Delhi – CGS Base Rooftop, Dawn
The sun rose like a bleeding wound across the Delhi skyline, casting long crimson shadows over crumbling towers and shattered streets. From the rooftop of the CGS training compound, Ayush sat silently on the ledge, his legs dangling into the void, the wind combing through his hair. But his eyes weren't on the city.
They were back in the depths.
Back in the shadows where Suraj ruled.
Back in that moment.
"No matter how far I fall… this empire is yours too."
Suraj's voice echoed in Ayush's skull like a scarred memory.
His fists curled on his knees. The soldiers below moved in formation. Drones cut across the sky. Civilians whispered, gathered like ghosts in corners. But inside Ayush—time was frozen.
Soft footsteps approached behind him. Light. Familiar.
Ananya.
She sat beside him, her silence louder than the wind. She didn't speak at first—only looked at the fractured city.
"Are you okay?" she finally asked, voice nearly lost in the wind.
Ayush didn't look at her. "No," he said. "But I'm breathing."
She leaned against his shoulder gently.
"Then don't stop."
He almost smiled.
Almost.
Then the intercom buzzed harshly overhead.
"Recon unit dispatching at 1100 hours. Lieutenant Leon and team, report to Central Command. Colonel Raj's orders."
CGS – Central Command, 10:45 AM
The tactical screen glowed blood red. Sector Echo-5 pulsed with digital static—movement, irregular heat signatures, power disruptions. Colonel Raj stood with arms folded, his jaw tight.
Leon entered and saluted. "Reporting in."
Raj didn't waste time. "Echo-5 filtration grid's showing massive power drops. Surveillance is dead. Could be Firefly interference."
Leon frowned. "Last intel said Echo-5 was empty."
Raj shook his head. "No patrols sent in for a week. Too unstable. Fireflies might've turned it into a checkpoint."
From the corner, a cold voice interrupted.
"No. Not a checkpoint."
Everyone turned.
Suraj stepped out of the shadows, arms crossed, gaze like frost.
"It's a base now. Fireflies turned it into a f**king outpost."
Leon stiffened. "How the hell do you know that?"
Raj glanced at Suraj, uneasy. "Explain."
Suraj's face stayed blank. "Sources."
No one questioned further. They never did.
Leon's voice was calm. "Then we go in light. Fast. We confirm and retreat."
"You shouldn't go at all," Suraj snapped. "It's a slaughterhouse. You'll walk into a trap."
Ayush stepped forward.
"Then we walk carefully. And we come back."
Shivam put a hand on Suraj's shoulder. "We've survived worse."
Kartik, trying to sound brave, cracked a shaky grin. "You trained us, remember?"
Leon nodded. "We're not the same kids anymore."
Suraj's fists trembled. His eyes flicked to Ayush—for a heartbeat, something deeper showed. Fear? Guilt? Love?
He turned sharply and walked away.
Suraj's Room – 10:52 AM
Suraj locked the door behind him. A hidden panel slid open. Inside, a secure comm unit blinked alive with encrypted code.
He typed quickly. One word pinged out:
"Shadow order: Active."
Then his voice, low and commanding:
"Dispatch Group Alpha. Thirty Fireborns. Trail Leon's team silently. Do not engage unless they're cornered. Leave no sign. No trail back to our Empire. If they die—so do we."
He paused.
Then added:
"Protect Ayush. At all costs."
The signal vanished.
The room went still.
CGS Courtyard – 11:03 AM
The black jeep idled under the open gates.
Leon checked his rifle one last time.
Ayush approached with his usual calm, Shivam behind him—focused. Kartik arrived last, fumbling slightly with his gear, trying to mask the tremble in his fingers.
"You okay?" Ayush asked.
Kartik exhaled. "I will be. We're coming back, right?"
Ayush nodded firmly. "We always do."
They climbed in.
The jeep rolled out.
En Route to Echo-5 – 11:36 AM
Dead highways. Burned-out vehicles. Overgrown ruins of a lost world.
Leon broke the silence.
"That plant processes seventy percent of CGS's clean water. If Fireflies take it… we're finished."
