The night was silent as the final hope of humanity had come to an end.
No sirens. No screams. Not even the wind stirred the ashes that blanketed the ruins of the Last Bastion. Once the crown jewel of Earth's resistance, it now lay in smoldering ruins—broken steel, fractured domes, and the charred remains of what used to be civilization.
Kael staggered through the debris, boots crunching softly on scorched glass and bone. Smoke still rose from collapsed buildings, and somewhere in the distance, something hissed—a dying reactor or maybe just the wind trying to mimic the sound of life.
He didn't look back. There was nothing behind him worth remembering. Not anymore.
Just hours ago, the sky had been lit by the last of Earth's orbital defenses. Now, shattered satellites and ship fragments rained silently from above like dying stars. He'd watched them fall. Helpless. Powerless. Just like the rest of them.
He tightened the strap of his rifle across his back. It was lighter now, half the ammo gone, half the parts melted. Like him—functional, but barely.
Kael passed what was once called Victory Square. Irony. The name stung now. Blackened corpses lined the plaza, weapons still clutched in burnt hands, expressions frozen in final defiance. He paused by a young soldier, couldn't have been more than fifteen. The kid's helmet was cracked, his face exposed—eyes open.
Then suddenly something moved in the fog...