The city of Arcadia pulsed with life and decay. Neon signs flickered like dying embers, their glow reflecting off rain-slicked streets that stank of gasoline and garbage. Perched on the crumbling rooftop of a high-rise, Raven adjusted the scope of her rifle. Below, a black SUV idled in the shadows of the alley, sleek and silent like a predator waiting to strike.

“Damn it, Raven, this mission’s gone sideways enough. I’m pulling you out,” Theo barked through her earpiece.

“Not your call, Theo,” she muttered, scanning the scene. “The target’s here. I’m not walking away now.”

Her heartbeat slowed as she steadied her aim. In the SUV’s glow, a wiry man in a tailored suit stepped out, clutching a

metallic briefcase. The hard drive containing Erebus—an AI weapon capable of wiping entire populations—was inside.

The man’s movements screamed paranoia, his eyes darting around the alley as if sensing he wasn’t alone. Raven smirked. He was right.

But before she could take the shot, another vehicle roared into the alley, its tires splashing through puddles.

“What the fuck?” Raven whispered, leaning forward.

The car screeched to a halt, and four men spilled out, armed and dressed in black tactical gear.

Her gut twisted. These weren’t petty thugs; they moved with purpose.

Raven switched off her comms—she didn’t need Theo’s

nagging in her ear—and swung her rifle around to get a better angle. But the scene below erupted into chaos too fast.

One of the masked men grabbed the briefcase. The target shouted something, but the crack of a gunshot drowned him out. Blood sprayed across the alley, and the man hit the ground, clutching his leg.

“Shit.”

Raven slid her rifle onto her back and descended the fire escape. The mission was already FUBAR, but there was no way she was walking away without that case.

She hit the ground running, pulling her pistol from its holster. Two shots to the legs of the nearest attackers took them

down, their screams cutting through the chaos.

And then she saw him.

A tall man in tactical gear surged into the fray, taking out one of the masked men with a brutal elbow to the throat. His movements were precise, efficient—he wasn’t one of the amateurs.

“Who the fuck are you?” Raven muttered under her breath, ducking behind a dumpster as gunfire lit up the alley.

The man caught sight of her as he slammed another attacker into a wall. His steel-blue eyes gleamed with a mixture of amusement and danger.

“You gonna help, sweetheart, or just stand there looking pretty?”

Raven stepped out from cover, her gun trained on him. “Call me sweetheart again, and I’ll put a bullet in your fucking knee.”

He smirked, unfazed. “Feisty. I like it.”

Before she could retort, another masked man charged at her. She dropped him with a single shot to the chest, her movements fluid and practiced.

“Nice aim,” the stranger said, ducking as a bullet whizzed past his head.

“Shut up and stay out of my way,” Raven snapped, moving toward the briefcase.

The last remaining attacker grabbed it and bolted for the SUV. Raven and the stranger moved at the same time, their

footsteps pounding in sync on the wet pavement.

“Don’t even think about it!” Raven shouted, her voice cutting through the din.

The attacker turned, raising his weapon, but before he could fire, the stranger tackled him to the ground. They wrestled briefly before the stranger landed a vicious punch, knocking the man out cold.

Panting, he stood and held up the briefcase triumphantly.

“You’re welcome,” he said, tossing it toward her.

Raven caught it, her jaw clenched. “I didn’t fucking ask for your help.”

“Well, you’re getting it anyway.”

“Not interested,” she snapped, backing away with the

briefcase.

The man raised his hands in mock surrender, but his smirk didn’t fade. “You’ve got a hell of a temper, sweetheart. You should probably work on that.”

“Go to hell,” Raven shot back, slipping into the shadows before he could follow.

Her heart pounded as she disappeared into the night, the weight of the briefcase heavy in her hands. Whoever that guy was, he’d better stay the hell out of her business.

Because this was far from over.

Raven slipped into the safehouse, her boots squelching softly on the worn linoleum floor. The place reeked of mildew, its cracked walls and flickering overhead light a testament to how far off the radar it was. She tossed the briefcase onto the rusted metal table, pulling her drenched jacket off in one sharp motion.

Her comm crackled back to life.

“Raven,” Theo snapped, his tone livid. “What the fuck happened out there? You cut comms, and I’ve been blind for thirty minutes. Thirty fucking minutes!”

Raven scrubbed a hand down her face, too tired to deal with him. “Mission’s done, isn’t it? I’ve got the case.”

