Before we split up, Neo activated the Rift Scanner — a thin, disk-shaped device that pulsed with spectral light. It hovered slightly above his palm, scanning the ruined skyline with slow, deliberate sweeps.
A few seconds passed. Then the device let out a sharp ping. The holographic map flared to life, outlining a glowing silhouette of the skyscraper ahead — but it wasn't the top floor that lit up.
It was the basement.
"There," Neo said, pointing to the blinking dot. "Garage level. That's where the rift is."
Malakai furrowed his brow. "The basement?"
"Perfect place to hide it," Meredith said, arms folded. "Underground. Hard to reach. Shielded from sight. The demon must've come through and set up shop beneath the city before spreading outward."
Daniel snorted. "A demons citadel, lovely."
Neo's voice was quiet but firm. "It's not just hiding. It's anchoring itself. The skyscraper is a shell. The real danger is below."
He looked to the others, expression solemn.
"Alright. Malakai and I will go with Mattethis to reach the basement and seal the rift. Everyone else — you know your roles. Stay sharp. If we mess this up, there won't be a second chance."
Everyone nodded in grim understanding. No dramatics. No last-minute speeches. Just movement.
Forn tapped her whiteboard with the side of her blade as she passed the group:
"I'll stay with the Gravehowl. To guard the exit. I'll use the driver to relay messages over radio"
She climbed to the vehicle's roof like a wraith, scanning the desolate street with sharp, quiet eyes. The Gravehowl thrummed beneath her — a silent promise of escape, should any of them survive to need it.
The rest of the squad peeled off, slipping into the corpse of the city.
And at the center of it all, buried deep in concrete and silence, the rift pulsed. Waiting
***
Daniel and Meredith walked the ruined path toward the research station.
Ash fell like snow. Fires and soot. The air was thick with it — dry, choking, and strangely still. Crumbling buildings hunched around them like dying beasts, their windows shattered, their spines bent in defeat.
But the worst were the vessels.
They lined the street in eerie rows — men, women, even children — all unmoving. Eyes vacant. Faces slack. Not dead… but emptied. They stared through the twins, as if they weren't really there.
Daniel shuddered. "Yeah, they're just statues," he muttered, voice low. "No way they're going to jump us the second we turn our backs."
Meredith didn't answer. Her jaw was clenched, her steps careful. She couldn't say what she was thinking — not without breaking the one rule she couldn't break. So she said nothing.
But her mind was racing.
They're too still. That means they're listening. Or worse — waiting. Some of them are twitching just slightly, like puppets that forgot their strings are cut.
And Daniel's lying again. Of course he is — he has no choice. But if he's pretending to be calm, that means he's scared. Which means I should be, too.
She scanned the upper windows, the rooftops, the shadows that didn't shift right.
We're being watched. Not by eyes. By something deeper. It's like the air is… aware.
Every instinct screamed that this was a trap. That the quiet was the setup, not the reprieve. But if she said that aloud, she feared it would come true.
So instead, she walked.
Weapons ready.
Eyes sharp.
And lips sealed.
The facility loomed ahead. Gated. Reinforced. Locked down tighter than a vault. Scorch marks painted the ground near the doors — a warded line of defense. The intercom panel was dented, but functional.
Daniel gave it a dry look.
"If I hear ancient demon gibberish again, I'm definitely going to stay sane forever."
He grinned, sharp and hollow. "This is so not freaking me out."
"Agreed," Meredith said softly — because she did agree. She was terrified.
She pressed the button.
Bzzzt. A burst of static.
"Hello? This is Meredith from Zone Alpha. We're here to escort Professor Neil. Please respond."
A man's voice came through, ragged with tension.
"Oh thank God. There are eighty-three of us still inside. We've managed to keep the vessels out so far… but we're barely holding on."
Daniel leaned closer, smirking like it was a joke.
"Perfect. Sounds like you've got everything under control. We'll head back and let you sort it out yourselves."
