The Umbra safehouse fell silent after the division. Each team knew their role, and each role carried weight heavier than words.
Team Alpha – The Road to Valken
Damien drove with rigid focus, the steering wheel clenched so hard his veins stood out. Beside him, Luce sat quiet, golden eyes watching the landscape blur past — vineyards, olive groves, the old stones of Italy that had seen centuries of secrets.
“You’re chewing your tongue again,” Sayaka murmured from the back seat.
“I’m not,” Luce replied automatically.
“You are,” Veer cut in, grinning from behind his shades. “That’s his ‘thinking face.’ Usually means he’s imagining either killing someone or kissing someone.”
Sayaka arched a brow. “Guess which one’s more likely right now.”
Veer laughed, leaning back. “The day Luce starts daydreaming about romance mid-mission is the day I—”
Luce snapped his head around, hazel-gold eyes sharp. “Finish that sentence and I’m ejecting you from the SUV.”
The banter covered the unease, but Damien wasn’t laughing. He kept his eyes on the road, knuckles pale. Every mention of Valken felt like a knife twisting inside him.
“Damien,” Sayaka said softly, catching his reflection in the rearview. “You’re too quiet.”
He flinched, but said nothing. His silence was louder than anything else in the vehicle.
Team Beta – The Seraph’s Trail
Moonlight washed across the abandoned shipping yard. Containers loomed like silent tombs, stacked high.
Raiden’s voice was calm over comms: “Thermals picked up two figures ahead. One’s human. One’s… wrong.”
Erik crouched beside him, rifle steady. “Wrong how?”
“Heartbeat irregular. Body temp elevated.” Raiden’s eyes narrowed. “Not human-standard.”
“That’s encouraging,” Ishaan muttered. “Do we ever chase normal enemies?”
“Nope,” Saira said, releasing her drone with a flick of her wrist. The small machine whirred into the air, scanning beams cutting across the rusted metal. “But the non-standard ones leave better stories.”
“You’re assuming we’ll live long enough to tell them,” Ishaan shot back — though his grin didn’t fade.
They moved in tandem, weapons sweeping, eyes cutting shadows apart. And then — a flicker. Movement between containers. A shape, humanoid, golden hair catching the moon.
“Contact,” Raiden breathed.
The figure didn’t attack. Instead, it watched. Silent, still, like a ghost waiting for permission to breathe.
Erik’s gut twisted. “…That looks like Luce.”
The air turned colder.
Intel Support – ARGUS
Avni’s team worked like surgeons in the blue-lit war room. ARGUS feeds streamed across their vision: maps, bio-signatures, fragments of corrupted Valgrave files.
“Filter cross-comparisons between Seraph’s last known labs and Valken’s attack zones,” Dev muttered, his hands flying across the console.
“No overlap so far,” Lev said, tapping a pen against his teeth. “Which means they’re not in the same place. Maybe not even after the same thing.”
Isolde sat rigid, her hands clenched in her lap. Her voice cracked when she finally spoke. “…What if Valken’s not just hunting?”
Avni’s eyes flicked to her. “Meaning?”
Isolde swallowed. “What if he’s testing us? Pushing us where he wants, not where we want to go?”
Avni’s frown deepened. “Then we’ll rewrite the game board.” She leaned closer to the screens, fire in her tone. “No one manipulates Ravenfall.”
ARGUS chimed with a warning tone. A red sigil appeared on the holographic map, pulsing.
Lev leaned forward. “…That’s on Alpha’s path.”
Avni’s voice snapped sharp over comms: “Alpha, you’ve got incoming. Be ready.”
Team Alpha – The Encounter
The SUV screeched to a halt, tires spitting gravel. Ahead, a figure stood in the middle of the road, silhouetted by moonlight.
Golden hair. Hazel eyes. Familiar in every wrong way.
Sayaka’s breath caught. “…Luce?”
“No,” Luce said instantly, stepping out of the SUV, pistol raised. His pulse thundered. This wasn’t him — couldn’t be him. But the resemblance was undeniable, cruel in its precision.
Damien’s breath came ragged, his voice barely a whisper. “…Valken.”
The figure tilted its head, lips curving into a smile that wasn’t human. And then it vanished — moving so fast it blurred.
The hunt had just begun.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.