Theo’s sigh hissed through the earpiece. “And what about the variables? The second team, the random guy in tactical gear—”

“I don’t know who he was, but he’s not my problem,” Raven interrupted, pacing the room. “What matters is I’ve got what we came for. Focus, Theo.”

She crouched beside the case, flipping its locks open with a satisfying click. The metallic lid creaked, revealing the hard drive nestled inside.

Theo’s tone softened, though frustration still clung to his words. “Alright. Get that thing back to HQ ASAP. We need to start decrypting it before Erebus becomes public enemy number one.”

Raven snorted. “Erebus already is public enemy number one. We’re just trying to stop the shitstorm from hitting full force.”

The sound of tires screeching to a halt outside cut their conversation short. Raven’s hand flew to her pistol as she peered through the broken blinds.

A sleek black motorcycle stood at the curb, its rider dismounting with maddening calm.

“Son of a bitch,” she muttered.

It was him—the stranger from the alley. His black jacket gleamed under the streetlight, his movements unhurried as if he knew she was watching. He looked up at the window, smirking like he could see right through the glass.

“Raven?” Theo’s voice was sharp. “What’s happening?”

“Remember that guy I said wasn’t my problem? Change of plans.”

The stranger rapped his knuckles against the door, the sound echoing through the empty halls.

Raven gritted her teeth, gun in hand as she approached. She yanked the door open, her weapon aimed squarely at his chest.

“Start talking, asshole.”

He raised his hands, his smirk infuriatingly intact. “Relax, sweetheart. If I wanted to kill you, I’d have done it in the alley.”

“That’s not exactly reassuring.” Her finger hovered over the

trigger.

He tilted his head, his steel-blue eyes locking onto hers with unsettling intensity. “You’ve got something I want. Let me in, and I’ll explain.”

Raven let out a harsh laugh. “Not a chance.”

“Suit yourself,” he said, lowering his hands. “But if I were you, I wouldn’t let someone else grab that case while we’re arguing.”

Her stomach twisted. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

He stepped aside, nodding toward the street. A black van had rolled to a stop down the block, its engine humming ominously.

“Shit,” Raven hissed.

Without waiting for an invitation, the stranger pushed past her, closing the door behind him.

“Hey!” she snapped, spinning to face him.

He held up his hands again. “You can kill me later. Right now, we’ve got company.”

The sound of footsteps in the stairwell confirmed his words. Raven cursed under her breath, bolting toward the case. She snapped it shut and slung it over her shoulder as the first shadow darkened the doorway.

“Three, maybe four,” the stranger muttered, pulling a compact pistol from his waistband.

“Great,” Raven shot back, crouching behind the table. “I’ll take the left. You take the fuck out of my life after this.”

“Sure thing, sweetheart,” he drawled, aiming as the first attacker burst through the door.

The room exploded into chaos. Bullets tore through drywall and shattered what remained of the light above. Raven moved like a shadow, her shots clean and precise.

The stranger, for all his cocky swagger, was no slouch. His movements were lethal, his aim impeccable. By the time the last man hit the ground, Raven was forced to admit—grudgingly—that he’d just saved her ass.

She lowered her weapon, her breath ragged. “Who the fuck are you?”

He holstered his gun, wiping a streak of blood from his jaw. “Name’s Asher. You can thank me later.”

“Thank you?” she snapped. “You dragged them here, didn’t you? What kind of amateur move is that?”

Asher laughed, low and infuriatingly casual. “You really think those guys followed me? Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you’re the one with a target on her back.”

Her fingers tightened around her gun, but she didn’t raise it. He wasn’t wrong.

Asher stepped closer, his voice dropping. “Look, I don’t give a shit about your mission, your handler, or whatever agency you’re working for. All I care about is that case. Erebus is a fucking death sentence for everyone if it falls into the wrong hands.”

Raven’s eyes narrowed. “And what makes you so noble?”

He shrugged, his smirk fading into something darker. “Let’s just say I’ve got my reasons.”

Before she could press him, the sound of more vehicles approaching sent her heart racing.

“We’ve gotta move,” Asher said, grabbing a rifle from one of the dead attackers. “You coming, or are you staying here to die?”

Raven glared at him, every fiber of her being screaming not to trust him.

But then she thought of the hard drive in the case, the destruction it could unleash, and the people counting on her to stop it.