"No we're not okay we need assistance we have -"
Meredith cut in, voice firm. "ignore my brother We're coming in. Stay calm and prepare to unlock the gate."
There was a pause.
"…Wait," the voice said. "One more thing. Something's been whispering through the vents. We've been sealing the vents but fear whatever it may be."
Daniel exhaled, glancing at Meredith with a smirk that didn't touch his eyes.
"Great. Whispering vents. That's definitely a good sign."
Meredith didn't answer. She just reached for her weapon, jaw clenched, and stepped through the broken threshold of the facility. Daniel followed, his boots scraping against the scorched tile.
They were greeted by a dozen gaunt faces—civilians, mothers clutching children, wide-eyed kids clutching stuffed animals like shields. The silence that met them wasn't fear. It was expectation.
Daniel gave his signature lopsided smile. "We're not here to help," he said brightly. "Just passing through. Definitely not armed, and definitely not here to rescue you."
A little girl blinked up at him. Meredith saw the way her fingers gripped tighter around her doll.
Meredith's hand rested on her holster. "We'll get you out," she said, voice flat but ironclad. "when we can."
Daniel shot her a glare, just for a second — not at the truth, but at how it provides relief to everyone who heard it.
One of the civilians stepped forward, older, ragged, hopeful. "Is it safe outside?"
Daniel didn't even pause. "Perfectly safe. Sun's shining. Streets are lined with flowers."
Meredith didn't move. "It's worse out there than in here."
The man looked between them, confused.
Daniel smirked. "She's joking," he lied. "We laugh a lot, the two of us. It's kind of our thing."
"We'll deal with this vent problem" Meredith says and an adult male nodded
Daniel took in the surroundings
The room was cold and damp, the scent of rust and mildew lingering in the air like old sorrow. Flickering lights cast jittery shadows across concrete walls, where exhausted adults sat in silence, eyes flicking toward sealed doors with quiet dread. Yet among them, children darted between blankets and crates, their laughter defiant — blissfully unaware of the threat lurking beyond the facility's walls. Their joy clashed against the fear hanging in the air, a fragile echo of life inside a place that felt more like a tomb than a shelter.
The adult male who greeted them
"So where is professor Neil?" Daniel asks
"He's asleep, or writing something on that white board of his he sealed himself in the office, you can go meet him but we have a missing child and no one knows where we suspect the vent monster took her"
He led them to a vent, half-hidden behind stacked crates. Daniel stepped up onto one and grabbed the vent cover, ripping it from the wall with the strength of an Initiate.
"Just call out if you need help."
"Yeah, yeah," he shrugged, climbing inside.
The vent was cramped and stale, metal groaning with every shift of his weight. After a few turns, the smell hit — thick, sour. It clung to his throat and forced bile to rise.
He froze.
A child's corpse was curled in the narrow passage, half-eaten. Flesh stripped in places, ribs showing. Something had been feeding.
Daniel turned his head and threw up.
Wiping his mouth, he took a breath and shouted, "I found the missing child — she's alive and well!"
Then, grimacing, he squeezed past the body, the tight walls scraping his jacket.
Something skittered ahead.
An imp lunged from the dark, eyes glowing faintly.
Daniel didn't hesitate — he drove his dagger into its throat, it tried to evade but being in such a cramped space it didn't have the chance. He twisted until it stopped moving. It crumpled in a twitching heap.
He exhaled. "Definitely just a rat," he muttered, crawling forward once more.
[You have slain a demonic Imp]
[You have received a Brand]
'oh sick that's actually awesome I've never seen a brand before' he thinks to himself before crawling back out. Brushing past the corpse dragging it with him.
He got out but was covered in his own puke to which he wiped
"Let's cover her no one needs to see her like this" Meredith looked sad but nonetheless covered the girl
"Let's go meet Neil" Meredith paused "let's update Forn first".