The 10th Division base was unusually quiet.
The low hum of the power generators echoed through the wide steel corridors while dim lights reflected off the polished floors of the command hall. Outside the massive reinforced windows, the city stretched endlessly into the night. Smoke from distant fires drifted across the skyline, faint reminders of the battles that had already taken place.
Inside the base, the units of the 10th Division had gathered around the central holographic table.
Ten soldiers.
One unit.
Nyx leaned against a metal support beam with her arms crossed, staring at the glowing map floating in the center of the room.
"I don't like this silence," she muttered.
Mikasa sat on the edge of a nearby training platform, calmly cleaning the blade of her weapon. Her movements were slow and precise.
"Silence means time to think," she replied quietly. "Chaos will return soon enough."
Vela lounged comfortably on a chair nearby, casually eating from a bag of chips as if nothing in the world could disturb her.
"Personally," she said with a relaxed smile, "I think silence is underrated."
Rook walked past them with heavy footsteps, stretching his shoulders.
"You all act like the world is ending," he said. "If someone causes trouble again, we'll handle it."
At the center of the room stood Elias.
His arms were crossed as he studied the holographic map with a focused gaze.
"The masked man destroyed those crates before anyone could examine them," he said calmly. "That means whatever was inside was important enough to erase."
Renji paced back and forth near the weapons rack.
"Yeah, but we still don't know who he is," he said. "Or why he showed up in the first place."
Jax bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, clearly restless.
"Then we go find him," he said eagerly.
Kaelen stood beside him, shaking his head with a small smile.
"Running blindly into a city-wide manhunt isn't exactly strategy."
"You're supposed to be my friend," Jax complained.
"I am," Kaelen replied. "That's why I'm stopping you from doing something stupid."
Sloane stepped closer to the holographic table, studying the energy readings carefully.
"We shouldn't assume the masked man is working alone," she said.
Cipher sat at the nearby console, fingers moving rapidly across the keyboard as he scanned city surveillance systems.
"So far there's no confirmed sightings since Sector Six," he reported.
Nyx frowned slightly.
"That doesn't mean he's gone."
Elias nodded.
"Exactly."
The room fell quiet again as everyone watched the holographic map slowly rotate above the table.
Then suddenly—
BEEP.
Cipher's console emitted a sharp alert.
Everyone turned toward him.
Cipher leaned closer to the screen.
"That's strange."
"What is it?" Nyx asked.
Cipher expanded the holographic map.
A new signal appeared across the city grid.
Bright.
Violent.
Flashing rapidly.
But it wasn't in Sector Seven.
Cipher's eyes narrowed.
"…That's not where we were monitoring."
Elias stepped closer.
"Location?"
Cipher highlighted the coordinates.
"Sector Two."
Renji frowned.
"That's on the opposite side of the border"
Cipher nodded slowly.
"And whatever just happened there… it's big."
Energy readings spiked across the display.
Several surveillance systems blinked offline instantly.
Nyx straightened.
"That's not another crate shipment."
"No," Cipher said quietly.
"It's something much bigger."
Suddenly the drone feed glitched.
Static filled the command screen.
For a few seconds, nothing appeared except distortion.
Then the image cleared.
A street appeared on the screen.
Buildings were collapsed.
Pavement cracked open.
Flames burned across the road.
But the fire wasn't normal.
The flames were black.
They moved slowly like living shadows, swallowing the light around them.
Then the drone camera shifted slightly.
A figure stood in the middle of the destruction.
Tall.
Motionless.
A skull-shaped mask stared directly toward the drone.
Black flames flickered slowly from his hands.
Then the signal died.
The screen went dark.
Silence filled the room.
Jax broke it first.
"…Well that answers that."
Rook let out a low whistle.
"That's our guy."
Nyx's grip tightened around the handle of her blade.
"The masked man, oh I can't wait "
Sloane looked back at Cipher.
"How strong were those energy readings?"
Cipher typed quickly.
"Stronger than Sector Six."
Kaelen crossed his arms.
"that means his evo must have increased ."
Renji nodded.
"That was a statement."
Before anyone could respond, the central command system activated.
A loud transmission echoed through the base.
PRIORITY ALERT – CITY DEFENSE COMMAND
A voice filled the command hall.
"Attention all divisions. Emergency deployment confirmed in Sector Two."
Cipher opened the full message.
Nyx read the report.
"First Division has already mobilized."
Mikasa nodded slightly.
"Aegis Prime."
Renji leaned forward.
"So they're involved too"
Cipher continued reading.
"Second Division is deploying as well."
Rook grinned.
"So they're sending everyone."
Jax stretched his shoulders.
"Finally."
Sloane began preparing her gear.
"Three divisions responding to one incident."
Kaelen looked toward Elias.
"That masked man just escalated things."
Elias stared at the last frozen drone frame.
The skull mask.
The black flames.
The destruction around him.
This wasn't random.
This was deliberate.
He turned toward his squad.
"But why turn against your kind "
Elias thought to himself
"Prepare the transport."
Nyx grabbed her blade immediately.
"About time."
Jax grinned.
"Now this is a mission."
Vela calmly stood up and tossed the empty chip bag into the trash.
"Well," she said casually, "looks like the entire city is about to wake up."
Renji cracked his neck.
"First Division. Second Division. And us
Wait 1,2 and 10 ."
Rook picked up his weapon.
"well looks like God answered your prayers "
Sloane finished loading her equipment.
"One battlefield."
Cipher uploaded the coordinates to the transport system.
"Sector Two route confirmed."
Elias walked toward the exit of the command hall.
He paused briefly and looked back at his team.
Ten soldiers.
One unit.
"The masked man made his move."
His voice was calm but firm.
"Now we make ours."
Behind them, the holographic map zoomed in on Sector Two, where the last drone image showed the faint image of the skull-masked figure standing in the middle of a burning street.
Black flames slowly rose into the night sky.
Across the city, alarms began to echo.
Three divisions were preparing for battle.
And the war was only just beginning.