“Fine,” she bit out, slinging her pistol back into its holster.

“But if you try anything—”

“Yeah, yeah,” he interrupted, flashing her an infuriating grin. “You’ll shoot me in the knee. Got it.”

Raven rolled her eyes, yanking the door open and stepping into the storm.

Raven stood in the cold, abandoned warehouse, the faint hum of the distant city echoing through the walls. Her shoulder ached, the bullet graze still stinging with each movement. She couldn’t afford to be weak—not now. Not when she was so close to getting what she needed to bring down Cerberus.

Asher was at the far side of the room, fiddling with a circuit board and muttering under his breath. His face was hard, but Raven could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands fumbled slightly with the tools.

"How much longer?" she asked, her voice sharp but weary.

Asher didn’t look up. "Give me another twenty minutes,

tops."

Raven nodded curtly, scanning the room once more. The warehouse was bare—save for a few scattered crates and old equipment. There were no windows, no exits that they hadn’t already checked. But the feeling that they weren’t alone still gnawed at her. It was a sensation she’d learned to trust over the years, one that had saved her life more times than she could count.

She moved to the far side of the room, checking the door they had entered through. The lock was secure, but that didn’t mean anything. The man who had attacked them earlier was skilled—too skilled for a simple mercenary. And there was something about his presence, his eyes, that

unsettled her. It wasn’t just the fact that he had nearly killed them—it was the familiarity in his movements, the precision, as if he had been watching them long before they had even set foot in the city.

"Where the hell is everyone?" she muttered to herself.

Asher’s voice cut through the silence. "You paranoid again, Raven?"

She turned to see him standing, holding up a small device. His eyes were dark, the usual smirk gone from his face. "It’s done. We’ve got what we need."

"Good," she replied curtly, still not trusting the air around them. "Let’s move."

Before they could make it to the door, a sound interrupted

them—faint, but unmistakable. A metal creak. Raven’s hand instinctively went to her gun, her body coiling in on itself, preparing for whatever was coming.

The door burst open with a suddenness that nearly knocked them both off their feet. A shadowed figure stood there, his face obscured by a black mask, his body draped in a dark, tight-fitting suit. The figure was tall, his frame broad, and he carried himself with an aura of command that immediately put Raven on alert.

"Looking for something?" The voice was low, smooth, but there was a certain chill to it that sent a ripple of unease through her.

Raven didn’t wait for him to make the first move. She

lunged, her hand drawing her gun in one fluid motion. But the man was faster. He sidestepped her, his arm shooting out to catch her by the wrist, twisting it with a painful crack before pulling her off balance and slamming her into the concrete floor.

Her vision blurred for a split second, pain radiating from her side where her wound had reopened. She groaned, struggling to regain her bearings, but it was clear this man was on a different level than any mercenary they’d faced before.

Asher was already on his feet, gun drawn. "Raven!" he shouted, but his voice was full of tension. He wasn’t moving toward her.

"Get back," the masked figure growled at Asher, his voice cold as ice. "This is between me and her."

Asher hesitated, but Raven could see the calculations flickering in his eyes. He was no idiot—he knew when a fight was too much to handle. He backed off, but Raven could feel his eyes on her, his heart still beating fast. She would never admit it out loud, but she appreciated the gesture.

The man’s gloved hand gripped her throat, lifting her off the ground with brutal ease. Raven’s pulse quickened, but she didn’t flinch. She’d been in worse situations before. She knew how to handle herself.

"Who are you?" she spat, her voice thick with defiance, even as her breath became shallow.

The man’s mask shifted slightly as he regarded her. "You don’t remember me, do you, Raven?"

There was a flicker in his eyes, a fleeting emotion that seemed out of place. Something personal. Raven’s heart skipped a beat. This wasn’t some random mercenary. He knew her.

"Raven, don’t—" Asher’s warning was cut short as the man threw her across the room, sending her crashing into a pile of crates with a sickening thud.

She groaned, pushing herself up slowly, feeling the blood trickling down her forehead. But her mind was already racing. She had to get answers. There was no time for this game.

"Answer me," she growled, eyes flashing. "Who the hell are you?"

The man stepped forward, the black mask now removed. Raven’s breath caught in her throat as the face before her registered in her mind.

"Connor?" she whispered, her voice shaking with disbelief.

Connor’s lips curled into a thin smile, but there was no warmth in it. "It’s been a long time, Raven."

