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83: The Breaking Point
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-03-20 07:35:00
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Broken Vows, New Promises 84: The Truth Beneath the Lies
Damien’s POVThe world outside was still burning, but inside the dimly lit safehouse, all I could focus on was the small, unassuming flash drive sitting in the center of the table.It looked ordinary.But I knew better.Aurora sat beside me, her expression pale but determined. Leo stood across from us, arms crossed, watching me like he expected the damn thing to explode the moment I plugged it in.Maybe he wasn’t wrong.I exhaled and inserted the drive into the laptop.A single folder appeared on the screen. “Project Revenant.”The name sent a chill through me.I clicked it open.Dozens of files. Some video, some documents, some encrypted. I opened the first video.A grainy image flickered to life. A cold, sterile room. Bright lights. A man sat in a chair, bound, his face bloodied.And standing in front of him—Elias Moreau.The room went dead silent.Moreau’s voice crackled through the speakers.“You can fight all you want, but you and I both know the truth. The experiment worked.”T
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-20Broken Vows, New Promises 85: A War Written in Blood
Damien’s POVThe night was thick with tension.The storm outside had yet to break, but I could feel it coming—a pressure in the air, a weight settling deep in my chest.I stood near the window, watching. Waiting.Leo was in the other room, working with his contact to decrypt the rest of Moreau’s files. Aurora was asleep—finally—but I knew it wouldn’t last.None of us were getting rest tonight.Because tonight, everything would change.I reached for my gun, the metal cold in my grip.One bullet. That was all I needed.One bullet between Moreau’s eyes.But I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.Moreau was a man who had spent his life playing god. If he had orchestrated all of this—manipulated me, hunted Aurora, built an army—then he wasn’t the type to go down without a fight.And I was more than ready to give him one.Leo’s POV“I don’t like this.”I leaned against the desk, arms crossed, watching Damien load his weapons. His movements were too calm.Too controlled.Aurora had begged me to wa
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-20Broken Vows, New Promises 86: No Way Out
Damien’s POVThe second the lights died, I knew I’d made a mistake.The doors behind me slammed shut with a finality that sent a chill down my spine.Then came the footsteps.Slow. Measured. Surrounding me from every side.I raised my gun, shifting into position, my mind calculating the angles.One entrance. No exits. Limited visibility.This wasn’t a battle.This was a hunt.And I was the one being hunted.Then Moreau’s voice slithered through the darkness.“Did you really think it would be that easy, Damien?”A low chuckle followed, and the footsteps grew louder.“Did you think you could walk in here, put a bullet in my skull, and be done with it?”My grip tightened. Steady. Calculated. Wait for an opening.Then the first shot rang out.A bullet whizzed past my head, embedding itself in the wall.Moreau laughed softly. “I told you, didn’t I? You’re playing my game now.”The First StrikeMove.I dove to the side as another shot fired, rolling into cover behind a column.Shadows shift
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-21Broken Vows, New Promises 87: Fractured Chains
Damien’s POVThe silence after a fight was always the loudest.Blood dripped from my hands, the weight of my gun still warm in my grip. Moreau’s body lay crumpled at my feet, two bullet holes in his chest, but I didn’t feel victorious.I felt empty.He was dead.And yet, the moment I looked down at him, all I could hear were his last words.“You were never meant to be free.”The sickness crawled beneath my skin. My pulse pounded like a war drum in my skull. The burns along my spine from whatever he had done to me still throbbed.I staggered back, barely registering Leo’s voice behind me.“Damien?” His tone was careful. Measured. Like I was something fragile.I turned away from Moreau’s corpse and pushed past him. “Let’s go.”Leo didn’t argue.Maybe because he saw it too—I hadn’t really won.Not yet.Aurora’s POVThe first thing I noticed when I saw Damien was the blood.Not his.Moreau’s.It coated his hands, smeared across his arms, staining his clothes.But it wasn’t the blood that
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-21Broken Vows, New Promises 88: The Abyss Stares Back
Damien’s POVSleep never came.I sat in the dark, listening to the world move without me.The weight of Moreau’s death should have been a relief.Instead, it felt like a cage.You were never meant to be free.His last words coiled around my throat, choking me even in silence.I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms until the pain cut through the fog in my head.It didn’t work.Nothing worked.The blood on my hands had dried, but I still felt it.I still felt him.Aurora’s POVThe first rays of dawn crept through the window, casting Damien in an eerie glow.He hadn’t moved all night.Hadn’t spoken.Hadn’t looked at me.But I could feel the war inside him.I curled up next to him on the couch, resting my hand on his.He didn’t pull away, but he didn’t hold on either.My heart clenched.“You don’t have to go through this alone,” I whispered.His voice was hoarse. “Maybe I do.”I shook my head. “That’s what he wanted you to believe.”Damien finally turned his gaze to me.And f
