---
Chapter 21: Ashes and Allegiance
Smoke still curled into the dawn sky as the ruins of Ember's underground facility smoldered beneath layers of scorched concrete and twisted steel. Fire crews had arrived too late—the flames had done their work, erasing not just evidence but lives. Twenty-seven confirmed dead. Countless more unaccounted for. The explosion that brought the facility down was no accident. It was Dante's message: I'm back, and I'm not playing by your rules.
Dante stood atop a crumbled overpass, coat flapping in the wind, eyes scanning the smoke-choked skyline. Below, emergency vehicles buzzed like bees around a disturbed hive, but their efforts were meaningless now. Whatever secrets had lain beneath the city were gone—except for the ones still buried in his head.
Aria st