Her chest tightened with a mix of anger and confusion. This wasn’t possible. Connor had been—

"Dead," she finished, her voice bitter. The memory of his body lying lifeless on the cold floor, the way the blood had pooled around him, flashed through her mind. She had

buried him herself, had mourned him as one of the few people she’d ever truly trusted.

"I should’ve known," Raven said, her voice low with fury. "But I guess they couldn’t keep you dead, huh?"

Connor shook his head, a chuckle escaping him. "You’ve got it all wrong, Raven. I didn’t die. I was...reborn. Reprogrammed."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Her voice was rising now, every muscle in her body tensed with the urge to fight.

Connor’s smile faded, replaced by an eerie calm. "I was given a second chance, Raven. And I’m here to finish what we started."

Raven felt her heart drop. It was worse than she had feared.

She had thought she was working for the right side, that the choices she made, the blood she had spilled, had been for a good cause. But now it was clear. There were no good sides in this war. Not anymore.

"And what’s that supposed to mean?" she asked, though she already knew the answer. She could see it in his eyes—cold, dead eyes that reflected nothing but pain and darkness. He wasn’t the man she had once known. This was something else, something far more dangerous.

Connor stepped closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear. "It means, Raven, that you’ve been playing right into my hands. I’ve been watching you for a long time. You’ve been carrying the pieces of Erebus’s code—pieces that were

never meant to be found. And now, they’re mine."

The realization hit her like a gut punch. Everything they had done, every move they had made, every escape they had pulled off had been part of his plan.

Asher was still in the background, but Raven could feel his eyes on her, the tension in the air thickening. She could hear his breathing quicken, the uncertainty and fear creeping into his voice. "Raven, what’s going on?"

But Raven didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Not with everything falling apart.

"Your choice, Raven," Connor said coldly. "Give me the code, or I’ll take it from you."

Raven knew what she had to do. The game had changed,

but she would never let someone like him win. She had made a promise—to herself and to everyone who had died because of Erebus. She wouldn’t let Connor—or anyone—take it from her.

Without thinking, she lunged forward, pushing past the pain and the fear. She fought with everything she had, every muscle in her body screaming in protest, but her mind was clear.

Connor’s hand caught her wrist, but she twisted, slamming her knee into his side. His grip faltered, and that was all she needed. She drove her elbow into his stomach, and when he staggered back, she aimed her gun straight at him.

"You don’t control me," Raven spat, her voice full of

defiance.

Connor’s eyes darkened, but his smirk returned. "We’ll see about that."

The fight wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. But Raven knew one thing for sure—this war wasn’t just about survival anymore. It was personal. And she wasn’t about to lose. Not this time.

Raven’s heart pounded in her chest as she stood facing Connor. The gun in her hand was steady, aimed at his chest, but inside, her world was unraveling. The man she had once loved, the one who had fought by her side through countless battles, was now her enemy. Every word he spoke, every move he made, felt like a dagger in her heart.

Connor was silent for a long moment, his cold eyes never leaving hers. He was unreadable now, a far cry from the man she remembered—warm, loyal, and full of life. The man before her was someone else entirely, someone who had been twisted by the darkness of Erebus’s corruption.

“Do you think this is all just a game?” Raven’s voice cracked, the raw emotion cutting through her calm facade. “Do you think I’ll just hand over everything to you?”

Connor’s lips curled into a smirk. “You don’t have a choice, Raven. You never did.”

Raven felt her blood boil at his words. His voice was laced with venom, but there was something else too—something colder. The man who had been her partner, her confidant, was gone. In his place stood a monster, a shadow of the person she had once known.

“Let me guess,” she said, her voice icy now. “You were never really dead, were you? All that time I spent grieving for you… was it just part of your plan?”

Connor didn’t flinch. “You should’ve known better. Death is just another tool. I had to disappear for a while, but now that I’m back, it’s time to finish what I started. Erebus has bigger plans than you could ever understand, Raven.”

Her mind raced. Erebus. That name. She had always known it was bigger than anything they’d imagined, but now the pieces were falling into place. Connor had been part of it all along—just another cog in the machine. She had thought he was a casualty of the war, but in reality, he had been working with them from the beginning.

“You think you can control this?” Raven’s voice was low, dangerous. “You think Erebus will just let you walk away when they’re done using you?”

