Last Ember:ashes of the World

The dawn inside Nomad's Rest wasn't marked by sunlight — the skies outside were still suffocated by dense, toxic mist. Instead, it came with the rumble of engines, the flickering of artificial lights, and the hiss of hydraulics as steel gates opened.

Jack stood on the upper balcony of the inner courtyard, Lena at his right, Veyne behind. Below, squads of armored warriors moved in synchronized formation. Their armor shimmered with Echo-synthetic plating — breathing, pulsing like living things.

> "That's them," Veyne murmured. "The Black Banner."

Jack narrowed his eyes.

Dozens of soldiers. Each one bearing the sigil of the Crimson Wheel — the Council's crest. But it wasn't just their strength. It was the way they moved. Precision. Silence. No wasted motion. These weren't soldiers. These were predators in uniform.

> "So that's what they want from me," Jack said. "To turn me into one of them."

Lena cocked her head. "The question is… what do you want from them?"

---

Later that morning, in the center of the Council Hall, Jack stood once again before the three leaders.

> "Your answer?" asked the old man with the glass eye.

Jack took his time. His thoughts were clear, but heavy. The Echo inside him was silent for once, as if waiting too.

> "I'll join," Jack said.

The chamber went still.

> "But," he added, "on my terms."

The boy smirked. "Do explain."

> "I'll take the Black Banner sigil. I'll run your missions. But I choose my own team. Lena and Veyne come with me. No trackers. No forced implants. No minders."

The old man's single eye glinted with danger. "You're in no position to bargain, boy."

> "I'm the only one who walked out of Vault 0 with the Echo in control," Jack said calmly. "The only one who stood in the same room as the First Host's imprint… and lived. I'm the only one who can hear what's coming."

> "And what is coming?" asked the woman with the synthetic voice.

Jack's face was grim.

> "A war. Not of nations, but of beings. One that started long before your Council was formed. And the First Host is waking others."

He stepped forward.

> "So I don't care what power games you're playing. If you want my help — you let me lead."

Silence.

The boy leaned back in his chair. "Deal."

> "What?" the old man snapped.

> "Let him lead," the boy repeated. "It makes no difference. We need him sharp. And expendable."

> "Then it is done," the woman intoned. "Jack of the Vault. You now carry the Black Banner. Lead, bleed, and break — but never betray."

A crimson armband was presented to him. Black threads woven in a sigil that shimmered faintly in the light.

Jack took it.

> "One last thing," he said. "I want access to your Echo archives. All of them."

That caused a stir.

> "That's classified—" the old man started.

> "I'm not asking," Jack cut him off. "If I'm your weapon, I need to understand what I am. Or you'll just be sending a ticking bomb into battle."

The boy nodded again. "Granted. But under supervision."

Jack turned and left without another word.

Lena caught up moments later.

> "That went better than expected."

> "Too well," Jack muttered. "They're planning something."

---

That night…

The Black Banner barracks were buried deep beneath Nomad's Rest — a labyrinth of training chambers, Echo weapon vaults, and medical labs. Jack and his team were assigned a private unit — a gesture meant to seem generous, but clearly designed for observation.

Lena was already scanning the room for hidden devices. Veyne disassembled a nearby console with practiced ease.

> "Three mics," he said. "Two cameras. One pressure plate under your bed."

Jack snorted. "Subtle."

> "They want to learn how you tick," Lena said. "And how to control you if you go rogue."

Jack sat at the central table and unfolded the digital dossier he'd received.

The Black Banner had operations scattered across the continent. But one stood out — Echo Site Theta. A long-dead ruin buried beneath the northern wastes. It had recently gone silent after a recovery team vanished.

The site was flagged for "advanced Echo resonance."

> "That's our first mission," Jack said.

> "Because of the signal?" Veyne asked.

Jack nodded. "It's not just calling to me. It's pulling something towards it. Something big."

---

Meanwhile…

Far to the east, in the drowned city of Korrad, a man stood in a broken cathedral of glass and rust.

Lucien, the First Host.

Before him knelt twelve figures, each wrapped in robes of black and ash. Their bodies shifted unnaturally, as though their bones had forgotten how to be human.

> "The Echo stirs," Lucien whispered. "And he is beginning to listen."

A hooded creature raised its head. "Shall we end him?"

Lucien smiled.

> "No. Let him climb higher. Let him gather strength. It will make the fall… beautiful."

His fingers danced across an ancient panel — awakening dormant Echo strands from the cathedral floor. A surge of black light shot into the air, and a ripple passed through the mist outside.

> "Send the Choir. Let them test his resolve."

---

Back at Nomad's Rest…

As Jack suited up, Lena handed him a sealed file.

> "What's this?"

> "Intel from a contact in the Citadel. They've got a record of another Echo bearer… active just three days ago. West sector. Matches your signal pattern almost perfectly."

Jack froze.

> "Name?"

> "None. Just a codename."

She paused.

> "Revenant."