Fragments of Dawn

Chapter 28: Ashes of the Past

The retreat from the ruins had been brutal. Injured, exhausted, and outnumbered, Kai and his group barely made it back to Hollow Bastion before the Iron Fangs could give chase. The tension in the air was thick as they staggered into the base. The battle with Ava had shaken them all.

Kai limped through the gates, his body aching from the fight. The others followed in silence, Reyes barking orders to fortify their defenses. Juno tossed her rifle aside and slumped against a wall, her expression dark.

“So,” she muttered. “We just got our asses handed to us. Again.”

Kai didn’t respond. His mind was elsewhere—on Ava. On the fragments. On the war that was slipping further and further out of their control.

Reyes turned to him. “We need a plan. Because if Ava and the Iron Fangs come at us again, I don’t think we survive another round.”

Kai clenched his fists. “We don’t have a choice. We have to stop them before they get stronger.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Juno snapped. “She crushed us, Kai. Quite literally.”@@@@

The Hollow Bastion’s archive was one of the last places in the world where pre-cataclysm records still existed. Buried deep beneath the base, it was a vault of forgotten knowledge, most of it useless now. But there had to be something—anything—that explained the fragments' power.

Kai, Juno, and Reyes descended into the underground chamber, the dim lighting flickering as they stepped past rows of data terminals and dusty tomes.

Reyes crossed her arms. “We don’t have time to play historians.”

“Then start searching,” Kai said.

They split up, sifting through whatever documents remained intact. Juno muttered curses under her breath, wiping dust from old files.

Then, after what felt like hours, Reyes spoke up.

“Found something.”

Kai and Juno rushed over as Reyes unrolled a preserved document. It was a map—one marked with coordinates.

“What is this?” Juno asked.

Reyes tapped a specific location. “Before the cataclysm, this was a research facility. Top secret. Whatever they were studying... it was connected to the Moon’s collapse.”

Kai’s heartbeat quickened. “You think they knew about the fragments?”

Reyes nodded. “More than that. If this place still exists, it might hold the key to stopping Ava.”

Juno leaned back. “Well, that’s fantastic. And let me guess—it’s in the middle of enemy territory?”

Kai studied the map. The facility lay deep within the wastelands, past Iron Fang-controlled zones. Getting there wouldn’t be easy.

“NOW!” he yelled.

Reyes hurled the grenade.

The explosion tore through the beast’s side, sending it stumbling. Juno fired a precision shot, striking one of the glowing fragments embedded in its body.

A violent tremor shook the ground. The fragment shattered.

The beast let out a final, guttural roar before collapsing into the dirt. Its body convulsed once—then fell still.

Silence followed.

Juno exhaled. “I really hate this place.”

Kai didn’t respond. He was staring at the fragment remains. Even broken, they pulsed faintly.

Whatever power had created these monsters... it wasn’t done with them yet.

By nightfall, they reached the facility.

It was barely standing. A crumbling husk of concrete and steel, half-buried under debris. But the entrance was intact, sealed by heavy blast doors.

Kai placed a hand against the metal. The door was cold—too cold.

“This place gives me a bad feeling,” Juno muttered.

Reyes examined the console beside the entrance. “Looks like it’s still got power. I can override it.”

Kai gripped his sword tighter. “Do it.”

Sparks flew as Reyes hacked the panel. The doors groaned, then slid open with agonizing slowness.

Beyond them, darkness.

And deep within that darkness—something moved.

The team stepped forward, weapons raised.

Whatever secrets this place held, they were about to find out.

And Kai had the sinking feeling that they wouldn’t like the answers.