Connor’s smirk deepened, a dark, almost amused glint in his eyes. “Erebus doesn’t control me. I control it.”

The weight of his words hit her like a punch to the gut. How could she have been so blind? She had trusted him. She had loved him. And now he was standing here, her enemy, claiming that he had been the one pulling the strings all along. It made her feel sick.

Before she could react, Asher’s voice cut through the tension. “Raven, don’t do this. He’s not worth it.”

Raven’s gaze flicked over to him, seeing the uncertainty in his eyes. He was scared, but not for himself. He was scared for her. He always was.

Asher stepped forward, his hand slowly reaching for her

arm, trying to guide her back from the precipice. “Let’s just get out of here. We can still stop him. We just need to think this through.”

But Raven wasn’t listening. All she could see was Connor—the man who had betrayed her. The man who had torn apart everything she believed in.

“I’m not leaving until I know the truth,” she said, her voice breaking, but her resolve hardening. “You’ve been lying to me from the beginning. You didn’t die, did you?”

Connor’s silence confirmed her worst fear. Her fingers tightened around the grip of her gun, the metal cold beneath her touch.

“I had to fake my death, Raven,” he said finally, his voice

cold but tinged with something darker, something she couldn’t quite place. “Erebus needed me to disappear for a while. But now I’m back, and things are different. I’m not the man you knew. I’m better than that.”

“Better?” Raven laughed bitterly, the sound hollow and disbelieving. “What’s better about you, Connor? You’re a fucking monster now. You’re willing to burn the world to the ground for some twisted idea of power.”

Connor’s gaze never wavered. “I’m not burning anything. I’m just taking control. Something you could never understand.”

Her hands were shaking now, not from fear but from the rage that burned inside her. This was the man she had once trusted with her life, with her heart. And now, he stood before

her, a stranger, a puppet of Erebus. The thought of it made her want to tear everything apart.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Raven said, her voice trembling with the weight of her anger. “I was the one who pulled you out of the darkness. I was the one who fought to keep you alive. And now you want me to just stand here and hand everything over to you? To let you destroy everything?”

Connor’s jaw tightened. “You never understood me, Raven. You never understood why I did what I did. But that’s okay. Because now, I don’t need you to.”

With that, he moved faster than she could react. Raven barely had time to raise her gun before he was on her, his hand grabbing her wrist and twisting it with a sickening

crack. She screamed in pain, dropping the weapon as she tried to break free, but his grip was like iron.

“You’re out of your depth,” Connor hissed in her ear, his breath cold against her skin. “You’ve always been out of your depth.”

Raven struggled, her mind reeling as she tried to think of a way out of this. She couldn’t let him win. Not like this. She refused to be his pawn.

Just as everything seemed lost, Asher moved. He wasn’t as quick or as skilled as Connor, but the determination in his eyes made up for it. He lunged at Connor from behind, kicking his legs out from under him and sending him crashing to the ground.

Raven gasped in relief, scrambling to her feet and grabbing her gun once more. Asher stood over her, his eyes filled with concern but also a fierce protectiveness.

“Get out of here,” he said urgently. “I’ll hold him off.”

Raven’s heart pounded as she looked down at Connor, who was already getting to his feet, a cold smile spreading across his face. He wasn’t done yet. None of them were.

“I’m not running from this,” Raven said, her voice filled with steel.

But Asher shook his head, pulling her away from the fight. “You’re not going to win this fight, Raven. Not now.”

Connor stood, his expression now one of complete indifference. “You’ve made your choice. And now, you’ll pay

for it.”

With that, the room seemed to explode in a hail of gunfire and chaos.

The warehouse was no longer the quiet, empty space it had been just moments ago. The once-dead silence was replaced by the sound of harsh breathing, the echo of bullets ricocheting off the concrete walls, and the desperate scramble for survival. Raven could feel her pulse quickening as she ducked behind a stack of crates, trying to steady her breath.

She had never thought this would be how it ended—not with Connor, not like this. But there was no going back now. There were no more illusions, no more dreams of peace.

Only the brutal reality of the world they had created for themselves.

Asher’s voice cut through the din. “Raven, we need to go. Now.”

She glanced up to see him taking cover, his gun aimed toward Connor. But the other man was too fast, moving with a deadly precision that Raven had never seen before. Connor was playing a game with them now—one he was determined to win.

