The God of War's Secret Mission

Incomplete Data, Mission Failed

“Andreas!” Tania shouted, “Where are you?”

Meanwhile, Andreas managed to throw Ethan to the floor, but a laser beam sliced right between them, causing both of them to jump aside to avoid it.

“You’ve created a mess you can’t control on your own!” Andreas shouted, running across the platform that was beginning to collapse.

“Chaos is the beginning of true peace!” Ethan retorted, his sly smile never fading. He seemed thoroughly satisfied with the chaos he had created.

Suddenly, the exit shifted shape. The platform they were standing on moved like a giant puzzle, separating Andreas from his team. The corridor that had been open was now a narrow path filled with laser traps and explosive launchers.

“Damn it!” Andreas snorted in frustration.

“Andreas, what do we do now?” Kane asked over the communicator.

“Hold your positions! Don’t move carelessly!” Andreas shouted through the communicator. He immediately gave orders to his companions.

Victor cursed amid the explosions. “It’s easy for you to say, but this is a deadly maze, Andreas!”

“Stay calm, stay focused,” Tania muttered, trying to remain patient.

Tania focused her mind. She ignored the gunfire rattling the floor and concentrated solely on the rapidly changing algorithm. Her fingers flew across the console. She rerouted the energy streams, disabling several laser arms one by one. But a new signal caused the screen to flash red as if issuing a warning.

“They’re reprogramming the system from the main chamber. “We have to stop the signal or we’ll all die here,” Tania warned.

“Do whatever you can!” Andreas ordered Tania through the communicator.

With time running out, every corridor was filled with deadly threats. Andreas faced a life-or-death choice: save the world or save his team. There was only one right way out.

The red lights in the control room began to flash faster. Time was almost up, and warning sirens echoed alongside the thudding sounds of the floor continuing to collapse. Andreas ran among the debris of the collapsing platforms. Every now and then, he glanced toward Tania, who was still struggling at the main console.

“Tania, how’s it going? Can you handle it?” Andreas asked, checking in with her again.

Tania gritted her teeth, her fingers moving faster than ever.

“Come on… come on… just one more number,” she muttered, her eyes fixed on the complex patterns spinning on the screen.

“Gotcha!” She pressed the final button.

The burst of blue energy faded into a dim glow. The Prometheus Device vibrated once, then shut down with a fairly loud thud.

“The codes have been cracked!” Tania shouted triumphantly, but the smile on her face quickly faded as the screen in front of her displayed incomplete data. Several lines of code were missing, leaving a huge gap in the critical information.

“No, this isn’t complete. We need more data to shut down their entire network.” Tania was somewhat disappointed after decoding it.

Andreas ran over to Tania, panting heavily. “What happened? You’ve already shut down the Prometheus Device. The world is safe, right?”

“Not yet.” Tania shook her head. Her eyes were still fixed on the screen, which kept flickering.

“For now, yes. But this only stops one part of their plan. The entire nuclear network is still connected. We need another source, the central server that stores all the control algorithms. Without it, Shadow Ares can activate the devices from other locations,” she explained at length.

Victor and Kane immediately approached, waving away the lingering smoke from the grenade still hanging in the air.

“I have two pieces of news to report. Which do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news?” Victor asked.

Andreas turned to Victor. “It’s up to you.”

“Okay. The good news is, we’re still alive. The bad news is, it looks like our fight isn’t over yet.” Victor clicked his tongue.

“I’m really curious about that friend of yours,” Kane said, changing the subject and immediately turning toward Andreas.

Before Andreas could explain, Ethan’s voice suddenly boomed through the speakers throughout the room.

“Good job, Andreas. You always manage to ruin other people’s plans. But do you know what comes after ruin? Chaos. And that chaos is mine to control.”

Andreas looked around him. His eyes narrowed warily. “I’ll find you, you bastard. I’m the one who’s going to stop you.”

Chuckling softly, Ethan continued, his voice growing colder. He tried to provoke Andreas once more.

