Within the ruins of an ancient temple now a den of darkness a blue flame burned without fuel.
At the center of the circular chamber stood a figure cloaked in black, unmoving. His face was hidden beneath a deep hood.
He was Zero, leader of the secret organization known as the Black Hand.
His eyes pierced the darkness, sensing every tremor of a world he intended to change.
The image of the Archon Soren Duval flashed through his mind.
The cold gaze, the swing of a blade that had severed his arm a reminder that their enemy was not chaos, but stability itself.
His wound had long since healed.
But it was not the flesh that troubled him.
It was the truth: that the fire of liberation must be lit from within.
Heavy footsteps echoed as four shadows emerged from the darkness each carrying a different kind of darkness, yet together, they formed a singular will.
They were Zero's right hand executors of a revolution that would shake the foundations of the Empire.
Kaelis Varnheim, a former general turned traitor, wielding black flames that burned blind faith in authority.
Sevrin Thorne, a sly assassin with a cynical grin, able to shape shadows into blades.
Nyssara Vale, once a noble who lost everything, a master of mental manipulation who could plant the deepest seeds of doubt.
Dren Halvek, a half-machine being with regenerative power and transmutation an unrelenting weapon of living war.
Zero pointed to the map that hung on the wall his finger pressing against a small mark on the southeastern border, where unrest had begun to stir.
"From here, we will spark a flame that will burn the Empire's foundation."
Their voices merged into a single, dark vow.
This was not mere rebellion it was the erasure of the rulers' right to rule.
Zero's voice echoed, cold and absolute:
"Activate every cell. Awaken the sleepers. Break the pillars of stability one by one."
Beneath the growing blue flame, the five figures stood not merely as men and women,
but as symbols of destruction and the birth of something new.
Their footsteps began to echo,
dragging the world toward an inevitable shift.