What Survives the Fire

The first explosion shook the walls, sending dust cascading from the ceiling. Jessica barely had time to react before the second blast hit—deeper inside the facility, a concussive force that rattled the floor beneath her feet.

Olivia stumbled, bracing herself against the nearest console. “That’s not an accident.”

Jessica’s jaw tightened. No. It wasn’t. Somewhere in the darkness, the facility was coming apart.

---

Leanna’s voice crackled in her earpiece. “We need to move. Now.”

Jessica scanned the room, the dim emergency lights casting eerie shadows against the glass observation windows. The base was old, but its destruction had been planned long before they arrived.

Vanguard wasn’t trying to retake it. They were erasing it.

Yuki stood near the far wall, her expression unreadable. She was watching Jessica, waiting to see what she would do.

Jessica turned her focus to the display case. The last Oni mask sat inside, untouched, preserved beneath a layer of dust and time. She exhaled slowly. This is what they came for. And now she had a choice.

---

Leanna was already at the doorway, scanning the corridor. “Jess, we don’t have time!”

Jessica ignored her. She reached out, resting her hand against the glass. This wasn’t just about the mask anymore. Mr. Black didn’t need it. He only needed the truth buried. Which meant he didn’t care if she kept it, as long as no one else ever saw it. She didn’t know what the mask could do. But she knew what it cost to let others decide

The floor beneath them rumbled again. More charges, detonating in sequence. Vanguard wasn’t just wiping the data. They were collapsing the entire structure.

Jessica made her decision. She reached down, grabbed the small storage case, and lifted it from the shelf. The weight was heavier than she expected, but it was real. Tangible.

She turned toward Leanna and Olivia. “Let’s go.”

---

The hallways were filling with smoke, the stale underground air now thick with dust and heat. The metal framework groaned under the pressure of the detonations, sending cracks through the concrete walls.

They moved fast—too fast for caution, too slow to outrun the inevitable.

Leanna took point, weapon up, sweeping for movement. Olivia was close behind, gripping the straps of her pack. Yuki was last, moving with the same quiet precision as before.

Jessica never looked back.

---

They emerged into the cold night air just as the final explosion ripped through the ground beneath them. A shockwave of dust and fire shot skyward, illuminating the night in a bloom of orange and gold.

The mountain swallowed the facility whole.

Jessica watched the ruins collapse, felt the heat against her skin, and still—she didn’t feel victorious.

Because the war wasn’t over. Not even close.

She turned slightly, catching Yuki’s gaze in the firelight. No words. Just silence.

Yuki had expected to die back there. Jessica had made sure she didn’t. But she didn’t thank her. She didn’t ask. Jessica didn’t explain. She turned away, tightening her grip on the mask. The past was buried. But the game wasn’t over.