Chapter 17: The Warden's Gambit
Resistance Cathedral – Two Days Later
The Fourth Seal was locked away beneath layers of runic defenses and magnetic shields in the Cathedral's inner sanctum.
But its presence could be felt everywhere.
Rayven sat at the war table, shoulders heavy, mind fogged.
Rhea, arms folded, watched him carefully. "You haven't slept since the Vault."
"I don't have time to sleep," Rayven muttered, fingers drumming against the table.
Jex piped in from a corner, goggles reflecting code. "You sure it's the Seal that's eating you alive and not good old-fashioned trauma?"
Rayven glared.
Selene entered, tossing a broken Seraphim transmitter onto the table.
"Intercepted a message," she said. "They've initiated something called 'Iron Eclipse'."
Rayven sat upright. "What is it?"
"No idea. But whatever it is… it's big. The last time they used an Eclipse-level protocol was during the Siege of Elarion. They leveled a city."
Meanwhile — Seraphim High Spire
High Warden Caelis stood alone before a massive containment tank, filled with roiling black liquid.
Inside, suspended like a puppet on invisible strings, was a humanoid mass—deformed, breathing, twitching. Once a human. No longer.
A scientist bowed before Caelis.
"Subject 09 is ready. Its bloodline rejection has been neutralized."
Caelis gave a cold nod. "Release it near the Resistance Zone. Let the Heir see what happens when divinity is reconstructed."
Bastion Outskirts – Strange Fires
Reports came in fast.
Explosions. Screams. Creatures with bone-laced skin and blue fire eyes tearing through outer sectors.
One survivor's message looped on a cracked screen:
"Not Seraphim. Not Awakened. It's something else—!"
Rayven watched the footage. The creature tore through armored soldiers like they were paper.
Its mouth opened too wide. Its screams bent sound itself.
And carved into its forehead—
Rayven's family crest.
A Memory Rekindled
That night, Rayven sat alone in the Sanctuary Hall, staring at a statue of his mother—the last Queen of Bastion.
He hadn't spoken of her in years.
But now, her voice echoed.
"Your bloodline has always been hunted, my son. But we are not gods. We are choices given form."
Rayven clenched his fists.
The Seraphim weren't just targeting the Resistance. They were weaponizing his legacy.
Rhea's Confrontation
Rhea cornered him in the corridor.
"You're spiraling."
"I'm adapting."
"No. You're breaking."
She slammed her fist into the wall beside him. "You don't get to carry this alone. That's not leadership. That's suicide."
Rayven stared at her, jaw clenched, but said nothing.
Then quietly: "They're not after us anymore. They're after me."
Rhea's voice softened. "Then let us fight with you. Don't lock us out."
The Iron Eclipse Unfolds
The next morning, Selene returned with intel from her Whisper agents.
"The Seraphim have launched three Iron Eclipse carriers. One of them is heading directly toward the Cathedral."
Rayven's eyes narrowed. "What's onboard?"
She hesitated. "…Something bio-synthetic. Possibly dozens of them. Grown in labs. Engineered to target you."
Jex whistled. "They're making anti-Rayven monsters. This is next-level creepy."
Preparing for the Siege
The Resistance mobilized.
Rhea reinforced the cathedral defenses with repurposed Seraphim tech.
Jex activated cloaked drone mines around the perimeter.
Selene dispatched her Whisper Wing to evacuate civilians from nearby ruins.
Rayven stood before the Resistance army.
"They're not sending soldiers. They're sending creations. Mutations made from stolen blood. Mine."
"So when they come—don't fight for me. Fight to end this. Once and for all."
Midnight Attack – Cathedral Siege Begins
The Cathedral's sky lit with streaks of fire.
Three dark pods slammed into the earth, splitting the stone.
From them, emerged the Reconstructed—twisted beings with partial human DNA, cloaked in flesh-armor, mouths stitched shut.
They moved fast. Too fast.
Explosions rocked the east tower.
Selene decapitated one before it blinked, her blades glowing blue.
Jex's drones detonated on impact—buying seconds at best.
Then came the Alpha.
Ten feet tall. A jagged spine. Its arms like scythes. Its face—Rayven's, distorted and rotten.
It howled his name.
"HEIRRRRRR—!"
Rayven stepped into the battlefield.
And whispered, "Come for me."
Rayven vs. The Alpha Clone
They clashed beneath shattered stained glass.
The Alpha mimicked his every move—but with more rage. More pain.
It spoke in broken echoes:
"Your… throne… will burn…"
Rayven unleashed the Gauntlet's violet surge—smashing the Alpha into the wall.
But it healed instantly.
Selene threw him a relic chain. He wrapped it around the Alpha's throat and activated a pulse detonator.
"You wear my face, but you're not my destiny."
With a final pull, he crushed the creature's spine.
Aftermath and Revelation
Dozens of Reconstructed lay burning.
The Resistance had won—but barely.
Rayven stood among the ruins, breathing hard.
Selene touched his shoulder. "This isn't the end."
"No," he said. "It's just the start."
From the wreckage, Jex pulled a Seraphim beacon. Inside—coordinates to a new lab.
Rayven stared at the blinking data.
"Time to bring the fight to them."