As Iron Veil moved across the cracked road, the inside of Warden was almost silent. No one spoke unless necessary. Colonel Yara Veltin, Major Rix Harrow, Lieutenant Asha Relin, and five additional soldiers sat in focused stillness, their eyes fixed on the terrain ahead.
But inside Howler, things were different.
Chatter bounced between the metal walls as the eight passengers rumbled forward. Captain Mera Dastin sat near the back, casually leaning against a crate. Across from her, Sergeant Dren "Ox" Kellen was sipping from a water pouch, trying to tune out the noise.
The catalyst?
"Are the stories about Angelo really true?" asked Private Kez Brenn, his voice cutting through the idle talk.
Mera looked up immediately, a wide grin forming.
"Oh, they're all true."
That was all it took. The atmosphere shifted. Every soldier within earshot leaned closer, intrigued.
"I saw the footage," Mera continued. "It was sent to us from higher up. Direct feed."
Ox groaned and sat up straighter. "Mera, why are you telling them this?"
She shrugged. "Nobody said we couldn't. It's not classified… yet."
Private Thorn Ekkel turned toward her, clearly excited. "Captain, is it true he can make things out of thin air?"
Mera's eyes lit up. "Yes. He can create weapons from nothing. I've seen him shoot fireballs with a flick of the wrist. One time, he stomped and the ground erupted—like a damn mountain spike came out of nowhere."
The soldiers were at the edge of their seats.
"He sounds like something out of a fantasy novel," Thorn muttered.
Ox shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah. So did the monsters we've been fighting. And yet, here they are. Real. Ripping through everything."
The mood dipped into a moment of silence.
"I wonder what he even looks like," Kez said under his breath, loud enough for the group to hear.
"He's probably like one of those things," Thorn added.
"Wrong," Mera cut in, standing up and walking over. "He looks completely human… and hot."
Ox choked on his water, coughing and sputtering. "What?! Don't tell me you're into him?"
Mera folded her arms and smirked. "How could I not be? You've seen him. Tall, sharp eyes, messy white hair—he is exactly my type."
The squad stared at her in stunned silence.
Private Juno Rael, sitting quietly until now, muttered, "Okay… now I really want to see what he looks like."
Mera grinned wider. "Then feast your eyes."
She pulled out her phone and flashed a photo of Angelo. Everyone leaned in.
Ox blinked. "Where the hell did you even get that?"
"Not telling. It's a secret."
"You know Colonel Veltin will tear you apart if she finds out."
"I'll deal with that when it happens."
Juno tilted her head, studying the image. "He is handsome."
Mera turned to her slowly. "He's mine. Don't even think about it."
Juno paled. "I wasn't going to—!"
The soldiers erupted into laughter. Except for Corporal Lex Varn, the silent driver at the front, who simply shook his head and kept his eyes on the road.
Ox leaned back with a sigh. "I don't like where this is going…"
At the base, a team of scientists stood over the shard retrieved by Major Harrow's unit. Once burning hot, it was now unnervingly cold—cold enough to fog the instruments around it. What once seemed like molten glass now looked clear and solid, but still unnaturally flexible.
They had already sliced it into smaller fragments. Ran every test they could. Tried dissolving it—nothing. It wouldn't melt, even under plasma heat. It could be cut, yes, but never broken down.
The structure was unlike anything on record. No mineral, no synthetic alloy came close.
One of the researchers stepped back from the table, whispering, "What the hell is this thing?"
Then came the comparison—with the remains recovered from the convoy that had carried Dr. Grant.
And that's when it got worse.
Because the shard matched something inside the Angel corpse.
And both of them were not from this world.
Elsewhere, on the other side of Ironwatch, Milo walked silently toward his room.
A few soldiers saw him in the hall.
"Hey, Milo!" one of them called out.
He simply raised a hand in reply, not breaking stride.
The group exchanged looks.
"That's weird," one of them said. "Usually, he runs over and starts talking non-stop."
"Maybe it's the quarantine," another shrugged. "He was isolated for three days. Probably got some project he's itching to finish."
"Yeah. Knowing him, probably had a tech idea mid-shower and now he's racing to build it."
They moved on.
Milo stepped into his room and shut the door. Quiet.
He lay down on his bed, closed his eyes, and began to hum that same eerie, broken tune again.
This time… he was smiling.
Like something amusing had just happened.
Or like he knew something no one else did.
In the surveillance wing, General Mordane stepped into the control hub and approached Corporal Lys Veera.
"Status on Iron Veil and Echo Needle?"
Veera didn't hesitate.
"Iron Veil is tracing Echo Needle's path toward Nomad's last known position. Echo Needle is currently 18 hours out from the ping. Iron Veil will reach the location in four days."
"Good," Mordane said. "If anything happens, I want to know immediately."
He turned and left without another word.
In the town, Nero sat beside the fire, a blanket wrapped around him—the one Drone had fetched from the house. The shivering had lessened. The frozen ground beneath him had thawed slightly. But the air was still cold.
Anika stayed close, quietly observing him between her questions. She had been slowly feeding the fire, building it larger than a typical campfire—more heat, more light, anything to push back the cold that clung to him.
Drone had gone inside again, this time to get food.
He returned a few minutes later with three bowls of warm rations. Handed one to Anika. Then to Nero.
"Aren't you going scouting today?" Nero asked.
"Nah," Drone replied, settling beside them. "Scouting's done every other day."
They started eating. Nero didn't. He just stared at the food in his hands.
Anika tilted her head toward him. "Eat up. It'll help warm you from the inside."
"I don't feel like eating anything right now," Nero muttered.
Drone glanced over. "Even if you don't feel like it, you should eat something anyway."
Nero gave a quiet nod and began eating. But within minutes, the food turned cold in the bowl.
Anika noticed. "Is it… freezing in your mouth too?" she asked carefully.
"No," Nero said. "I can feel it go down warm."
Anika let out a small sigh of relief. "Good. At least you can eat normally."
Nero stared down at the food—now completely cold after just four minutes.
"I don't even know where 'normal' starts with me anymore," he said.