The fire crackled low, casting long shadows across the faces gathered around it. The night air was cold, but the flames kept the chill at bay. Absolute 2 Eva—Nora, soon—sat cross-legged, her hands resting on her knees, her eyes reflecting the orange light.
Eva sat beside her. Wolfen was across from them, his golden eyes half-closed, his body finally healed. Zoey leaned against him, still tired, still processing everything. Derek, Leo, Jordan, and Maya completed the circle. Lena sat apart with Selene, who still wasn't speaking, her gaze fixed on the darkness beyond the fire.
The survivors—around a hundred and thirteen of them—sat far from the group, huddled together, their voices low murmurs against the night.
Maya broke the silence. "Who do you think is the strongest among us?"
Absolute 2 Eva didn't hesitate. "I am."
Eva sighed. "Not including you. We know you're the strongest. But who's the strongest among us?"
"Sasha is," Absolute 2 Eva said.
Maya shook her head. "Not including her either."
"I am," Absolute 2 Eva said.
Wolfen's voice was flat. "We just told you. Not including you. Not including Sasha. Not including Selene."
Absolute 2 Eva looked at him. Then her hand shot up and pointed at Eva. "I mean her."
Before anyone could respond, her hand moved to her own forehead. "But we need different names. This is going to get confusing."
Eva opened her mouth. "I can change mine—"
"No." Absolute 2 Eva's voice was firm. "You're not changing yours. I need to let go of all this. I need to become someone different. I'm changing my name."
Sasha, who had been silent, spoke up. "What about Nora?"
Absolute 2 Eva's lips curved. Just a little. "Yeah. That's a pretty name."
Eva frowned. "Shouldn't I change mine? I'm the clone."
"No." Nora looked at her. "Eva suits you better than it ever suited me."
Eva was quiet for a moment. Then she nodded. "Okay. I guess."
"Now." Nora's voice returned to its usual flatness. "About who's strongest among you—Eva is the strongest. Even in her base form, she's a multi-continent level threat. Second is Maya." She looked at Maya. "You're probably the strongest Omega in your base form. Continent level. Transformed, you're also multi-continent level."
Her gaze moved to Wolfen. "Third is Welfric. Same as Maya. Continent level."
She looked at Leo. "Fourth is you. Continent level when using your different lightning."
Her eyes moved to Derek and Jordan. "And the two of you are the same as Leo."
The fire popped. The shadows danced.
Then they heard it.
A low hum, growing louder. Lights appeared in the sky—drones, dozens of them, flying in formation over their heads. They moved toward the ruined area, their spotlights scanning the wreckage.
Everyone tensed. Hands reached for weapons. Bodies shifted into combat stances.
Except for Nora. She sat still, her expression calm. Sasha didn't move either. Wolfen leaned back, looking almost bored.
"What are those?" Leo asked.
Sasha's voice was calm. "The Planetary Restoration Unit. A specialized branch of the Architect Restoration Corps. They're responsible for repairing land and environments after catastrophic events."
As she spoke, a massive shape passed overhead—a dragon, its silhouette blocking out the stars. Water and nutrients fell from its back like rain, seeding the destroyed land below. The dragon's wings caught the firelight, ancient and magnificent.
"Among the PRU exists a special emergency division," Sasha continued. "Unofficially nicknamed the Anomaly Protocol. It's activated whenever Wolfen engages in large-scale combat because of the extreme level of destruction his battles cause. Their teams specialize in repairing massive craters, restoring shattered landscapes, extinguishing supernatural flames, stabilizing Pulse disturbances, and rebuilding entire regions that have been devastated during his fights."
Wolfen looked up at the dragon. "Oh hey," he said. "I know that guy."
"We rode that thing," Leo confirmed.
"Big lizard," Derek added.
Nora's face twisted. "Paperwork," she muttered. "So much paperwork."
Eva blinked. "Paperwork?"
Nora's voice was tight. "Every time Welfric fights, it's a nightmare. The amount of paperwork I had to do—" She rubbed her face. "It never ended."
Wolfen raised an eyebrow. "Why did you do the paperwork? Couldn't you just tell someone else to do it?"
"No." Nora's voice was sharp. "I couldn't. The Superiors have hundreds of labs to look after. Each one has their own responsibilities. And you—" She pointed at Wolfen. "You kept killing them. All of them. Every time someone came in with a report about 'the Anomaly has killed all the Superiors,' or 'the Anomaly has destroyed the labs,'—it was always you."
She took a breath.
"The Primes have their own problems. Smaller-scale Kaiju to control. Hybrids to maintain order over. Every weak hybrid is classified as a country-level threat. The strong ones are multi-country level threats. The paperwork from them was nothing compared to you." She pointed at Wolfen again. "And the Absolute Architects have to maintain the Planetary environment. Because of the mess Absolute 4 made."
She pointed up.
"That dragon. Absolute 5 made it. Because Absolute 4 kept creating things that needed to be cleaned up. It flies over destroyed areas and seeds water and nutrients from its back into the ground. Restoring the ecosystem."
The dragon passed overhead again, its massive form catching the firelight, its wings casting shadows across the camp. The drones followed in its wake, their lights flickering like distant stars.
Nora's hands were on her face, her shoulders slumping. The memory of paperwork was still fresh, still painful.
Sasha's lips twitched. Just a little.
Nora lowered her hands. "Sasha coming as my assistant was the best thing that happened. Because then I actually had time to wash my face."
Wolfen snorted.
The night was quiet again. The fire crackled. The dragon flew on.