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-21Broken Vows, New Promises 89: Between Monster and Man
Damien’s POVBlood.It wasn’t mine.I knew that much.But that didn’t make it any less real.The copper scent clung to my skin, burned my throat.Leo and Aurora were standing in front of me, waiting for answers I didn’t have.I wanted to tell them I had no choice.That it was him or me.But that wasn’t true, was it?Because the way I killed him—It wasn’t a choice.It was instinct.Moreau’s training never left me.And now?Now it was all I had left.Aurora took a step forward.“Damien,” she said, voice steady. “Come home.”I almost laughed.Home?There was no home for someone like me.Instead of answering, I wiped my hands on my jeans, smearing red across the fabric.“I need to go,” I muttered, pushing past them.Leo grabbed my arm. “You think running will fix this?”I yanked free.Nothing would fix this.Not anymore.Aurora’s POVI watched Damien disappear into the night, my heart twisting in my chest.Leo exhaled sharply beside me. “This isn’t good.”“No kidding.”I wasn’t stupid.I
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-21Broken Vows, New Promises 90: No Turning Back
Aurora’s POVI should have been prepared for his answer.I wasn’t.The words left Damien’s mouth in a cold, sharp whisper, cutting through the silence like a blade.“Moreau didn’t just experiment on me. He created me.”My heart slammed against my ribs.Created.The word didn’t belong in this conversation.I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.Damien sat in the passenger seat, hands clenched into fists, his entire body tense as if waiting for me to run.As if expecting me to.I swallowed hard.“What… what does that mean?”He exhaled slowly. “It means I was never meant to be free.”Damien’s POVThe truth sat between us, heavy and unshakable.I waited for her to speak.Waited for the fear.Waited for the disgust.Instead, Aurora reached out and placed a hand over mine.Not running.Not flinching.Just waiting.I didn’t deserve that.But I gave her the truth anyway.“They conditioned me from childhood,” I said quietly. “Before Moreau, I was no one. Just another orphan. But he… he chang
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-21Broken Vows, New Promises 91: Into the Fire
Aurora’s POVThe warehouse was silent, save for the steady hum of the overhead lights.Leo sat on the edge of a crate, arms crossed, his jaw clenched tight. Damien stood near the far wall, his body tense as he studied the blueprint of a building neither of us recognized.I watched them both, feeling the weight of what we were about to do settle deep in my chest.We weren’t just running anymore.We were hunting.“You’re sure about this?” I asked, breaking the silence.Damien didn’t look up. “Yes.”Leo let out a sharp breath. “You do realize that walking into an Order stronghold is basically suicide, right?”Damien’s eyes flicked to him. “Not if we’re smart about it.”Leo scoffed. “Since when has any of this been about being smart?”I stepped forward before the tension could snap between them.“We don’t have a choice,” I said firmly. “If we wait, they’ll come for us first.”Leo exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his hair. “Fine. But if this goes to hell, I want it on record that th
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-22
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Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 149 : Ashes of the Failsafe
Silence pressed against their ears as they approached the lowest chamber. The air was heavier here—thick with ozone and dread, as if the facility itself exhaled the weight of its own malice. Damien’s flashlight beam danced across the walls, revealing veins of circuitry pulsing beneath steel plates. Each step echoed like a verdict.Aurora’s grip on her rifle tightened. “This corridor leads straight to the core. Seraph must be close.”Asher flanked Damien’s other side, unblinking in the dim light. Though forged in Monroe’s broken crucible, the boy’s courage was pure—a reminder that hope could grow from ashes.Null’s voice crackled in their earpieces. “I’m seeing systems coming back online. Ten minutes before full lockdown. We need to move.”Elias checked his watch. “Understood.”They rounded the final corner and stopped.A vaulted chamber yawned before them. In its center, illuminated by a ring of harsh white light, stood Seraph. Taller than a child but smaller than an adult, she was fr
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 148 : The Sleeper Below
The silence grew heavier the deeper they went.Null’s map guided them through a maze of subterranean halls—some cold and sterile, others torn by time and disuse. The smooth hum of generators still echoed in places, interspersed by flickering emergency lights that bathed the world in sickly red pulses.Damien led the way with Aurora and Asher close at his heels. The boy in the containment pod had given them everything—coordinates, access routes, and warnings. Seraph wasn’t like Daemon or Omega.He was worse.“Bio-signature locked,” Null murmured, eyes on the scanner as they reached another sealed door. “There’s something down there. No readable vitals, but movement… constant. Pacing, almost.”“He’s waiting,” Aurora said.Asher’s small voice cut in, soft but certain. “He doesn’t think. He reacts. He was made to become… everything they wanted me to be.”Damien knelt beside him. “You don’t have to face this.”Asher looked up. “I do. If we don’t stop him, he’ll come for us. For others.”Au
