MasukThe bunker groaned as Elias raised his glowing hand, purge energy spiraling around his arm like a living serpent. The sound was deafening—pure, electric force screaming through the air.
Lena stepped toward him.
Alexander grabbed her wrist desperately.
But she slipped out of his grip.
Her voice trembled but never broke.
Alexander’s throat tightened as he moved with her, staying by her side—ready to shield her with his body if he had to.
Elias’s golden pupils narrowed, flickering wildly between himself and the purge.
“Lena—”
Then the purge snapped back, taking over.
Elias’s arm lifted again.
The beam charging at his palm grew brighter—
Pointed right at her chest.
Lena didn’t flinch.
She stepped right into its line of fire.
Alexander’s heart nearly stopped.
“LENA!” he shouted, grabbing her shoulders. “LISTEN TO ME—HE WILL KILL YOU—”
Lena wiped tears from her cheeks but didn’t look away from Elias.
“Then I’ll die with him.”
Alexander crumbled.
“No. No, Lena. Please, not like this—”
But Lena touched his cheek gently.
“Alexander… if I walk away now, he’ll never come back. The purge will consume him fully. And then he will kill everyone. You. Me. Himself.”
Her hand dropped.
“And this time… it would be my fault.”
Alexander squeezed his eyes shut, pain ripping through him.
He had fought assassins, kill teams, entire factions—
Lena turned toward Elias.
Her voice steadied, gaining strength.
“Elias. Look at me.”
The golden monster froze.
For three long, silent seconds…
Lena and Elias stared at each other.
The purge energy crackled between them—
Lena stepped closer.
“Elias. I’m here.”
His glowing eyes widened.
He stumbled backward like her voice physically hit him.
“L-Lena…” he gasped.
His real voice again.
“RUN. PLEASE. I—CAN’T—STOP—IT—”
“You don’t have to,” she whispered, taking another step.
Elias’s breaths came in broken shudders.
Alexander stood frozen behind her—
Cassandra watched from the corner, whispering:
“She’s triggering the linkage. Her presence is forcing the purge to respond.”
Lena reached Elias’s trembling hand.
Her fingers hovered inches from his burning skin.
“Elias… listen to me,” she whispered, crying again.
“You saved my life.”
His body jerked.
“You saved all of us.”
Electric arcs shot upward, hitting the ceiling.
But Lena didn’t stop.
“And now I’ll save you.”
Her hand closed around his wrist.
A blinding flash exploded through the bunker—
Alexander shielded his eyes.
Elias screamed—
The purge surged out of him—
Cassandra shouted, “She’s draining it—she’s pulling the purge away from him—!”
Alexander staggered forward.
But Lena didn’t stop.
She clung to Elias’s wrist, her body shaking violently as the purge flowed through her—in and out—like electricity trying to rip her apart.
Elias collapsed to his knees, gasping, eyes flickering back to green.
“L-Lena… let go… PLEASE—LET GO—”
Lena sobbed.
The purge roared.
Her entire body glowed.
Alexander tried to reach her—
“No! If you touch her—you’ll both die!”
Alexander broke.
“LENA! LENA, LOOK AT ME!”
Her head turned toward him.
Her eyes glowed gold.
“Alex…” she whispered.
Then her legs buckled.
She fell—
straight into Alexander’s arms.
The purge energy shattered apart—
Elias collapsed face-first onto the metal floor, unconscious but breathing.
Lena lay limp in Alexander’s arms.
Her eyes closed.
Her pulse—
gone.
Again.
Alexander clutched her tightly, shaking violently.
“No—no—NO—LENA—STAY WITH ME—PLEASE—”
Cassandra knelt beside them, checking Lena’s pulse.
Tears welled in her eyes.
“Alex… I think—”
But Alexander’s scream cut her off:
“NO! SHE’S ALIVE—SHE HAS TO BE—SHE HAS TO—LENA—!”
He shook her gently, sobbing.
“Lena… open your eyes…”
Silence.
Silence so loud it broke him.
Then—
Elias’s weak voice rasped:
“Alex… s-she’s… not gone.”
Alexander froze.
Elias lay on the ground, blinking slowly.
He pointed shakily at Lena’s chest.
“Look…”
Alexander looked.
And saw it—
the faintest golden spark beneath her skin.
Then another.
Then—
thump.
Her heart.
She gasped—
And whispered:
“Alex…?”
Alexander sobbed into her hair.
“I’m here. I’m right here.”
