The blue glow of the cavern was beautiful, but to Soren, it felt like a cage. Every shadow seemed to hold a blade, and every face in his inner circle now looked like a mask of betrayal. Kael's warning echoed in his mind: The traitors are wearing an Imperial suppressant.
Mika walked through the rows of crystal-bearing Omegas, his presence causing the gems to hum with a soft, melodic frequency. He wasn't afraid. For the first time, he felt like he was standing among his own people.
"Soren," Mika whispered, stopping in front of a massive crystal spire. "If what Kael says is true, I can use the mountain's resonance to find the leak. The suppressant they use creates a 'void' in the sound. I'll be able to feel who isn't vibrating."
Soren's jaw tightened. He didn't like the idea of Mika putting himself in the center of a trap, but he knew they were running out of time. Vane's forces were closing in. "Do it. But if anyone so much as flinches toward you, I'll burn this cavern to the ground."
The Heartwarming Shield
As Mika began to channel the energy of the crystals, a low, pulsing thrum filled the air. Most of the soldiers and advisors stood in awe, but near the back, General Thorne—a man who had served Soren's father for twenty years—began to sweat profusely. He stumbled back, his hands clawing at his throat as the "void" in his suppressant flared under the crystal's light.
"Thorne?" Soren's voice was like cracking ice.
Thorne didn't even try to deny it. He pulled a concealed flare and fired it toward the cavern roof. "The Highland Mercenaries are already at the gates! You're a fool, Soren! You chose a 'toy' over an empire!"
Soren didn't even let the man finish. In a blur of motion, he was across the stone, his blade at Thorne's neck. But before he could strike, Mika stepped in, his hand glowing with a faint, blue light. "He's not the only one, Soren. Look at the shadows."
The New Threat: The Highland Mercenaries
From the darkness of the upper ledges, a group of warriors dropped down—men twice the size of normal soldiers, covered in thick fur and bearing jagged iron axes. These were the Highland Mercenaries, the most brutal killers in the North.
Their leader, a woman with a scarred face named Varga, stepped forward. She didn't bow to Soren. She looked at Mika with a hungry, predatory grin. "Vane promised us the Sovereign's head, but he didn't tell us the Omega was a Living Core. You're worth more than the throne itself, little bird."
The cavern exploded into a three-way battle: The Iron Legion, the Shattered Crown Omegas, and the Mercenaries.