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 147 : Into the Heart
The elevator doors closed with a reluctant groan, sealing them in.Inside the narrow shaft, the only light came from their tactical gear—soft glows against skin and metal. Aurora stood beside Damien, her hand brushing against his, an anchor in the silence. Asher stood between them, staring straight ahead, lips pressed into a thin, focused line.The descent felt longer than it should have. As if the very walls were stretching around them—preparing to swallow them whole.Then the lift jolted to a stop.A hiss of depressurization followed. The doors slid open with a groan, revealing a corridor bathed in cold white light. Clean. Too clean. The sterile scent of disinfectant and ozone clung to the air like a ghost.“This is it,” Null said quietly. “The Core Lab.”They stepped out as one.Unlike the upper floors, this level was pristine. Not abandoned. Not even neglected. Lights functioned. Doors responded to biometric scans. Cameras followed their every move, some still tracking with soft c
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 146 : Before the Storm
The sun dipped low, setting fire to the horizon in hues of crimson and ash. From the ridge above the temporary camp, Damien stood alone, watching shadows stretch over the forest like fingers reaching for something they could never quite hold.Below him, the others prepared in near silence. The kind of silence that didn’t come from fear—but from knowing. From understanding just how close they were to the end.The wind curled around him, carrying the scent of pine and steel and something colder. A storm was coming. Not of weather—but of reckoning.“You always find the highest place when you need to think.”He didn’t turn. He didn’t need to.Aurora’s voice always settled beneath his skin like a familiar hum—gentle and steady.She stepped up beside him, hands tucked into the sleeves of her jacket, her gaze following his to the horizon.“You used to be quieter,” he said. “Before all this.”“I used to have more to be afraid of,” she replied, half-smiling. “Now I just have more to lose.”He
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 145 : A Name Among the Ashes
The boy didn’t speak of the dream again.But something in him shifted after that night. His steps were a little steadier. His gaze no longer darted to the exits first. He stayed near Damien, yes, but not like a shadow clinging to light. Now, it felt like a tether, an anchor—not dependence, but choice.Damien noticed it when they trained in the clearing behind the safehouse. The boy followed directions without flinching, without looking over his shoulder every five seconds like he expected Monroe to appear from behind the trees. And when Kai handed him a blade—not sharp, just a practice knife—he held it with the curiosity of someone discovering a piece of themselves.“What do we call him?” Eli
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 144 : Echoes in the Light
The morning sunlight felt wrong.Too bright. Too open.After days in the Hollow’s synthetic twilight, Damien squinted at the skyline like it was some forgotten relic. The world outside was still broken, scarred by everything Monroe had built, but out here—beneath real sky—it felt like breathing for the first time in weeks.They moved through the forest trail in silence, Aurora walking beside Damien, the child—now clothed in a borrowed jacket and boots too large—staying close to Damien’s side like a shadow tethered to light.No name.No past.
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 143 : The First Breath
The air inside the chamber thickened as the hum of the cryopod deepened, soft lights tracing across its surface like veins awakening after a long slumber. Damien stood with his hand hovering just above the control panel, eyes locked on the boy within. A-00.The child who shouldn’t exist.The child who had been discarded—forgotten—yet had outlived the project meant to replace him.Aurora touched Damien’s arm gently. “Are you ready?”He didn’t answer right away. His gaze was still fixed on the boy’s face. So young, so still. Yet somehow, it felt like staring into a mirror that refused to reflect.
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 142 : Into the Hollow
The helicopter blades sliced through the Ural sky like a warning.Beneath them, the forest spread like a sea of frozen pine and fractured stone, untouched and unwelcoming. The coordinates Null had provided pointed to a narrow canyon—its jagged sides veined with ice and shadow—where no human path should've ever led.Damien sat beside Aurora, eyes locked on the narrowing terrain below. The cold had begun to seep in through the insulated layers, but it wasn’t the temperature that clenched his gut.It was the silence.Even at this altitude, the absence of wildlife was unnerving.As if nature itself refused to brea
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 141 : Fractures Beneath the Surface
The wind had changed by morning.Geneva’s neutral calm felt different now—like something sacred had been disturbed beneath its manicured stillness. The team gathered in the briefing room of the underground complex, still shaken from what they’d uncovered the night before: Damien’s prototype—Subject A-01-D—and the fractured remnants of Monroe’s last vault of secrets.No one spoke for a long while.Elias was the first to break the silence. “So what now? We’ve seen the start of it. That clone—your prototype—it changes everything. Doesn’t it?”Null nodded slowly, pacing. “It suggests Monroe’s e