Raven’s heart sank, but she knew what she had to do. She could either run and live to fight another day, or she could stay and fight, knowing that everything she had built, everything she had fought for, could come crashing down in

a matter of seconds.

Her eyes locked with Asher’s, and she saw the fear there—the same fear she felt inside herself. But there was something else in his gaze too. Trust. He was asking her to trust him.

And for the first time in a long while, Raven did.

“Let’s finish this,” she said quietly.

The battle was far from over. But it was time to take control once again.

The night was thick with tension as Raven and Asher crouched behind the wreckage of an old delivery truck, their eyes scanning the dimly lit street. The air was heavy, thick with the smell of smoke and the distant echo of sirens. The chaos of the past few hours had left them both battered, bruised, and exhausted, but there was no time to rest. Connor—no, the monster he had become—was still out there. And he had something Raven needed to stop this madness.

Raven tightened her grip on her gun, feeling the weight of the weapon in her hand. She was good at this. Too good. The life she had led, the things she had done, had hardened

her in ways she couldn’t fully explain. And yet, nothing about this felt right. Connor, the man she had once trusted, had betrayed her. Every part of her wanted to believe that he was still there underneath it all, that somewhere, deep down, the man she had loved was still alive. But as the hours passed, the more she realized that the man he had become was someone beyond redemption. He had chosen his path, and now, they were all paying the price.

Asher glanced over at her, his face grim in the pale light. "We have to get to the extraction point before the reinforcements arrive," he said, his voice low and urgent. "They’ll be looking for us, and if we don’t make it out of here—"

"I know," Raven cut him off, her eyes narrowing as she surveyed the streets. "But we can't just run. We need to stop Connor, stop Erebus. We can’t let them keep taking people, destroying lives."

Asher hesitated, his hand resting on his sidearm as he watched her. He could see it in her eyes, that same fire that had burned in her when they first met. The same fire that had driven them both to fight against impossible odds. But this—this was different. This was personal.

"You know we can’t do it alone, Raven," Asher said quietly, his voice barely a whisper above the crackling of distant fires. "Connor’s not just some traitor. He’s the key to Erebus’s plan. We take him out, we have a chance to stop

the whole damn operation. But if we fail, there’s no coming back from it."

Raven’s heart hammered in her chest. She knew he was right. They couldn’t just kill Connor—no, that wouldn’t stop anything. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that killing him was the only option left. The world wouldn’t survive if Connor and Erebus were allowed to continue their reign of terror. She had already lost too much. She wasn’t about to lose any more.

"We won’t fail," Raven said, her voice steely with conviction. "We can’t."

Asher studied her for a long moment, his gaze softening. “I know you think that. But it’s not just about you anymore,

Raven. It's about all of us.”

She nodded. “I know.”

For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of their breathing and the distant hum of city life. They had been together for so long now, fighting side by side, that the silence between them spoke louder than any words could. But there was no time for sentiment now. They had a mission, and it was more urgent than ever.

Raven’s eyes flicked back to the shadowy alleyway where she knew Connor had retreated. He was close—she could feel it. The air felt charged, like the calm before a storm. Her instincts were on high alert, every muscle in her body screaming to move, to act.

"We move in five," Raven said, her voice steady as she locked eyes with Asher one last time.

He nodded and readied his weapon, the tension in his shoulders betraying the calm exterior he was trying to maintain. He trusted Raven. He always had. But this—this was different. They weren’t just going up against an army anymore. They were going up against a ghost of the past, a person Raven had loved and lost to the darkness.

Raven took a deep breath, her mind clearing. There was no turning back now. Asher was right. This wasn’t just about Connor. It was about stopping Erebus from turning the entire world into a place of fear and despair. It was about saving the people who still had a chance at redemption, at a life

free from the chains of their tormentors.

They had to stop Connor.

They had to stop Erebus.

And they would do it together.

The city was alive with the hum of machinery and the flickering lights of abandoned buildings. Raven and Asher moved quickly, slipping through the shadows, always keeping one eye on their surroundings. As they approached the warehouse where they believed Connor was hiding, the sounds of combat filled the air. Gunfire echoed through the empty streets, the dull thud of explosions shaking the ground beneath their feet.

"Stay low," Raven muttered, her voice barely above a

whisper. "He’s close."

Asher nodded, his jaw tight. "I’ll cover you."

