The air in the high-rise office was filtered to a sterile perfection, scrubbed of the metallic tang of the city below. It was a space defined by absolute order. On the mahogany desk, a clock sat silent, ticking only in the digital display of a nearby terminal.
Cling. Cling. Cling.
The alarm was soft, yet it commanded the room. A man stood up from his chair, his movements fluid and practiced. He moved to the mirror, his reflection showing a figure of crisp, white lines. He brushed his teeth with a rhythmic precision, took a brief, cold bath, and styled his hair until not a single strand was out of place. Finally, he reached for his identity. He pulled on the white hood and fastened the Silver Mask. The dark, hollow eye-sockets and the sharp jawline of the mask gave him the appearance of a porcelain specter. He adjusted his white suit jacket over his dark vest, checked the ornate silver pistol at his side, and stepped toward the door.
"Time again," Baldwin whispered to the empty room.
He walked through the corridor of his private sanctum, his boots clicking softly on the polished floor. When he reached the heavy reinforced doors of the inner chamber, they slid open with a hiss.
"Hello, Baldwin," a voice grated.
Valkhyre was leaning against the far wall, his massive Zethrian frame casting a distorted shadow across the room. He looked out of place in such a refined setting, like a predator in a museum.
"Valkhyre," Baldwin said, his voice muffled slightly by the mask but retaining its cold edge. "What do you want? You are interfering with my schedule."
"Come on, don't be mean," Valkhyre replied, a low, rumbling chuckle vibrating in his chest. "I just want to say... Skull is dead."
Baldwin's eyes widened behind the mask's dark slits. His hand, resting near his holster, tightened. "How? Impossible. Skull was strong, no one could have survived his black flames.
"Yeah, well," Valkhyre said, pushing off the wall. "He's gone. But I just wanted to tell you: be careful. I don't want any Xenocides snooping around my turf because of your sloppiness. And I certainly don't want them finding what we've been building."
"The Xenocides are occupied," Baldwin countered, though his mind was already racing through the implications of Skull's fall.
"Think fast." Valkhyre flicked a small, shimmering object through the air.
Baldwin's reflexes were instantaneous. He caught the photo between two fingers before it could hit his chest. He looked down. It was a surveillance still, grainy but clear enough to see the silver eyes and the focused expression of a young man.
"That's the guy that killed him," Valkhyre said, a predatory smile spreading across his face. "Want to know his name?"
Baldwin stared at the image, a strange coldness settling in his gut. "Who is he?"
"Elias," Valkhyre whispered.
Baldwin looked up sharply. "How did you get this?
Or who gave you?"
Valkhyre didn't answer immediately. He began to fade back into the shadows of the doorway. "We Zethrians have our ways, Baldwin. We see the things you humans choose to ignore. Don't let him
Get close to my turf ,or defeat you".
With a final, mocking wave, the Zethrian was gone, leaving Baldwin alone with the photograph of the man who had ended an "unbeatable" partner.
The 10th Division Base
BOOM.
The entire wing of the 10th Division headquarters groaned under the force of an impact. Dust drifted down from the ceiling tiles as a shockwave rippled through the training hall. In the center of the room, the air was a blur of motion.
Jaxen skidded across the floor, his boots smoking from the friction. He dug his heels in, bracing his massive frame just as Elias lunged forward. Elias's silver eyes were glowing with a steady, calm light, his movements stripped of any wasted energy. He wasn't just fighting; he was calculating.
Renji was a flicker of blue and black on the periphery, his speed so high that he seemed to be in three places at once. He darted in, testing Elias's flank with a practice strike, only for Elias to pivot on a dime, parrying Jaxen's heavy fist with one hand and catching Renji's wrist with the other.
"Too slow, Renji!" Nyx shouted from her perch on the overhead rafters. She was hanging by her knees, swinging back and forth like a pendulum. "Hit him harder, Jaxen! He's reading you like an open book!"
"I'm trying!" Jaxen roared, his muscles bulging as he tried to overpower Elias's grip. "He's like a brick wall that moves like a ghost!"
Sloane sat on a nearby bench, her medical kit open and her eyes glued to a biometric scanner. "Jaxen, your adrenaline is spiking too fast. If you don't breathe, you're going to pass out before you land a hit. And Elias, stop holding back. You're stalling the session."
Vela sat next to her, slowly unwrapping a nutrition bar. She watched the spar with a quiet intensity. "They've been at it for three hours. If they keep this up, they're going to be too tired for the actual mission. Assuming we ever get one."
Mikasa was in the far corner, her back against the wall. She was sharpening her blade with a rhythmic shick-shick-shick, her eyes never leaving Elias. She didn't speak, but her presence was a constant reminder of the lethality the team possessed.
The silence of the hallway was broken by the sound of heavy boots. The training hall doors hissed open, and Drakye Void stepped inside. He didn't say a word at first; he just stood there, his presence alone enough to bring the room to a standstill.
"Jaxen. Renji. Elias. Front and center," Drakye commanded.
The three fighters immediately broke their stance. Jaxen wiped sweat from his brow with a heavy sigh, Renji smoothed his hair back into place, and Elias stood at attention, his breathing perfectly even despite the three-hour spar.
"We have a mission," Drakye said, his voice echoing in the large room.
Nyx flipped off the rafter, landing silently on her feet. "Yasss! Finally!, we've got a missionnnnn"
"Calm down, Nyx," Drakye said, though there was a hint of a grim smile on his face. "We've successfully communicated with the Valkari species. They confirmed that Skull wasn't acting alone. He had a partner—a man named Baldwin."
The name hung in the air. Cipher, who had been silent at his terminal, looked up. "Baldwin. If we find him, we find the source. We shut down the creator of the Serum, we shut down the entire operation."
"Exactly," Drakye continued. "He was last seen in Sector 9. This isn't a standard raid. It's an undercover operation. We need to move through the sector without flagging his security. Baldwin is organized, and rich ."
Drakye tossed a stack of encrypted ID badges onto the table. "Take these. These are your covers. Use them. If you get caught before we find the creator, the mission is over."
"Sector 9 is a maze," Renji noted, looking at the map Cipher projected.
"You won't be alone," Drakye added. "The 9th Division—Titan Force—insisted on joining this mission. It's close to their base, and they've been looking for a challenge. They'll be meeting you at the Sector 9 border."
Nyx grinned, her eyes flashing with a competitive fire. "Division 9? ,Hmm I don't think I know anyone,but This is going to be fun. Let's see if they can keep up with us."
Elias picked up his ID badge, staring at the holographic surface. He felt a strange pull toward the mission, then he smiled,"let's get the party started "
"Move out," Drakye ordered.
The 10th Division didn't hesitate. They moved with a synchronized efficiency, gathering their gear and heading for the transport docks. They were no longer the group waiting for a lead; they were the hunters. And as they descended toward the dark, neon-lit sprawl of Sector 9, they were unaware that in a high-rise office nearby, a man in a silver mask was already looking at their faces.
The war between human and aliens was no longer a shadow game. It was a collision course.