A month later, Sector-9 Penitent Block
Footsteps echoed in the chamber.
He didn't turn his head. He didn't need to.
A woman in a tailored black coat stepped into the room, clipboard tucked under her arm, boots clicking sharply against the concrete floor. Her posture was rigid, her expression unreadable. She stopped two meters from the electric chair, flicked open the folder, and began to read aloud.
Her voice was clinical. Measured. Almost bored.
"Subject: Revic Sever. Also known as Revenant. Also known as The Engineer."
"Age: 32. National status: Erased."
"Former lead strategist and neural architect for Aegis Defense Corps."
"Current status:
-Found guilty on thirty-seven counts of unlawful synthesis,
-nineteen counts of unauthorized neural cloning,
-twelve counts of bioweapon trafficking,
-And eight confirmed political assassinations."
She paused, flipping to the next page.
"Additional charges include:
–Direct orchestration of the Spiral Fang network
– Five counts of large-scale facility bombings
– Forty-six counts of mass murder across civilian sectors
– Development and deployment of unregistered AI soldier units"
She let the final word settle like smoke in the air.
He said nothing.
She lowered the folder and looked at him — straight, clear-eyed.
"You built an empire out of corpses"
The hum of the capacitor coils above deepened — soft, ominous.
"By international law 48.7-B, you are to be executed at 0700 hours by high-voltage electrocution."
A beat passed. Then she stepped forward.
"As is custom, you are granted a final statement."
Her eyes didn't blink. Her voice remained steady.
"Any last words?"
He looked up at her slowly.
His wrists were strapped. His body was still.
But the corner of his mouth lifted — calm, almost amused.
That same smile.
Quiet. Cold.
Like he knew something no one else in the room did.
And then—
He opened his mouth.
The room held its breath.
Kael Revic smiled — not smugly, not madly. Just calm.
The woman before him tensed. She didn't move, but her fingers subtly curled against her clipboard.
Then, he spoke.
His voice was low. Smooth. Carried without needing to shout.
"You think this is justice. A neat little ending to a messy story. But you never understood the story at all. You call me a monster, but I was only the mirror. I showed this world what it truly wanted—perfection, control, obedience... dressed in synthetic skin."
He tilted his head.
"You buried me alive in wires and called it execution. But I was never here for me."
A soft chuckle.
"You see a body in a chair. I see five goddesses waiting to wake up."
Now her expression cracked — a flicker of confusion.
Kael leaned forward as far as the restraints would allow, eyes gleaming like stormlight.
"Project Hollowlight is my greatest weapon. It's a signal. And it just went live."
Then—
Boom.
The lights went out.
Emergency sirens blared. Red strobes flared in the hallway.
"Explosion in Block C! Structural breach—"
The woman turned just in time to see the ceiling shudder.
Alarms. Screams. Gunfire.
The lights died.
For a second, only the red strobes painted the room — flashing, jagged shadows slicing through smoke and steel.
"Security breach! Level 6—Block C!"
"Evacuate! Get the Director out—NOW!"
The woman spun on her heel as the ceiling above groaned — concrete cracking like brittle ice. Dust rained down in clumps. The wall to her left buckled inward, an impact vibrating through the floor like a seismic wave.
Gunfire erupted in the distance — not the usual dull thumps of standard-issue rifles. These were sharper, faster. High-caliber. Military-grade.
They're already inside.
How?
How did they get past the perimeter—?
"Ma'am!" a soldier barked from the corridor. "We need to move! Reinforcements inbound but the breach is—"
He was cut off as something blurred past him — a black shape, fast as a thought, slamming into his chest and dragging him backward into smoke.
The woman backed away slowly, clipboard forgotten on the ground.
Another explosion tore through the far wing — flames licking up past the reinforced observation window. The tremor threw her off balance, but she caught herself, eyes snapping back to the chair.
Empty.
Revic Sever was gone.
Just straps, still warm. A faint imprint on the seat.
No broken locks. No burst restraints.
Like he'd never been there at all.
"Impossible," she whispered.
**********
The world outside burned.
But inside the armored transport — a bulletproof hauler reinforced with military-grade plating — all was calm. Clean. Cold.
No windows. Just thick walls, glowing panels, and silence broken only by the hum of the engine beneath their feet.
Revic Sever sat in the center seat, legs crossed, coat pristine despite the chaos they'd left behind. His expression was unreadable. Eyes half-lidded, as if bored. But his presence filled the cabin like a pressure no one spoke of.
His gloved hand tapped slowly on the steel armrest — a rhythm without meaning. Or maybe too much of it.
Across from him sat five girls — each in sleek, tight-fit modular suits. Black and steel-gray with glowing threads along the spines. Bodies made for precision, speed, and kill orders.
His weapons. His masterpieces.
And they knew it.
But that didn't stop them from talking like they were on a school field trip.
"That was insane," Lyra said, stretching her arms overhead. "Did you see me throw that guy across the corridor? His face hit the wall like—splatter."
"You almost set off the failsafe, genius," Nara replied, flipping her damp hair back. "If I hadn't rerouted the data core, boss would be dust right now."
Nova grinned, eyes glowing faintly. "Hey, we got our boss out, didn't we? That's what matters."
"And I looked good doing it." Mia said with a carefree tone.
They laughed — bright, careless, like five sisters after a prank.
Selica didn't laugh. She sat near the exit, back straight, hands folded neatly in her lap. Her expression was calm. Distant.
She watched Revic.
He hadn't spoken yet.
He didn't need to.
When he finally looked up, it was with a slow, deliberate blink — like a lion deciding whether or not to bother with prey already bleeding.
"You're late," he said.
The laughter paused.
"Firewall was thicker than expected," one of the girls offered with a grin. "Next time, maybe don't let them arrest you, boss."
Revic's smile was barely there.
"Next time, I'll let them kill you first."
The air shifted, tension lacing briefly through the cabin — then vanished as quickly as it came.
The girls went back to their banter like nothing had happened.
Selica turned to him, her voice soft. Too soft. Like she was afraid to speak too loud in his presence.
"Are you injured?"
Revic didn't look at her. Just leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes.
"No."
His voice was quiet. Flat. Disinterested.
"I built you to be unstoppable. Don't confuse survival with success."
The girls didn't flinch.
They'd heard worse from him. Been called worse.
Selica looked down at her hands.
They trembled. Just a little.
She smiled anyway.