Shivam scowled. "So why aren't we sending more troops?"
Leon: "Because the base can't afford the risk. You three—I've seen you bleed and keep fighting. You're more than survivors now."
Kartik stared ahead. Quiet. But listening.
Echo-5 Sector – 12:04 PM
The jeep slowed to a stop two blocks from the target.
Buildings leaned like corpses. Ivy strangled rusted fences. No birds. No movement.
Weapons drawn. Formation tight.
Leon led. Shivam left. Ayush right. Kartik rear, watching every shadow.
Inside the filtration plant—
Decay.
Empty tools. Flickering lights. The smell of old blood.
Then—bombs. Wired around tanks.
Three dead Fireflies—execution-style.
Ayush narrowed his eyes. "This isn't sabotage. It's bait."
And then—
Gunfire.
Chaos erupted.
Fireflies swarmed from every angle—scaffolds, vents, tanks. Over 200 of them.
Bullets turned the plant into a storm of steel.
"DOWN!" Leon shouted.
Ayush ducked, firing with precision. Shivam slashed through two attackers. Leon took a hit to the thigh but stayed upright.
Kartik followed—until a round hit his shoulder.
Another tore across his ribs.
He dropped behind a beam.
"KARTIK!" Ayush dove, dragging him behind cover. Blood soaked through Kartik's vest.
Leon grunted, dragging himself behind a pipe. Shivam bled from a cut above his brow.
"We're pinned!" Shivam shouted.
Then—smoke.
Figures dropped from the rooftop. Camouflaged. Masked. Silent.
The Fireborns.
Suraj's elite warriors.
They swept through the enemy like shadows. Suppressed rifles. Clean headshots. No wasted movement.
The tide turned.
But not fast enough.
Ayush pressed into Kartik's wound, voice shaking. "Stay with me. It's not deep. You're fine!"
Kartik smiled weakly. "Ayush…"
"Don't talk. Just stay—"
"Tell Shivam…"
Ayush blinked. "Tell him what?"
Kartik's eyes glazed. "He was always my brother. Even if I never said it."
His hand found the grenade on his vest.
Ayush's blood froze. "Kartik. Don't. We'll get you out—"
"I'm not scared anymore," he whispered.
He kissed the pin.
Pulled it.
And rolled.
With his last strength, Kartik crawled past cover, dragging himself into the line of Fireflies—bleeding, shaking, grinning through pain.
"FOR THEM!"
He exploded in a roar of flame and metal.
The fire swallowed half the corridor.
And with it—Kartik.
Evening
Silence followed them.
Ayush walked beside the gurney. Shivam trailed behind, shoulder wrapped in gauze. Leon limped, face unreadable.
A nurse guided the stretcher.
Not to the med bay.
To the morgue.
Ananya waited in the hallway.
She saw the covered sheet.
Collapsed.
"No… No, no, no—!"
She fell into Ayush's arms, screaming, fists pounding his chest. "Why him?! WHY?!"
Ayush held her. But his eyes were dry.
Empty.
Shivam turned and punched a steel locker. Blood smeared across his knuckles.
Leon didn't stop walking.
He stepped into the rain.
Alone.
Kartik's Quarters – Midnight
Ayush sat on the bed.
The walls still held Kartik's messy sketches—warriors, friends, dreams.
A notebook lay open. A recorder beside it.
Ayush pressed play.
"Ayush. Shivam. If you're hearing this, then yeah… I'm gone."
"I was always the scared one. But I never felt alone. You guys—gave me something worth dying for."
"Just remember me. Not as a soldier. As your brother."
Ayush tucked the recorder into his vest.
And stood.
CGS Cremation Grounds – Morning
The pyre stood high. Flames crackled.
No anthem. No medal.
Just grief.
Colonel Raj saluted.
Shivam placed a rose.
Ananya stood, shattered.
Ayush stepped forward.
"Kartik wasn't a killer. He wasn't a warrior. But when it counted—he became one."
"He didn't die for orders. He died for us."
He set the torch.
The flames roared.
And for a moment, through the fire—
Kartik burned bright.
End of Episode 19