“What do you think, Andreas? Can you find me now? Actually, I only want to invite you to join me—not out of pity, but because you know the truth about this world. You know that war is the only way to rebuild world peace.”

Andreas’s hands clenched into fists, his eyes blazing with rage he was trying to suppress.

“I’ve seen war many times, but in war, no one wins. There are only survivors. I won’t let you ignite a global war for any reason.”

“That’s not an answer,” Ethan retorted, his voice turning sharp.

“Think about my offer one more time, Andreas! Everyone has a weakness, even a hero like you. I’ll find your weakness. Or I’ll go to the people you care about and give them the same choice,” he threatened.

Andreas held his breath; his hands trembled for a moment before he regained his composure.

“I’ll stop you before you can lay a finger on them. You have only your words, while I have my resolve. We’ll see who’s stronger,” Andreas replied with unwavering determination.

The buildings around them began to collapse. Tania shut down the last screen.

“We have to leave now. This building won’t hold out much longer,” Tania warned her friends.

The team ran toward the exit, which had turned into a winding path after the security system had disabled the main corridor.

Concrete debris fell from the ceiling, and broken mechanical arms lashed through the air with a loud clang. Andreas led the way, holding the last door shut with his body while Tania, Victor, and Kane managed to slip through.

When they finally reached the cold night air, the building behind them collapsed with a deafening roar. Andreas stared at the destruction, his jaw clenched tightly.

Tania stood beside him, patting his shoulder gently. “He won’t stop. We need all the remaining data before this is truly over.”

Andreas nodded, his gaze distant. “I’ll find Ethan. We have to put an end to all this as soon as possible.”

***

The next day.

They arrived at headquarters. A base hidden beneath layers of old concrete and reinforced steel—a state-of-the-art bunker with walls lined with flickering monitors displaying world maps, intelligence reports, and global threat analyses. The sound of machinery and the hum of communication devices filled the air. The atmosphere there remained the same, tense.

In the center of the room, Andreas stood with his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on a large screen displaying the Shadow Ares logo and a blurry photo of Ethan Cross.

Tania sat at the console with a furrowed brow, her fingers typing rapidly but with frustration.

Victor leaned his large, muscular frame against the table in the corner. Meanwhile, Kane crouched, inspecting his weapon without really paying attention to his teammates.

“So, is this all we got from this mission?” Victor broke the silence first, his tone full of disappointment.

He pointed at the data displayed on the screen, snippets of code and incomprehensible file fragments.

“We nearly died for this mission. That’s only half the map. What if we have to face the whole map next?” Victor complained, glancing at Tania.

Tania stopped what she was doing, her shoulders tensing.

“You think I don’t get your sarcasm? I did everything I could to get this data. Their security system is like a Rubik’s Cube that changes every second. I even had to temporarily shut down the Prometheus Device.”

“Temporarily, you say?” Victor interrupted sharply.

"Shadow Ares can still activate the entire network at any time. That means we haven’t stopped anything. We failed, Tania!” Victor grew even more frustrated.

“Then what do you expect from me?” Tania snapped back at Victor. “We’re working together, it’s not just me.”

Andreas raised his hand, trying to defuse the situation.

“Enough. We knew the risks from the start. This mission was just the first step. We never expected a complete victory in a single strike.”

“You mean, the first step that almost got us killed.” Victor glared at Andreas.

“All we got was an empty promise that we’d find the next lead. How much longer until Ethan unleashes the nuclear war he’s planning? How long can we keep chasing him without any clear clues?” Victor’s emotions were no longer containable.

“You should be able to handle it, Tania. You’re a systems hacker, after all.”

Tania stood up, her face flushing. “Are you blaming me for the failure of this mission?”

“Listen, Vic! I’m not asking anyone to blame me. I worked just as hard as everyone else. If you have a problem with your enemy, deal with your enemy, don’t take it out on me.”

“All of you, stop it!” Andreas snapped, his voice sharp as a whip.