juno too?”
They ran back toward the camp, sprinting, panting, stumbling.
They reached the clearing.
Nothing.
No bodies.
No students.
No signs of life.
“Where are they?” Luce shouted. “Where the fuck is everyone?!”
Then a shriek from behind a rock. They ran toward it.
And froze.
Juno’s body was there.
Impaled. A single blade driven straight through her heart.
The COMA insignia was burned again — this time on her ribs.
No one spoke.
A scout whispered, trembling, “We… failed the mission.”
“No,” Avni said. “We lost our people. Where’s Sayaka? Dev? Veer? Ishaan? Saira? Erik?”
Raiden’s eyes darted. “Erik’s missing?!”
Luce snapped. The air around him turned sharp, cold, unstable. “Where the fuck is Sayaka?!”
He turned to Lev.
“How did they find our camp exactly when we were out scouting?”
Luce glanced down at his wrist — then ripped the band off.
“The tracking bands,” he muttered. “Valgrave gave these to us. Those bastards must’ve tampered with them. They knew where we were. Knew when to strike.”
“We’re being hunted,” Raiden said.
Lev looked at all of them. Calm now. Too calm.
“We either get off this damn island... or we find our friends. Decide.”
One of the scouts hesitated. “But Valgrave—this isn’t protocol. We’ll be branded traitors.”
“Then leave,” Luce said, eyes cold. “Lev, Avni, Raiden—come with me. We find the others. That’s priority.”
Some scouts joined them. Most did not.
Luce turned to his group.
“Throw your bands. Every last one.”
They scattered the devices across the forest floor.
MEANWHILE – COMA HQ, Umbra Island
The command center of the most feared organization in the world was in disarray.
Red dots. One after another. Blinking off.
Tracking failed. Monitors going dark.
Lucino Moretti. Avni Rathore. Raiden Kurogane. Lev Morozov.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qm3WLbOgs
Gone.
Elda Kurogane stood frozen.
“No. Not now. Not all at once—”
Her fists slammed the desk.
Panic rose in her throat.
“These are not students—” she hissed. “They’re heirs! Luce is COMA's heir. Avni and Raiden are my own blood!”
Behind her, Sylus Morozov stood stone-faced, arms crossed.
“Irina,” he said calmly to Lev’s grandmother. “Our grandson’s signal just vanished too.”
Irina’s mouth tightened, unreadable.
Across the table stood:
Takashi Kurogane (Umbra Head)
Naoko Kurogane-Rathore (Virelios Head)
Hildegard Falk (Caelthorn Head)
Gianluca Moretti (Valgrave Head)
Selene Argyros (Astrynox Head)
Viktor Reznov (Pyronox Head)
Sylus Morozov (former Apex COMA)
Irina Volkova (Valgrave Former Head)
“They went dark the second Luce destroyed the bands,” Gianluca said quietly.
“Then they’re smart,” Viktor muttered. “But they’ve become a target.”
“Do it,” Elda whispered.
“Call the Inner Circle.”
“We march to Caelthorn. Now.”
ns216.73.216.139da2
and then Add to home screen.