The Price of Truth

The air was thick with dust and tension as the last echoes of the explosion faded into silence. Smoke curled through the ruined hallway, the acrid scent of burning metal mixing with the ever-present staleness of the abandoned facility. Haruki’s ears rang, his body still reeling from the impact, but he forced himself to stay standing.

From the haze, Kaede emerged, rifle slung over her shoulder, her crimson jacket tattered at the edges but as striking as ever. Her expression was sharp, eyes scanning the room with quick, practiced precision. Behind her, three heavily armed figures flanked her, their weapons trained forward in a show of force.

Across the wreckage, Kain stood with a bemused smile, brushing debris from his coat as if this were nothing more than an inconvenience. His golden eyes flickered with something unreadable—annoyance, amusement, calculation.

“You’re late,” he remarked, his voice as smooth as ever.

Kaede smirked, tilting her rifle slightly in response. “Had to make an entrance.” Her gaze flicked over to Haruki and the others, lingering on their bruises and battered state. “Looks like I showed up just in time.”

Haruki coughed, straightening despite the ache in his ribs. “Could’ve been a few minutes earlier.”

Kaede scoffed. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Renji wiped blood from his cheek with the back of his hand. “Dramatic timing is great and all, but you got a plan, or are we just doing this the messy way?”

Kaede shrugged, the corner of her lips quirking up. “Why not both?”

Kain sighed, shaking his head. “Always so disruptive, Kaede. You never did know when to leave well enough alone.” He gestured lazily toward the wreckage. “This facility was abandoned for a reason. Meddling in things beyond your comprehension won’t change the outcome.”

Natsuki, silent until now, adjusted her grip on her knife. “And what outcome would that be?”

Kain gave her a knowing look. “The inevitable.” His expression was almost sympathetic. “The world is ending, whether you like it or not. All I’m doing is making sure the right people survive.”

Aoi stepped forward, her fists clenched. “You think you have the right to decide who lives and who dies?”

Kain chuckled, as if amused by her anger. “Not just the right, but the responsibility.” He gestured toward the broken remnants of the lab. “This place was once the pinnacle of human advancement. A beacon of possibility. But the truth is, progress requires sacrifice. You, of all people, should understand that.”

Haruki’s jaw tightened. “Sacrifice? You call this progress?” He gestured around them—the rusted restraints, the dried bloodstains, the long-forgotten test subjects who had been left to rot. “This isn’t science. This is a massacre.”

Kaede raised her rifle, her tone sharp. “Enough. We’re not here to debate philosophy with you, Kain. This ends here.”

For the first time, Kain’s smirk wavered. He studied Kaede carefully, as if weighing his next move. Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, he clapped his hands together. The sound echoed through the ruined hall like the crack of a gunshot.

The shadows behind him shifted.

A figure stepped forward from the darkness.

Tall. Silent. Wrapped in a long, tattered coat that barely concealed the jagged metal plating underneath. Their face was obscured by a mask—smooth, featureless, save for a single, glowing red eye that flickered like dying embers.

Haruki felt a chill crawl up his spine. This wasn’t just another one of Kain’s lackeys.

This was something else.

Kaede stiffened. “You bastard.”

Kain’s smirk returned, lazy and pleased. “Ah. I see you remember him.”

Aoi swallowed hard. “Who—who is that?”

Kaede’s grip on her rifle was iron-tight. “Project Revenant.” Her voice was almost a whisper. “One of the first—one of the last. A failed prototype meant to be erased.” She narrowed her eyes at Kain. “I thought he was dead.”

Kain spread his hands. “Well, clearly, he got better.”

Revenant took a slow, measured step forward. The ground seemed to tremble beneath his weight. His movements were precise, unnatural, as if his body wasn’t entirely his own.

Haruki could feel it—the wrongness. The way the air seemed to twist around him, thick with something indescribable.

Renji tightened his grip on his knife. “So. That’s your pet monster?”

Kain chuckled. “Monster? No. Perfection.”

Without warning, Revenant moved.

One moment, he was standing several feet away. The next, he was in front of them.

Kaede barely had time to react, yanking Haruki and Aoi backward as Revenant’s arm lashed out, striking the space they had been occupying a fraction of a second earlier. The force of the impact sent cracks spiderwebbing through the concrete floor.

Renji ducked low, sweeping his knife in an arc aimed at Revenant’s side. The blade struck metal, barely scratching the reinforced plating. Revenant didn’t even flinch.

Kisaragi moved fast, throwing something—a small, spherical device—at the ground. Smoke exploded outward, filling the room in a thick, blinding haze.

“Move!” Kaede barked, dragging Haruki up to his feet.

They scattered.

Haruki sprinted toward the far end of the room, Aoi close behind. Renji and Natsuki broke in opposite directions, using the cover of the smoke to reposition. Kaede stayed near the entrance, rifle raised, tracking every movement through the haze.

Through the swirling smoke, Revenant’s red eye gleamed like a predator’s.

Kain’s voice carried through the chaos, calm and unbothered. “You can run if you want. It won’t change anything.”

Haruki gritted his teeth. He needed to think—needed to find a way to turn this around.

Aoi’s breath was ragged beside him. “Haruki… what do we do?”

He clenched his fists. “We fight.”

A second later, Revenant lunged again.

Kaede fired. The bullet struck true, hitting Revenant’s shoulder, but he barely reacted. Another shot—this time to his leg. A slight stagger, but nothing more.

Renji leaped from the smoke, slashing at the exposed part of Revenant’s side. Sparks flew as the blade met metal. Revenant responded instantly, backhanding Renji with brutal force. Renji crashed against a pile of debris with a strangled grunt.

Kisaragi moved next, tossing another device—this time, an explosive charge. It detonated against Revenant’s back, sending shrapnel and dust flying. The force knocked Revenant forward, just enough for Natsuki to drive her knife into a gap between the plating on his side.

A hiss escaped from Revenant’s mask.

A sign of pain?

Haruki didn’t hesitate. He grabbed a rusted metal pipe from the wreckage and swung with everything he had. The impact landed against Revenant’s head, sending him stumbling.

Kaede fired again. This time, the shot hit true—directly through the exposed joint of Revenant’s knee.

With a heavy crash, Revenant dropped to one knee.

Kain sighed. “Tch. I really did expect better.”

He lifted his hand.

And Revenant moved again.

Faster. Stronger.

Like something had been unleashed.

Haruki barely had time to react before Revenant was on him again, the red eye burning with something new—something terrifying.

Aoi screamed.

And then—

Everything went black.