VEILBREAKERS!
EPISODE 19 – Shadows Behind the Glass
The warehouse door creaks as Kael pushes it open. Rain pours behind them like shattered glass. Inside—darkness. Only faint blue lights blink in the distance. The smell of oil and steel fills the air.
Jett: [whispers, pulling his jacket tighter]"Too quiet."
Ran: [katana slightly drawn, eyes scanning]"I hate quiet."
Kael: [calm, voice low as he steps in first]"Eyes up. Something's off."
They move like shadows between stacked crates. The hum of machinery vibrates faintly through the floor. A single red laser dot flickers on Kael's chest—then vanishes.
Jett: [grits teeth, whispering]"Sniper."
Kael: [without looking]"Already gone. Keep moving."
The faint blue lights illuminate a massive glass chamber at the center of the warehouse. A man sits inside, bound to a steel chair. His head is slumped forward, drenched in sweat and blood.
Ran: [freezes mid-step, voice trembling slightly]"Wait…"
Jett: [eyes narrowing]"You seeing this?"
Kael: [sharp tone, eyes locked ahead]"Yeah."
They move closer, boots echoing against the cold concrete. The figure in the glass chamber slowly lifts his head. Shadows stretch across his bruised face—then the dim light reveals his identity.
Ran: [eyes widen, grip on his katana tightening]"That's—"
Jett:"Ran…?" [glances at the Ran standing next to him, then back at the man in the chair]"What the hell is this?"
The man in the chair—his face beaten, lips cracked—forces a weak smile. His voice comes out like broken glass.
Bound Man:"Kael… Jett… Took you long enough."
Kael: [silent for a moment, steps closer]"…No." [turns his head slowly to the Ran standing beside him]"Explain."
Ran: [expression unreadable, then smirks lightly]"Tch. Guess the fun's over."
Suddenly, the lights explode into white brilliance. Mechanical panels slide open across the walls. Armed soldiers in black exosuits step out, rifles humming with plasma cores. The fake Ran drops his smirk, eyes glowing faintly crimson.
Jett: [aiming his pistols]"Kael—clone."
Kael: [Dominion Will flickers like a pulse in the air, pressure thickening]"I figured."
Clone Ran: [grins, stepping back as steel plates form around his arms]"You were entertaining… but orders are orders."
Kael: [calm, voice cold as the storm outside]"You've got five seconds."
Clone Ran: [laughs darkly]"To do what?"
Kael:"To regret breathing."
The air distorts. A sudden oppressive force slams through the warehouse like a tidal wave—Dominion Will. Soldiers stagger, rifles clattering to the ground as their vision shakes and lungs collapse under pressure.
The clone snarls, bracing against the invisible weight.
Clone Ran:"Heh… so this is it… that power. No one understands it."
Kael: [stepping forward slowly, the pressure crushing everything around him]"You won't live long enough to understand."
Jett dives behind a crate, guns blazing at incoming soldiers. Ran—the real one—inside the glass chamber, lifts his head weakly and croaks:
Real Ran:"Kael… it's a trap… they're—"
A deafening explosion tears through the left wall, cutting him off. More soldiers flood in. The glass chamber begins to descend into the floor like an elevator.
Kael: [eyes flash with murderous calm]"They're taking him."
Jett: [firing, voice sharp]"Then move!"
Kael vanishes in a blur, kinetic energy ripping through the air as the Dominion Will crushes the clone to his knees. The storm outside roars louder, lightning flashing through shattered windows.
Clone Ran: [grinning despite the pressure]"You think you can stop this…?"
Kael: [appears behind him in an instant, voice like a whisper of death]"Yes."
Steel shatters. Blood sprays. The clone's body collapses as the Dominion Will fades like a passing storm. But by the time Kael reaches the glass chamber—it's gone.
Silence. Just the sound of rain dripping through broken steel beams.
Jett: [panting, reloading]"Kael… talk to me."
Kael: [fists clenched, eyes burning cold fire]"They have him."
He turns, looking toward the neon glow of the city through shattered windows.
Kael:"And I'll burn this city to the ground to get him back."
The screen fades to black. A single phrase appears in stark letters:
NEXT EPISODE: "THE HUNT BEGINS."