the obsidian proxy
Marcus, his older brother and former mentor within The Syndicate, had saved his life once before, helping him escape the lethal rigor of his initial training, but his protection had its limits.
Elias sat on an overturned crate, meticulously cleaning and reassembling his personal sidearm—a process that was less about function and more about calming the electrical chaos in his mind. His training was a concrete, brutal reality, and every instinct screamed for self-preservation through calculated ruthlessness. But the memory of Julian’s face, etched with that beautiful, terrible combination of rage and grief, overlaid every tactical calculation.