VEILBREAKERS
Episode 12: Steel in the Storm
[SHORT RECAP]"The silence didn't last. After a week of laying low, Kael and Jett thought the bunker was untouchable. But when the breach alarms screamed, the past walked in—not an enemy, but a ghost Kael once called brother."
[SCENE: UNDERGROUND BUNKER – MAIN HALL]
The steel doors groaned shut behind the figure, sealing out the storm raging above. Water dripped from the edge of his hood, pooling on the cold floor. Slowly, he lifted it.
Ran.
His eyes, sharp as fractured glass, locked on Kael. That same calm storm Kael remembered… unchanged.
"You look like hell," Kael said flatly, hands in his pockets.
Ran smirked faintly. "You still talk too much."
The silence that followed was heavier than the steel walls. Jett leaned against the terminal, eyes darting between them like he'd stumbled into a war about to restart.
"You two… know each other?" Jett asked, voice low.
Kael didn't answer immediately. He just kept staring, like he was peeling back years of lost time with his eyes. Finally:"He's family."
[CUT TO: LATER – ARMORY ROOM]
Rain hammered the world above, muffled by concrete and metal. Inside, Ran sat at the edge of a weapons rack, checking the blade at his side. It was longer than Kael remembered—black steel with an edge that looked like it could split reality itself.
"Still carrying a sword in a world full of guns," Jett muttered, tossing a magazine into a rifle.
Ran didn't look up. "Guns jam. Steel doesn't lie."
Kael stepped in, tossing a datapad onto the table. "Enough catch-up. You didn't crawl into our hole for nostalgia. Who's after you?"
Ran tightened his grip on the hilt. "Not who. What."
Kael's brows twitched. "Talk."
Ran's voice dropped like a blade:"There's an organization hunting people like us. But they're not like the ones you've faced. They're armed with tech that bends reality. They call themselves Erevos."
Jett scoffed. "Another secret group? Great."
Ran's gaze hardened. "They aren't like the rest. They don't just kill—they erase. Identities, traces, entire existences. They burned my trail clean. If I hadn't come here, you'd never even know I was alive."
Kael stayed silent, his jaw tightening slightly.
Ran looked up finally, eyes locking on Kael's like a challenge. "You're still fighting, aren't you?"
Kael didn't blink. "I'm surviving."
Ran smirked. "Same thing."
[ALERT SIREN – SYSTEM WARNING FLASHES ACROSS THE WALL SCREENS]
BREACH DETECTED – NORTH ACCESS TUNNEL
The lights flickered blood-red. Jett cursed under his breath, grabbing his rifle. "You've gotta be kidding me."
Kael turned to Ran, dead calm. "You bring friends?"
Ran shook his head slowly, pulling his blade free with a whisper of steel. "Not mine."
Kael walked toward the blast door as the rumble of footsteps echoed through the tunnel beyond. His coat swayed with each step.
"Then let's see who dies first."
[CUT TO: TUNNEL BATTLE SEQUENCE]
The door burst open in a storm of sparks. Five masked operatives in black combat rigs stormed in with rifles glowing faint blue—Erevos tech. Their helmets pulsed with data streams across the visors.
Kael didn't flinch. He tilted his head slightly, voice like ice. "Wrong door."
Gunfire ripped through the air. Kael moved. Fluid. Silent. Like shadows bending. Bullets tore through his coat, but his steps never faltered. His fists slammed like steel pistons—one operative crumpled before he could even scream.
Jett rolled behind cover, unleashing controlled bursts. Sparks lit the hall as casings rained.
Ran? Ran was a storm. His blade flashed once—a single arc of silver lightning—and two heads hit the floor before the blood even caught up.
"Still sharp," Kael muttered without looking.
Ran smirked mid-swing. "Still slow."
Kael caught an incoming blade with his bare hand, twisting the soldier's wrist until bones snapped. Then, for a fraction of a second, his eyes burned cold—and the soldier froze, body shuddering like the weight of a crushing sea hit him. He collapsed unconscious without Kael even touching him again.
Dominion Will.Just a taste.
The fight ended as quick as it began. Silence returned, thick and choking. Bodies sprawled, tech smoking.
Jett exhaled hard. "What the hell was that… what you just did?"
Kael didn't answer. He just walked past, wiping blood from his knuckles like it was nothing.
Ran watched him closely this time.He'd seen Kael fight before.But that… that wasn't normal.
[FINAL SCENE – BACK IN THE BUNKER]
The screens flickered back to normal, but the air didn't lighten. Ran sheathed his sword, leaning against the wall.
"They'll send more," he said calmly. "Erevos doesn't stop."
Kael sat down slowly, lacing his fingers, eyes cold as night. "Then neither do we."
FADE OUT.
To be continued...