Last Bastion: Reincarnated Prince of Stormwatch

"We don't stand because we're unbreakable. We stand because even broken, we refuse to kneel."

—Commander Jag, before the Goblin Syndicate Siege

Location: Choir Relay Hub Theta-9, Beneath Stormwatch – Midnight

Gutters dripped. The underground vents hissed with recycled heat.

A cloaked figure crept along the lower maintenance shaft, his greenish skin glistening beneath the thin shimmer-cloak. He held a dagger carved from sapphire bone, enchanted to silence sound.

He wasn't alone.

A dozen Goblin Syndicate infiltrators, all cloaked in stolen engineer tunics, slithered through the underworks of Stormwatch like rats with purpose. They moved without footsteps, bypassing arcane alarms with counter-choir dampeners—tools crafted to nullify tower defenses.

One whispered, "Relay Hub Theta-9. This'll give us access to five tower grids. Stormwatch won't see the next wave coming."

Another grinned, revealing rows of silver-tipped teeth.

"Humans always break. Gold speaks louder than loyalty."

They reached the inner lock.

A human engineer waited—hood up, arms folded. The infiltrators paused. Their leader approached him.

"You delivered the glyph codes?"

The man nodded. "As agreed. Payment?"

The goblin held out a gold pouch.

But something in the man's hand flickered. A blade? No—a rune sigil.

His hood fell.

"Stormwatch doesn't sell out."

The trap exploded in blinding radiance.

Flashback – 12 Hours Earlier: Jag's War Bunker

Rain slammed her hand on the map. "You want to bait internal betrayal? You think our people will go along with that?"

Jag didn't blink. "I don't think. I know."

Ashra growled, "We're walking a knife's edge. They'll think we've cracked."

Jag unrolled a parchment stamped with the Stormwatch sigil. On it: a message signed by dozens of engineers, guards, and civilians.

"We stand together," he read. "Let the enemy think we've lost faith."

"We'll never sell our own."

Scene: Relay Hub Combat Begins

The stunned goblins found themselves surrounded. Choir guards emerged from shadowed corridors, blades drawn, arc-casters glowing with hums of stored tone energy.

The first guard struck with a vertical cleave—shlak!—splitting one infiltrator's chest.

Another goblin hissed and threw a smoke bomb—BOOM—HISS—but the ventilation system reversed, sucking the mist backward.

Ashra herself led the counterforce.

Her glaive sang through the corridor like a scythe, slicing through an invisible goblin mid-lunge. His shimmer-cloak crackled as it shorted out.

"No more shadows," she muttered.

One of the goblins turned and fled—only to run directly into a Choir pylon now sync-locked to the corridor.

BLAST! A shockwave snapped his spine before his body hit the floor.

Cut to: Jag, Watching Through Choir Surveillance Glyph

He watched the fight unfold through an echo-crystal.

Rain stood beside him.

"They thought we were falling apart," she said.

"Let them," Jag answered. "That's what makes Stormwatch unbreakable."

Rain studied his face. "Was there ever a traitor?"

Jag turned to her, eyes hollow.

"No. Just heroes who let the enemy believe they were monsters."

Scene: Final Infiltrator Captured

A single goblin remained—cut, limping, pinned beneath rubble.

He spat blood at Ashra's boots. "You're fools. Humans always sell. That's how your kingdoms fell."

Ashra crouched beside him, eyes like razors.

"Stormwatch isn't a kingdom."

"It's a grave that refuses to collapse."

"And you're standing in it."

She drove the butt of her glaive into his temple.

Scene: Morning – Public Address at the Tower Square

Jag stood atop the choir steps.

Below him, the entire population of Stormwatch had gathered.

Veterans. Blacksmiths. Healers. Choir acolytes. Civilians. Children.

Each had heard the whispers.

Of betrayal.

Of sabotage.

Of spies.

Jag raised a bloodied dagger—the same one the infiltrators had brought.

"They thought they could buy us."

"They thought Stormwatch would tear itself apart."

"But we are not built from walls. We are built from will."

The crowd was silent.

He raised his voice.

"Stormwatch does not break."

"Stormwatch does not kneel."

"Stormwatch does not sell."

"And now they know… we dig the graves we sleep in."

The bells tolled once.

And the people roared.

POV – Ghrol Skullborne, Reading Report in Dusk Camp

"Operation Greentooth failed. Zero traitors confirmed. All assets lost."

Ghrol crushed the report in his fist.

"They're still human. Why haven't they cracked?"

Behind him, Morghan's voice echoed faintly.

"Because they still believe."

Ghrol sneered. "Then we break what they believe in."

Scene: Jag Alone – Choir Tower Observation Platform

Later that night, Jag sat alone on the cold stone.

One of the engineers—young, quiet—approached.

"Sir, the plan worked. The people… they believe stronger now."

Jag nodded, eyes fixed on the horizon.

"That's good."

"But now they'll expect me to be stronger too."

The boy hesitated. "You will be, sir."

Jag didn't answer.

His hands trembled slightly under the wind.

And his voice, so quiet only the wind heard, whispered:

"What happens… when I'm the last piece left unbroken?"