Veil of Corruption

Jaden received the report two hours later.

He read it alone, seated in the breakfast lounge — a corner table away from the chatter, eyes half on his plate.

Steam rose from a still-warm meal: eggs, black toast, synth-coffee. A rare moment of routine.

He scrolled through the report casually at first, barely tracking the words between slow bites.

Then he stopped eating.

His gaze froze on a single line.

He didn't move, didn't blink. The fork in his hand hovered, forgotten.

After a pause, he muttered to himself — barely louder than breath:

"Interesting."

And just like that, his appetite was gone.

...

Malo was sitting in the corner of the white room, his back facing the wall.

He wasn't really leaning on it. The wall was too smooth, and pressing against it only made things more uncomfortable.

Then the speaker crackled to life.

"Kid, your instructor has been chosen. He'll arrive quite soon."

The routine wasn't the instructor's decision. It was Jaden's.

Everything had been planned by him — the schedule, the order, the timing.

Even though it might seem insensitive to throw a traumatized kid straight into training right after a psych evaluation, it was Jaden's decision.

He wanted the kid to grow faster — to protect himself. From his own power, and from the higher authorities in the system.

The higher-ups in the military were brutal. Cold. They didn't care about recovery. They cared about results.

And the ones who couldn't keep up?

Their fate is better left unsaid.

Malo's understanding of the world was over a decade behind. That had to change. Immediately.

........

Footsteps echoed in the corridor leading to Storage Unit-731.A man in a black suit walked without any attempt to mask his presence, each step steady, deliberate. His hazy grey eyes held no warmth, and he moved with the casual grace of someone who never needed permission.

He stopped in front of the sealed door, looking up at a barely-visible camera tucked into the ceiling. Then, he smiled — too wide to be comfortable.

Jaden frowned from his station.'Did I make a mistake…?'

The man simply stood there, patient as a shadow. Waiting.

With some reluctance, Jaden pressed the panel to open the door.

The man tilted his fedora slightly — a nod, or something resembling one. A silent gesture toward Jaden.

Jaden blinked at the screen, confused.'Wha… a charlatan.'

The reinforced door slid open with a mechanical sigh. The man stepped into the stark white room, and the door sealed behind him like the closing of a vault.

Malo was sitting in the far corner. He looked at the newcomer — not startled, but watching with quiet curiosity.

The man spoke first, his voice smooth and clear.

"I'm Seth. Your instructor."

Before Malo could answer, Seth added, as if amused by the silence:

"Charming… Your room, that is."

Malo didn't reply, but the expression on his face twisted slightly — something between doubt and disbelief.

Back in his cabin, Jaden was already facepalming.

'Why did I think he was the best choice?'

But Seth was the best choice.

A master of his brutal craft, Seth Aurelius was a man very few could stand against. He was the best of the best. But that wasn't why Jaden chose him.

The real reason?

Because Seth was like Malo.

Both were meant to be turned into living weapons. Both were anomalies sharpened into tools. Seth, unlike most, had survived — and not just survived, but thrived.

Now he worked with the very people who once despised him. And worse — they had no choice but to comply.

Seth's survival tactics had helped millions of Sundered live through the howling wilderness beyond the Fracture. There were fractures that expelled not just creatures…

…but entire worlds.

Seth continued to scan the room, eyes drifting along the sterile walls as if expecting something to jump out of them.Malo watched him with a furrowed brow, confused — unsure whether this man was inspecting the room or sizing up prey.

In Station 8A, Jaden leaned forward, his expression now serious, watching the feed intently.

Finally, Seth turned toward Malo. His hazy grey eyes locked onto the boy, and a smile — just a little too wide, just a little too sharp — crept across his face.

"So," he asked, voice light but chilling, "what are your powers?"

Malo replied quickly, not missing a beat."I thought you were supposed to help me figure that out. Aren't you the instructor?"

Hearing that through the hidden surveillance system, Jaden's expression remained unchanged; he had already learned about it from Malo's psychological evaluation. Malo's personality kept shifting and distorting. This wasn't new—there had been similar cases before. The real issue was that this was just one of many problems Malo faced.

Inside Unit-731, Seth's smile twitched, but he didn't break character."Alright," he said, voice still unnervingly casual. "I've read your files, Mr. Jorin."

He stretched his shoulders, adjusting the fit of his gloves.

"Let's begin. You try to defend yourself. I attack. Simple, isn't it?"

In 8A, Jaden nearly fell out of his chair."This dude is insane! Oh god, no... I definitely made a mistake choosing him."

But it was too late now.Malo was already inside the cage… with a lunatic.

Before Malo could speak again, Seth lunged.

A fist came flying straight toward Malo's face. Pure instinct took over — Malo ducked.But he didn't have time to celebrate. Seth twisted mid-motion, rotating his body with flawless precision, and drove a roundhouse kick into Malo's gut.

The air fled Malo's lungs. He hit the ground, coughing.

"Ah, there it is," Seth said with mock revelation, stepping forward. "Your grand ability — ducking."

Before Malo could recover, Seth was on him again.

In one motion, he grabbed Malo by the hair and yanked his head up. His hand pressed against Malo's skull, fingers tight.Then — the surge.

Aether poured from Seth into Malo.

Malo screamed.

The sound ripped through the white room, echoing through the surveillance system. The speakers in Station 8A came alive with the sound of raw agony.

Aether — the volatile essence that powered the Sundered — could perform miracles. It could heal wounds, bend physics, create storms. But to the mundane?

It was poison.

Unfiltered, force-fed into an unawakened body, it corrupted. Warped.Twisted flesh and soul alike.

Malo's veins lit up beneath his skin, pulsing with unnatural energy. His body began to contort, mutate — bones shifting, skin rippling, teeth pushing forward—

If it continued, he would no longer be human. He'd become one of them.

A Chaos Monster.

Alarms blared in Station 8A.

Jaden was already moving, slamming his hand against the emergency panel, activating the containment protocol.

"Defense systems — now! Neutralize Seth! And—dammit—Malo!"

In Unit-731, the white walls began to hum, lines of defense sigils lighting up.

But was it already too late?