They slipped into the darkened doorway of the warehouse, the heavy steel doors groaning in protest as they eased them open. Inside, the stench of blood and metal filled the air. Bodies littered the floor, some of them barely recognizable, others still twitching in their death throes. Raven’s stomach twisted, but she pushed the bile down. This was war, and war left nothing but destruction in its wake.

They moved deeper into the building, each step taking them closer to Connor. Raven’s mind raced, thoughts spinning wildly. What would happen when they found him? Would she

be able to pull the trigger? Would she be able to stop him, even if it meant losing herself in the process?

The sudden sound of footsteps made her freeze, her heart leaping into her throat. She held up a hand to signal Asher to stop, and they both crouched low behind a stack of crates. The footsteps grew louder, then stopped just ahead of them.

"Where are they?" Connor’s voice rang out through the silence, cold and menacing. "I know you’re here. You can’t hide from me forever."

Raven felt her chest tighten. There he was—the man she had once known, now nothing more than a shadow of himself. The betrayal still cut deeper than she was willing to admit, but this—this was the moment that would define

everything.

She rose from her crouch, her gun aimed at the darkness where Connor stood. "I’m here, Connor," she called out, her voice steady despite the chaos raging inside her. "And I’m not going anywhere until you’re finished."

Connor stepped into the light, his face illuminated by the dim glow of the warehouse’s flickering bulbs. His expression was cold, unreadable, but there was something in his eyes—something that made Raven’s heart skip a beat. It was that familiar spark, that trace of the man she had once loved. But it was quickly smothered by the darkness that now consumed him.

"You really think you can stop me?" Connor sneered, his

voice dripping with disdain. "You’re nothing. Just a broken soldier playing in a game that’s far beyond you."

Raven felt a surge of anger flood through her, but she kept her composure. “I’m not playing, Connor. This ends tonight.”

The sound of a gunshot echoed in the air.

Raven barely had time to react as she dove for cover, instinct taking over as the world around her exploded into chaos.

The battle that followed was brutal, nothing like the clean, calculated fights they had faced before. It was messy, personal. Each blow, each movement, was filled with years of pain and betrayal. Raven’s heart screamed as she faced Connor across the battlefield, the man who had once been

her ally now her greatest enemy.

And yet, as she pressed forward, as she took the fight to him with everything she had, she realized something.

There was still a part of him left.

That spark, that flicker of humanity in his eyes—it hadn’t completely vanished.

But it might be too late to save him.

As she and Asher advanced, the sound of gunfire grew louder, the sharp crack of explosions ringing in her ears. She knew they were running out of time. Each second, each minute, brought them closer to a final showdown. Connor was no longer just a man. He was a force—a weapon.

And Raven had no choice but to destroy him.

The price of power was steep, and tonight, they would all pay it.

The gunfire rang out again, deafening in the silence that followed the chaos. Raven’s heart pounded, her fingers tight around the grip of her weapon as she locked eyes with Connor. His expression was unreadable—no longer the man she had once known, the man who had shared her dreams and fears. Now, he was just a shell of that person. The gleam in his eyes was cold, calculating, ruthless.

"You're still the same," she spat, her voice hoarse from the adrenaline and the pain. "You think you can do whatever the hell you want, destroy anyone who gets in your way. But you’re wrong, Connor. This time, you’re not getting away."

Connor’s lips curled into a smile, one that made her stomach

twist in disgust. "You really don’t get it, do you? You think you can stop me? You think you can take me down? You’ve been so fucking naïve, Raven."

He sneered, his words dripping with contempt. "I’ve already won. The world’s already falling apart, and you’re too fucking blind to see it. You can’t stop me. Nobody can."

Raven’s chest tightened. She could feel it—the weight of everything that had brought her to this moment. She had come so far, fought so damn hard, but now the stakes were higher than ever. The entire world hung on the edge, teetering between salvation and destruction. And in front of her stood the man who had once been everything, now nothing more than a monster bent on tearing it all down.

"Don’t fool yourself," she said, her voice steady despite the chaos swirling in her chest. "You’ve already lost. If you think you can tear down everything we’ve built, you’re just as fucking deluded as the rest of them."

Connor’s face darkened, his hand tightening around the grip of his weapon. Raven’s body tensed, ready to move, to fight, to do whatever it took to stop him.

"You’re right," he said suddenly, his voice a low growl. "Maybe I’ve lost myself. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re standing in my way. And I don’t take kindly to that."

