Scarlet Tears- Primal

The moon above the Astral Legion hung motionless and pale—no longer white, but a sickly pearl-blue, as though even the heavens watched in horror at what was being forged beneath.

Within the Legion's underground facility, beneath thirty levels of reinforced steel and hidden access nodes, Ingress trained in solitude. The simulation dome flickered with crimson light. Holograms of Kazimir surrounded him, each one cut down with precise, vicious strokes.

Still, it wasn't enough.

He paused, chest heaving. Sweat clung to his shoulders. His blade hummed low, as though unsatisfied too.

Footsteps.

Dr. Alaric Thorne, head scientist of Project Reclamation, approached with urgency.

Dr. Thorne: "Ingress. The lab. Now. You'll want to see this."

Without a word, Ingress wiped the sweat from his face, tossed his towel, and followed.

They descended to the core labs—cold, white, humming with quiet dread. Inside, the containment chamber pulsed with fluidic light. Suspended within: a Dynasty corpse. The very one Kazimir had annihilated during the Battle of Jahard.

Ingress: "…So it lived… even in death."

Dr. Corran Yurei, quietly adjusting the life-preservation array, nodded.

Corran: "It didn't survive. But its essence did. And from that, we've crafted this."

Dr. Thorne opened a black velvet case. Inside rested a blade—thin, elegant, alive. Its edge shimmered with blood-red resonance, vibrating against the glass like a caged beast.

Thorne: "Dyne-forged. Soul-sensitive. One strike to Kazimir's nervous core could rupture his internal essence. Instant collapse."

Ingress took the weapon. It felt like fury itself—light and hungry.

Ingress: (grinning) "This… is justice."

A voice behind him broke the cold.

Dr. Seraphine Vell, her hands clasped tightly against her chest, stepped forward.

Seraphine: "This isn't justice. Kazimir fought to save Capriha. He protected cities when the dynasties attacked. Without him, half of us wouldn't even be standing here."

Ingress turned to her, his smile vanishing like a severed mask.

Ingress: "He's not a hero. He's a lie."

Seraphine: "He's the only reason people still have homes. Lives."

Ingress: (calm, dangerous) "Truth has a cost. You'll see. Everyone will."

Corran remained silent at his console. But Dr. Thorne gestured toward two vertical tanks nearby.

Thorne: "We've prepared more than just a blade. You'll appreciate these next subjects."

Ingress stepped forward. His eyes widened, then narrowed.

Ingress: "…Tojo? Xavier?"

Corran: "Technically… their bodies. Reconstructed with neural mimicry, and enhanced with Vrasnai resonance. No souls—but every ounce of combat data preserved. Think of them as war-specters."

Ingress: (softly) "Perfect. I'll make Kazimir break before I kill him."

Seraphine: (staggering) "You're… you're using his friends against him? This is twisted! They were people!"

Ingress turned slowly. Then he blurred forward—faster than her breath.

He grabbed Seraphine by the neck and slammed her against the wall. The metal rang like a funeral bell.

Seraphine gasped, legs kicking. Her eyes widened in terror. Tears welled instantly.

Ingress (eyes glowing with reddish-orange light): "You think this is wrong? You think monsters play fair?"

Her breath choked. The others—Thorne and Corran—remained still, their silence an approval of fear.

Ingress (whispers): "If you speak against me again, it'll be your lungs I collapse next. Understood?"

Seraphine trembled. A warmth spread down her leg as she nodded in shame, humiliated. Tears spilled as she gasped out a weak, choked "yes."

He dropped her. She collapsed to the floor, sobbing, and ran for the door.

Ingress: (coldly) "And clean the floor on your way out."

No one said a word. The quiet resumed like a death sentence.

Ingress turned back to the table.

Ingress: "Now. Inject me."

Thorne: "This mixture hasn't been stabilized. If the Imaginary Essence mutates beyond the—"

Ingress: "Do it. I'll survive. I'm not human anymore."

The needle hissed. A silver-violet serum—an impossible blend of Dynasty tissue, vampire DNA, and essence echoes from Kazimir's residual battles—pierced his vein.

Instantly, Ingress collapsed. Muscles spasmed. His skin glowed like lightning beneath glass.

Corran's voice trembled: "Vitals spiking. Bone structure altering—he's… changing…"

Then, silence.

Ingress stood.

Stronger. Smiling.

Ingress: "I can feel it. I can absorb it. This is power. This… is retribution."

He walked to the containment tanks.

Tojo and Xavier opened their eyes—soulless. Their hearts were gone. But the power remained. Amplified. Programmed.

Ingress placed his hands on their tubes. A conductor before his final movement.

Ingress: "Welcome back, my friends. You'll be perfect tools. Together, we're going to bury a false god."

Outside, the blue moon did not blink. It simply bore witness.