The wind howled as Athena stood outside the crumbling ruins of the facility, her sword still dripping with the remains of the creatures they had slain. The scent of burning flesh lingered in the air, mixing with the acrid stench of decay. She barely had ti to process what had just happened. The monsters, the battle, the glowing butterflies, and—most disturbing of all—her clone vanishing into thin air with a knowing smile.
Xavier stood beside her, his golden eyes sharp and calculating. He was already scanning the periter, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword. His body was tense, like a predator waiting for the next strike.
"She's gone," he muttered, breaking the silence.
Athena's jaw clenched. "I know."
The clone had moved with inhuman speed. Even faster than Athena herself. It wasn't just an identical copy—it was sothing beyond her, enhanced in ways she didn't fully understand. And that terrified her.
"We need to go," Xavier said. "More of those things could be lurking around. And I doubt that was the last ti we'll see her."
Athena nodded, forcing her racing thoughts into the back of her mind. They had a mission. They needed to get back to their people, warn them about the new threat, and prepare for whatever was coming.
The journey back to their temporary shelter in the mountains was brutal. The land had changed since the last ti they traveled through it. The plants had grown even more aggressive, their vines writhing as if they had minds of their own. So pulsed with a sickly glow, releasing clouds of spores that corroded anything they touched. Others moved with unsettling precision, striking out at anything that dared co close.
Athena slashed through them with practiced ease, but sothing felt off.
Everything in this world was evolving too fast. The zombies were no longer the biggest threat. Sothing else was taking over.
Hours passed before they finally reached the shelter. The survivors were waiting anxiously, their faces lined with exhaustion and worry. The mont they saw Athena and Xavier approaching, a murmur spread through the crowd.
"Commander!" one of the scouts ran up to them. "Did you find the research facility?"
Athena exhaled and nodded. "We did."
The scout hesitated. "And…?"
"We found sothing," Xavier said, his tone unreadable. "But it's worse than we thought."
The survivors exchanged uneasy glances. They had already endured so much—zombies, starvation, the collapse of everything they once knew. And now, they were being told that sothing worse was on the horizon.
Athena scanned the faces in front of her. They were tired, hungry, and barely holding on. She knew that whatever happened next, they weren't ready for it.
But there was no ti to hesitate.
She stepped forward, her voice steady. "We need to prepare. The enemy we're facing is not just zombies anymore. There are creatures out there—things we don't fully understand. They're stronger, faster, and they're multiplying."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Then, soone spoke up. "What do we do?"
Athena t their eyes, her resolve hardening. "We fight. We survive. And we find out who's behind all of this."
There was no room for fear. No room for hesitation.
Because deep down, Athena knew—this war was just beginning.
Later that night, Athena sat alone in her tent, staring at the faint glow of her sword. She ran a finger over the blade's edge, watching as the red-glowing butterflies flickered into existence, only to fade monts later.
What was this sword?
She had carried it for so long, but she still didn't understand its origin. Every ti she used it, it felt natural, as if it had always been a part of her. And then there were the dreams—the man with long black hair, the battles in a world that shouldn't exist, and the unsettling feeling that this wasn't her first ti fighting creatures like the ones in the facility.
The mories were surfacing faster now.
And that scared her.
A shadow fell over her.
She looked up to see Xavier standing at the entrance of her tent, arms crossed. "You're thinking too much."
Athena sighed. "I don't have a choice."
Xavier walked inside, his golden eyes watching her carefully. "You saw sothing in that facility, didn't you?"
Athena hesitated. Should she tell him?
For so reason, part of her still didn't fully trust him. But at the sa ti, he had fought by her side. He had saved her life more tis than she could count.
After a mont, she decided to tell the truth.
"I saw a mory," she said slowly. "A fragnt. I was in a lab… talking to soone. I told them that if I failed my mission, they should launch more puppets like to finish the job."
Xavier's expression didn't change, but she saw the way his fingers twitched slightly.
"What else?" he asked.
Athena swallowed hard. "I told them to kill the greatest Mafia leader."
Silence.
Then—Xavier chuckled. A low, amused sound that sent a chill down her spine.
She narrowed her eyes. "What's so funny?"
Xavier t her gaze, a smirk playing at his lips. "You really don't rember, do you?"
Athena's heart skipped a beat. "What do you an?"
Xavier leaned closer, his voice a whisper.
"You were sent to kill ."
Her blood ran cold.
She stared at him, searching his face for any sign that he was lying. But there was nothing. Only amusent, as if he had been waiting for her to figure it out.
"No," she said, shaking her head. "That's not possible."
Xavier tilted his head. "Isn't it? Think about it, Athena. Who else in this world fits the description of the 'greatest Mafia leader'?"
Her breath caught in her throat.
It made sense.
The way he moved, the way he fought, the way he always seed to know more than he should. The pieces were falling into place, and the realization was suffocating.
Athena's mission—the mission she couldn't rember—was to eliminate Xavier Mors Angelus.
She had failed.
And now, the man she was supposed to kill was sitting in front of her, smirking like he had won.
She wanted to deny it. To refuse to believe it.
But deep down, she knew the truth.
Everything she had known, everything she had believed about herself—it was all a lie.
And now, she had to figure out what to do next.
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