Scene: Delvaron Presidential Bunker — President Kael Dran's POV
The power cut out.
First, the lights. Then, the screens. Then, the very air shifted—like the entire bunker took a breath it didn't mean to.
We had ten seconds of silence.
Then—
BOOM.
The ground lurched.
Concrete and steel groaned like the bones of the earth were breaking above us. Dust rained from the vents. The war board exploded into static.
> "That wasn't the border," I said, heart racing. "That hit the outer city."
> "Direct airstrike, sir!" a lieutenant shouted, her headset barely clinging to her ear. "No warning. No sound barrier. Stealth bombers bypassed radar. No alert!"
> "How many?"
> "We don't know! They're not flying in patterns. They're—"
Another BOOM. Closer. Stronger. Everything shook again.
> "Where the hell is air defense?" I barked.
> "Offline. Scrambled. They must've deployed a signal disruptor—this is Blackwood tech, sir!"
Of course it is.
We weren't fighting a country.
We were fighting a supernatural political machine.
The bunker went dark again. Emergency red lights flickered on. No screens, no sat-feeds, no external visuals.
We were blind.
And above us?
I knew hell was landing.
I pushed toward the secure line, smacking the emergency override, punching in my voice code.
> "This is Kael Dran. President of Delvaron. I am authorizing full continental martial law. Civilian lockdown. Tell the world—Blackwood has invaded."
But no one responded.
Not because they weren't listening.
Because the Blackwood jammers were already eating our signals alive.
We were cut off.
Buried.
Forgotten.
And about to be rewritten.
> "Sir…" one of the generals whispered. "If this continues, they'll breach the capital palace in under two hours."
> "Then we make our stand," I said, picking up the old sidearm on the command table.
> "You're going out?" the general asked.
> "No," I said, cocking the pistol. "I'm staying in. But if the throne wants a crown, they'll have to rip it from my dying bones."
Another explosion rocked the city.
This one… was right above us.
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