He raised the gun, aiming directly at her chest, his hand unwavering. Raven’s pulse spiked, but she didn’t flinch. She

wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear. She had to end this. They both knew it.

“Connor…” Her voice was quiet now, almost pleading. "You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to become this... thing."

The flicker of hesitation she saw in his eyes almost made her believe there was still a chance to save him. Almost.

But then, just as quickly, it was gone. The coldness returned, the mask of indifference settling into place.

"Get out of my way, Raven," he growled, his finger tightening on the trigger.

Before she could react, a shot rang out. The force of it sent her sprawling to the ground, but it wasn’t her that had been hit. It was Connor. He staggered back, a gasp escaping his

lips as he looked down at the blood seeping from the wound in his side.

"Connor!" Raven yelled, her heart skipping a beat.

She whipped her head around to see Asher standing a few feet away, his weapon still raised, smoke rising from the barrel. His eyes locked onto hers for a split second—grief, regret, and something else she couldn’t quite place flashing across his face.

“Shit, we don’t have time for this,” Asher muttered, lowering his gun and rushing toward her. “You’re fucking lucky I got a clear shot. But don’t get too fucking sentimental. We need to finish this now.”

Raven stared at him for a moment, her heart in her throat. It

wasn’t the time for this. It never was. Not now, not when everything was on the line. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stood, her legs shaky but determined. The sound of Connor’s ragged breaths filled the room as he stumbled backward, clutching his wound.

“You think you’ve won?” Connor sneered, blood dripping from his lips. "You think you can kill me that easily? I’m not the fucking monster you think I am. I’m the one who’s going to save this godforsaken world. And you’re the one standing in my way. You’re the one who’s going to die."

Raven’s chest burned, her thoughts clouded with anger and pain. She took a step forward, her grip tightening on her weapon.

“Save the world?” Raven scoffed, shaking her head. “Is that what you think you’re doing? Destroying everyone, everything, to make some fucking ‘better’ world? You're so damn deluded, Connor. This isn’t saving anyone.”

“You don’t understand,” he spat. “I’m beyond your petty ideas of good and evil. You think the world can be saved by people like you? By people like us? No. It needs to be remade. And if you’re not with me, you’re against me. And in the end, you’ll be just another fucking casualty.”

With that, he raised his weapon again, the barrel gleaming in the low light of the room. Raven’s heart skipped a beat. She didn’t have time to think. She didn’t have time to hesitate.

She moved.

Faster than she had ever moved in her life, Raven sprinted across the room, diving forward, her shoulder slamming into Connor’s chest as she knocked him to the ground. The impact stole the breath from her lungs, but she didn’t stop. She didn’t let go.

They rolled across the floor, struggling for dominance, each of them fighting for their lives, for the future. Raven’s hands gripped the knife at her side, her fingers slick with sweat as she tried to drive it into Connor’s side. But his strength was immense, his grip like iron as he tried to pin her down.

“Fucking die, Raven,” he growled, his voice filled with venom.

Raven’s heart thudded in her ears as they fought,

desperation and rage driving every movement. She could feel the heat of his body beneath her, the pulse of his rage pushing against her own. The blood pounding in her head was deafening, but she couldn’t afford to back down.

Her hand found the knife’s hilt, and with one swift motion, she drove it deep into his side. His eyes went wide with shock, and the air in his lungs seemed to escape in a wheezing gasp as he froze for a moment, staring at her in disbelief.

"You..." His voice was barely a whisper, full of confusion. “Why?”

Raven’s voice was calm, despite the storm inside her. “Because you’ve lost, Connor. And it’s time for you to fucking

accept it.”

Connor’s eyes flickered one last time, as though he was searching for something—some sign that he hadn’t completely fallen. But the light in his eyes faded as his body went limp beneath her.

Raven didn’t move for a long moment, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she stared down at him, her hands trembling. It was over. But the cost of it all—the price of everything they had fought for, everything she had lost—was almost too much to bear.

"Raven…" Asher’s voice broke through her fog of thoughts, soft but insistent. “It’s over. We need to go.”

Raven nodded, blinking back the tears that threatened to

spill over. She stood slowly, her hands still slick with Connor’s blood as she turned away, her heart heavy with loss.

It was over. But it had never felt more like the beginning.

The beginning of something darker. Something they couldn’t undo. And the weight of it all was too much to bear. But they had no choice.

They had won.

But at what cost?