The morning sky was a vibrant blue, painted with streaks of pink and orange as the sun made its slow ascent above the distant clouds.

A cool breeze rustled through the forest, carrying the earthy scent of pine and damp soil.

Birds flitted between the treetops, their soft chirping harmonizing with the gentle hum of awakening nature.

Then,

THOOOOOOMP

The explosion erupted with a vibrancy that outshone the dawn, a blinding flash that rained the trees in white before plunging them into shadow.

The fire chased the light, tearing through the stillness.

The forest didn’t stand a chance.

In the epicenter, trees shattered like brittle bones, their trunks snapping and splintering into deadly projectiles.

The canopy, vibrant and teeming with life moments ago, dissolved into ash and smoke. Flames licked hungrily at the debris, their searing heat distorting the air and biting at Carina’s exposed skin even from a distance.

The shockwave hit a heartbeat later.

A ferocious gust of wind ripped through the Resistance's base, flattening tents and sending equipment clattering across the ground.

Carina staggered, her hair whipping around her face. Her skirt billowed behind her, plastered against her legs.

The sound came next—a relentless, sharp, explosion that seemed to originate from the very core of the earth.

It was so loud it didn’t register as noise at first. The echo bounced through skulls, immediately followed by a high-pitched ringing that drowned out all else.

Carina blinked against the brightness, her eyes stinging from the heat and the acrid substance creeping toward them.

She turned to Dika, his face as pale as ash, his mouth agape but silent against the roar.

The flames twisted upward, a column of orange and black that devoured the sky.

Slowly, inevitably, the fireball stretched and morphed, its top flattening into the mushroom cloud.

It climbed higher and higher, ripping apart the morning serenity, shoving the innocent pink and orange hues aside.

Behind them, the Resistance soldiers covered their ears; others clutched each other, their faces pale and their eyes locked on the apocalyptic sight.

Dika's pulse thundered in his ears.

The overwhelming heat, the blinding light, the choking smoke—all of it formed a symphony that pressed in from all sides.

Carina pulled out her earplug, her gaze still fixed on the dissipating mushroom cloud. The fiery glow reflected in her eyes as she tilted her head toward Dika. Her voice was sharp, cutting through the ringing silence left in the explosion's wake.

“How many kilotons did you pack into that thing?”

Dika, removing his own earplugs, gave her a sidelong glance. His tone was calm, almost indifferent, as if discussing the weather.

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“Forty-one.”

“Forty-one?”

She repeated, her brow furrowing.

“Why?”

Dika asked her.

She shrugged, brushing some soot from her sleeve.

“It’s not big enough. We're not just targeting dormitories anymore. The goal is to wipe out the entire enemy territory.”

Ezra, standing a few steps away, raised his hand hesitantly, his face caught between confusion and concern.

“Uh… hang on a sec. Why were you guys bombing dormitories in the first place?”

Carina’s head snapped toward him, her eyes narrowing.

“Had you even been paying attention at that time?”

Ezra flinched at her tone, but she pressed on.

“It was to keep the school mobs from noticing us waging war near their precious institution, and to clear the runway for our Hercules to rain hell down their base. Remember that night we went after the Architect and those bastards? We shut the school’s windows for the same reason—to keep the mobs from seeing anything.”

She gestured vaguely toward the remnants of the forest, her frustration evident.

“Everyone at school is programmed the same way. If they see us doing something like this, they’ll gossip. Then the whole school knows, and bam—our organization’s exposed and disavowed.”

Ezra scratched the back of his head, muttering under his breath.

“I thought I said these mobs were well made?”

Oliver stepped forward, his boots crunching against charred debris. He crossed his arms and smirked.

“Think of it like an old-school game mechanic. NPCs can spew walls of text at you, but you don’t even need to answer them because it’s pointless. At the end of the day they’d just verbally communicate with NPCs and won’t even be the first to start a conversation with you.”

Ezra raised an eyebrow, glancing between them.

“So, let me get this straight. You’ve got school mobs who are chatty but oblivious, a boss who’s all-knowing but isolated, and you lot who are blowing up half the forest with a nuke because…”

He trailed off, gesturing vaguely at the destruction.

“Because.”

Oliver cut in, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

“Sometimes subtlety just doesn’t get the job done.”

Oliver chuckled at his own words, while Ezra could only stare at the fading mushroom cloud, his disbelief etched on his face.

“So it’s a no-go?”

On the other side, Dika interrupted the chatter, holding the bomb fuse between his fingers like it was a paperclip.

“Forty-one kilotons…”

Carina’s voice trailed off as she eyed the fading mushroom cloud.

“You can level a lot with that, sure. But the Architect’s shield and health pool? It won’t be enough. We’d barely scratch her.”

Dika nodded thoughtfully.

“I see.”

Without hesitation, he let the fuse drop to the ground and gave it a lazy kick, sending it skidding into the ash-strewn dirt.

“Guess this one’s trash, then.”

He turned his back on the device, seemingly unfazed by the weight of their discussion.

Carina exhaled and ran a hand through her hair, streaked with ash and sweat. Her voice carried over the restless murmurs of the Resistance.

“We’ve got three days to rearm and prepare. Here’s the plan: we’ll lure the Architect into the enemy’s base. Let her burn through their forces, exhaust herself. Once she’s in deep, we drop the bomb and wipe out everything. Two birds, one very large explosion.”

From the back of the group, Franklin raised his hand, the gesture absurdly formal given the situation.

“Why not just bomb her here and save ourselves the trouble?”

Carina turned sharply, her glare sharp enough to cut through steel. Her patience, already hanging by a thread, strained even further.

“First, it’s too loud. The mobs will hear it, and we risk exposure. Second, we still don’t know the Architect’s full capabilities. If she has better anti-aircraft defenses than we’d seen—or anything worse—we’re sitting ducks. And third…”

She paused, her tone hardening.

“The Obsidian Compass is in Retribution’s hands now.”

The air shifted.

“Wait. Compass?”

Joshua immediately joined the conversation, his face plunged into confusion.

“Are you shitting me?”

Oliver snorted bitterly.

“Man, we’re so cooked.”

“Looks like we’re gonna need to find Jesus here!”

Stan and a few others muttered under their breath, and a few uneasy chuckles rippled through the crowd.

The Resistance’s line dissolved into a chatter. Gossip, half-baked theories, and complaints filled the air like static. Carina sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to cut through the noise.

“Listen—”

Her words were drowned out by the cacophony. She gave up, her lips pressing into a thin line as the soldiers debated everything from Retribution’s supposed cowardice to whether the Architect could fly.

Carina’s jaw tightened as the murmurs grew louder. She raised her hand, silencing them with a sharp gesture.

“Enough!”

Carina’s voice cracked like a whip, slashing through the tension. She stepped forward, her gaze sweeping over the group, daring anyone else to speak out of turn. And as everyone had silenced, her voice still echoed in the skies.

“That compass is ancient. Even if Orion has it, it doesn't mean he can decrypt what's inside. In three days, we will move. Stay focused, or you might as well sign your own death certificates now.”

Silence followed, heavy and oppressive. In the distance, the mushroom cloud continued to fade.

Ezra, meanwhile, tuned it all out. His gaze drifted to Dika, who had perched himself on a nearby boulder.

The ember of his cigarette flared briefly as he took a slow drag, the orange glow casting faint shadows across his face.

Smoke curled upward, blending into the clouds above.