The desert stayed with them.
Even after they passed through the gate—wounded, dust-covered, half-blind—it clung to their skin and dreams. Ashen could feel the weight of it in his lungs, like he hadn't quite left. The gate's blue light flickered behind them, fading out with a hollow thrum.
Unit 9 emerged into the outpost infirmary. Medics rushed them, voices blurring together in a haze of orders.
"Third-degree burn!"
"Get those lacerations sealed!"
"He's got a cracked rib—possible internal bleeding."
Ashen sat down on the cold metal bench, hands shaking. His sword, still wrapped in cloth, rested across his knees. No one touched it. No one asked.
Not yet.
Elira was being stitched up across from him, biting down on a leather strap. The pain must've been bad, but she made no sound.
Reynor refused aid.
He stood to the side, arms crossed, gaze locked on Ashen like a hunter watching prey that had spoken its name.
Sera's arm was in a sling, and she hadn't said a word since the fight. Kerr and Lin were asleep on the far cot, bandaged and breathing slowly.
Lieutenant Grey entered the room.
Everything froze.
He took one look around and sighed.
"You survived."
No one responded.
He nodded. "Good. You'll be glad to know you passed. All of you."
Reynor narrowed his eyes. "That wasn't a drill. That thing… that wasn't in the simulation records."
Grey didn't deny it.
Ashen's voice cut through the silence. "Was it planted?"
Grey stared at him. Then shook his head. "The centipedes aren't supposed to reproduce. But one laid an egg. Deep in the basin. We didn't detect it in time."
Sera spoke finally. "And you let us go in anyway."
Grey shrugged. "Would've been a good test. And it was. You survived. You adapted. That's what soldiers do."
Ashen clenched his fists.
Elira muttered, "You're insane."
Grey smirked. "You're alive."
He stepped closer to Ashen. "And you, boy. You saved your squad. Again."
Reynor turned away.
Ashen said nothing.
Grey knelt before him. "Tell me something."
Ashen met his eyes.
Grey's voice lowered. "That sword… that power. It's not from the Blood God, is it?"
Every head turned.
Ashen's breath caught.
Reynor's hand moved subtly toward his weapon.
But Grey just smiled.
"I don't care," he said. "The world is ending. Again. If you can kill, and kill well, I don't care what whispers into your dreams."
He stood. "Clean yourselves up. Rest. Tomorrow, we begin phase two."
He left.
The silence was suffocating.
Reynor finally spoke. "You should've died in that desert."
Ashen looked at him. "Maybe."
Reynor's voice dropped. "You're lying to all of us. And one day, that lie's going to kill someone."
Sera stepped forward. "Enough."
Reynor glanced at her. "You of all people should want to know the truth."
Sera didn't answer. She simply stood between them, like a wall carved from stone.
—
That night, Ashen couldn't sleep.
He lay on the cot in the dark infirmary, surrounded by steady breathing and quiet beeps. His sword rested under his bed.
And the dreams came again.
But this time, they weren't visions.
They were memories.
He stood in a burned village. Flames danced in reverse—ashes forming into walls, screams turning into laughter, corpses into people. A dog barked.
And there he was. Small. Barefoot.
Watching everything unravel.
A voice spoke.
"Memory is power. You've always known this."
The blade appeared in his hands, unwrapped. Pure silver. Runes running up its spine like veins.
"Do you still deny what you are?"
Ashen looked down at the reflection in the blade. It wasn't him.
It was…
Someone forgotten.
He woke with a jolt.
Sera sat beside him, eyes closed, resting but not asleep.
He whispered, "Why do you trust me?"
She didn't open her eyes. "I don't."
Ashen blinked.
She continued, "But I've seen what lies do to people. And I've seen what truth does. Sometimes lies keep people breathing."
He lay back down.
The sword whispered again.
"They will all turn on you. When the time comes, choose what to remember."
—
Morning came harsh.
Unit 9 assembled outside the medical wing, looking ragged but whole. Grey stood waiting, arms behind his back.
"Welcome to your new reality," he said.
Behind him stood a gate—this one deep red, with veins of black essence pulsing along its edges.
"This isn't training anymore. You'll be deployed to a real sector. A scout mission. Minimal risk. But real stakes."
Lin blinked. "Already? We're still healing."
Grey's face hardened. "The enemy doesn't wait. Neither do we."
Kerr sighed. "I knew joining the military would kill me. Just not this fast."
Ashen looked at the red gate.
It pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat.
Reynor stepped beside him. Not looking at him. But close enough to speak low.
"You have one chance to tell the truth. Before I dig it out myself."
Ashen didn't answer.
He just stepped into the gate.
And vanished.