The cave was colder than usual.
Not because of the wind.
Not because of the moisture in the stone.
But because Kael sat alone, farther from the fire than usual, beside the twisted corpse of his once-mighty Ravager Mk III.
A silent guardian.
A loyal weapon.
A friend that had never betrayed him.
The rescue team stood by, uncertain. The others—Tyren, Oris, the girls—watched from the shadows, too familiar with this version of Kael to try and pry him open easily.
But Vireya wasn't done.
She stood at the center of the cave, her voice softer now, measured. "Kael… You have to let go of the past. You don't have to forgive me. Or them. But you can't die here with this wreckage."
Kael didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't even acknowledge her.
---
She took a step closer. "You don't owe this planet anything. You've survived. That's already more than they expected. You don't have to keep punishing yourself."
Still no response.
But his hands… they were trembling. Whether from anger or restraint, no one could tell.
---
She tried again, voice trembling now. "I know what I did. I know how I failed you. But don't make this about them. Make this about you. Take back what's yours—"
Kael stood.
Slowly.
Not with rage—but with finality.
"I said… enough."
The words weren't loud. But they echoed.
Everyone went still.
---
He turned to face her now, for the first time since the rescue team arrived.
His eyes weren't soft. They were cold and sharp like shards of cracked steel.
"You think I'm punishing myself?" Kael said, stepping forward. "No. I'm staying because this—" he pointed at Ravager, "—never left me. Never lied. Never traded loyalty for a promotion."
Vireya flinched.
Kael's voice grew colder. "I was tossed aside. You helped them do it. And now you expect me to climb aboard the same ship that discarded me?"
He laughed bitterly.
"I'd rather be buried under this mountain with my broken mech than step foot on that battleship."
---
"But Kael—"
"No!" His voice cracked the silence like thunder. "Don't say my name like you still have the right."
She backed away now.
Oris tried to step forward, but Tyren held him back. "Let him speak," he said.
Kael kept walking toward the firelight.
"You want to help me? Fine. Call them. Tell them who you're rescuing. Go ahead. Tell them it's Unit 404."
He stared directly at Vireya now. "Watch their tone change. Watch the disgust crawl back into their voices."
A pause.
"Then go ask the golden boy you betrayed me for what he got out of it. See if he even remembers your name now."
Vireya's lip trembled.
"You were used," Kael said, flatly. "You were just too busy climbing to realize you stepped on the wrong body."
---
He turned around then, walking back to Ravager's charred shell, lowering himself beside it like a knight returning to the ruins of a kingdom.
"And you want me to go back?" he muttered. "Why? So I can play nice? So I can salute the people who tried to erase me?"
He ran one hand across Ravager's chestplate, now blackened and cracked.
"No."
His voice dropped to a whisper, barely audible:
> "I'd rather rust with the only thing that didn't abandon me."
---
Vireya tried one last time. "So that's it? You just… rot here?"
Kael didn't turn.
But he did speak.
One sentence. One shot. One dagger.
> "Shiny swords don't win wars. The ones caked in dirt do."
And jus
t like that, the conversation was over.
The fire popped. No one dared move.
And the shadows of the cave grew a little longer.