Snow drifted through the torn opening of the jet’s wreckage, settling softly on Alexander’s unmoving body. Lena’s breath fogged the icy air as she tried—failed—to move him.Her voice trembled, desperate:“Alex… please wake up. Alex, don’t do this to me—please—”But he didn’t stir.His pulse thudded beneath her shaking fingers—weak, uneven, but alive.Relief and terror crashed together inside her.Sable watched her struggle with an indifferent curiosity, like observing an injured animal.“Touching,” Sable murmured. “Your devotion is almost sweet.”Lena’s head snapped up, tears freezing against her skin.“What did you do to Elias?”Sable arched a brow. “To him? Nothing. The purge did that on its own.”“Where is he?” Lena demanded.Sable’s lips curled.“Alive.”Lena’s heart stuttered.“But not… himself.”Lena’s breath caught in her throat.“What does that mean?”Sable stepped closer, heels crunching softly in the snow. She crouched gracefully in front of Lena, her gloved fingers lifting
The explosion lit the night sky like a dying star.White light.Golden fire.Thunder cracking across the clouds.Then—silence.A heartbeat later, the shockwave slammed into the jet.The aircraft lurched sideways—metal groaning, alarms screaming—and dropped like a stone.Lena was thrown against her seat, the belt cutting into her ribs.“Alexander!” she screamed, reaching for him.He grabbed the nearest latch, swinging violently as the jet twisted.“Hold on, Lena!”The world tilted.The floor became the ceiling.Loose equipment flew like bullets through the cabin.Cassandra fought to stabilize the jet, fingers flying across the controls.“We’ve lost the left wing! Engines failing—altitude dropping—brace yourselves!”The lights flickered—darkness—Then emergency red lighting filled the cabin.The jet nosedived.Lena’s stomach lurched into her throat as gravity yanked her downward.She gasped, breath ripped from her lungs.“ELIAS!” she screamed into the night—but there was nothing out
The night sky burned gold.The surge of purge energy ripped across the wing, blinding, violent, alive. Alexander shielded his face as the force slammed into him, nearly tearing him off the metal.“ELIAS!” he shouted, voice raw.But Elias didn’t hear him.Couldn’t.His body glowed brighter—veins lit like molten rivers, hair lifted by static, every breath a shockwave. He looked less like a man and more like a star about to collapse.Inside the cabin, Lena screamed his name, her voice carried away by the roaring wind.“ELIAS—STOP! LISTEN TO ME!”But the purge inside him was drowning everything else out.Cassandra grabbed the cockpit mic, yelling into it,“Elias! You’re overloading the purge core! You need to stabilize—NOW!”He didn’t respond.His feet dug through the wing metal, molten gold dripping from his heels. The aircraft groaned, shaking violently.Alexander crawled toward him, pressing against the wind that threatened to rip him free.“Elias!” he shouted again. “Look at me!”No m
Cold air roared into the cabin as Elias hurled himself out of the open hatch. The night sky swallowed him instantly, wind tearing at his body.But he didn’t fall.A golden flare burst beneath his boots as he landed on the jet’s wing with supernatural balance — the purge inside him anchoring every movement.The sentinel turned its head toward him.Two red eyes glowed through the mask.It stood tall, unmoving, sword still embedded in the wing. Its black armor absorbed the rushing wind like it was standing on solid ground.Elias steadied himself and shouted over the storm,“COME ON, THEN!”The sentinel pulled the blade free.The metal shrieked.Lena screamed inside the cabin as the jet lurched violently to the side, sparks spitting from the damaged panel.Alexander grabbed the wall to steady himself.“CASSANDRA—KEEP US LEVEL!”“I’M TRYING!” Cassandra yelled back. “BUT IF THAT THING TEARS OFF THE WING, WE’RE ALL DEAD!”On the wing, the sentinel lunged.Elias threw up his arm — golden ener
The south exit of the bunker opened into a narrow passageway carved through stone, the air thick with dust and the hum of hidden machinery. Lena stayed pressed against Alexander’s side as they moved, her legs still weak but her mind alert.Elias walked ahead, silent, tense, every muscle rigid. The faint golden glow beneath his skin pulsed faster the closer they came to the open air.Cassandra led them quickly.“Hurry. The purge is reacting,” she said without turning.Elias’s voice was low.“It’s sensing something.”Alexander’s brow hardened. “Sable?”“Or something she controls,” Cassandra replied grimly.The moment they stepped out into the night, a cold mountain wind hit them, carrying the scent of pine and snow. In the distance, faint landing lights illuminated a small, camouflaged airstrip. A sleek black jet sat ready, engines quietly humming.Alexander’s grip tightened around Lena’s hand.“We’re almost there.”But Lena didn’t miss the way his eyes scanned every shadow, every treet
The bunker was quieter now, but only on the surface.Beneath every breath, every heartbeat, tension simmered like a storm waiting to break.Alexander paced the length of the room, jaw tight, shoulders stiff, mind already ten steps ahead. He checked weapons, supplies, maps—then checked them all again.Lena watched him from the side, still pale but recovering.He hadn’t left her side for longer than a minute since she came back to life.Elias leaned against the far wall, eyes closed, breathing slow and controlled as he fought to stabilize the purge inside him. Faint gold pulsed beneath his skin, but he kept it contained—for now.Cassandra typed furiously at the main terminal, the screens filled with encrypted files, satellite paths, and intel from an underground network Lena didn’t know existed.The group was silent… until Cassandra suddenly spoke.“We need to move within the next two hours.”Alexander snapped to attention. “Why?”Cassandra turned toward them, pushing her glasses up the







