Chapter 20: Departure

Sirens wailed through the containment facility, echoing off the thick reinforced walls like a scream that wouldn’t stop.

I stood in the transport bay wearing a hunter suit for the first time in my life. The black tactical gear hugged my body too tightly, the material stiff and unfamiliar against my skin. My hands wouldn’t stop trembling no matter how hard I clenched them.

Soren stood a few feet away, watching me with those storm-cloud eyes. “Breathe, Elias. You look like you’re about to collapse before we even leave the bay.”

“I might,” I muttered, adjusting the straps on my chest for the tenth time. “This suit feels wrong. Everything feels wrong. I’m not a hunter. I’m the guy who used to carry their ammo and stay out of the way.”

The transport vehicle hummed loudly behind us, engines already warm. Technicians rushed around loading final equipment while red emergency lights flashed across the walls. Outside, more sirens blared from the city streets.

Soren stepped closer. “You’re not afraid of dying. I can see that clearly. So tell me what’s really eating at you right now.”

I looked down at my shaking hands. “I’m not scared of dying. I’m scared of killing everyone around me. What if I lose control out there? What if the thing inside me decides it wants more bodies? I keep seeing Kain’s face when his own power crushed him. Lira bleeding out on the floor. What if I do the same thing to innocent people who are just trying to survive?”

“You won’t,” Soren said firmly. “Not if you stay focused and listen to the system. This is a controlled mission. I’ll be monitoring your vitals and integrity the entire time.”

I laughed, but it came out broken and bitter. “Controlled? I cracked reinforced walls just because I got angry yesterday. Now you want me to walk into a real fight with real people screaming and monsters everywhere? What happens when someone panics or a child starts crying? You really think I’ll stay calm?”

Soren placed a hand on my shoulder, the same steady grip as before. “I think you have no choice but to try. The mandatory objective is already active. If you refuse again, the penalties will get much worse. You’ve already lost two percent. Don’t make it three or four.”

I pulled away from his hand and paced a few steps, boots echoing on the metal floor. “This suit feels like a costume. Like I’m pretending to be something I’m not. I’m the invisible porter. Now I’m supposed to save lives? What if I make everything worse out there?”

The massive bay doors began to slide open with a heavy mechanical groan. Orange firelight from the burning skyline poured in, thick black smoke rising in multiple columns across the city. Flashes of skill explosions lit up the distance. Chaos had already taken hold.

Soren’s voice stayed calm behind me. “The breach is spreading fast. The energy signature matches the Abyss Core almost perfectly. This isn’t random, Elias. It’s connected to you. You need to see it. You need to feel what your refusal is costing.”

I stared at the burning city, my stomach twisting into knots. “I can’t do this. I’m going to hurt someone. I know it in my bones. I can already feel that pressure building inside my chest again.”

“You already are hurting people,” Soren replied quietly. “Every second you delay, more civilians are dying out there. The Core is pushing through the seal because you keep resisting. This mission isn’t just about saving the city tonight.”

I clenched my fists tighter, trying to stop the trembling. “I hate this. I hate that I survived when they didn’t. I hate that I’m the one who has to walk out there now wearing this suit like I belong in it.”

The transport ramp lowered with a loud metallic thud. Technicians shouted final checks. The smell of smoke, burning concrete, and something metallic drifted strongly into the bay.

Soren gestured toward the open doors. “It’s time. The response team is waiting. You step out there as a Seal. Not as the old porter. Show the Core you’re still in control.”

I took one shaky step toward the ramp, then another. My legs felt weak, like they might give out any second. Every instinct screamed at me to turn around, to run back to the containment room where I couldn’t hurt anyone.

But the blue screen appeared again, glowing blood-red in my vision.

\[MANDATORY OBJECTIVE ACTIVE\]

\[CONTAINMENT FAILURE PROBABILITY INCREASING\]

I stopped at the edge of the ramp, staring at the burning skyline. Distant screams carried on the wind mixed with the sound of skill fire and collapsing buildings.

Soren stood just behind me. “This mission isn’t truly about saving the city, Elias. Not at its core. It’s about delaying the apocalypse. Your apocalypse.”

I swallowed hard, terror and guilt twisting together painfully in my chest as I forced myself to take the final step forward into the transport.

The system spoke one final line as the ramp began to rise behind me:

\["Containment failure probability increasing."\]

And for the first time, the truth hit me fully.

This wasn’t a rescue mission.

It was the beginning of the end.