The scorched air still shimmered with residual energy from the countermeasure as Arvis crumpled to the ground. Rez staggered back, clutching his ribs where the pirate's blade had sliced deep. Blood soaked his tunic, and each breath came with a jagged edge of pain. But the threat was ended—Arvis, the butcher of Cloud Pass, lay lifeless in a heap of steel and blood.

  Rez dropped to one knee, his sword clattering beside him. Lyra rushed to his side, her eyes wide with panic as she checked his wounds.

  "You're bleeding badly," she said, tearing fabric from her sleeve to press against his side. "We need to get you out of here."

  He shook his head. "Not yet. The cannon... we have to make sure it's fully disabled."

  Eren, bruised but alive, joined them. "The core's fried. There's no saving it now. Pirates will be lucky if the thing doesn't vaporize half the mountain when it implodes."

  Rez allowed himself a breath of relief, then groaned as the pain surged through him. He knew he had pushed too hard, but there was no room for hesitation. If he had faltered against Arvis, the resistance would have crumbled.

  Outside the tower, the battlefield shifted. Word of Arvis’ death spread like wildfire through pirate ranks. Their disciplined formations broke apart, panic seizing them. Some dropped their weapons and fled. Others fought more ferociously, either out of desperation or denial.

  Kael led a final charge through the central chokepoint, breaking the enemy line wide open. The miners followed him, hollering with raw fury, picking off fleeing pirates and securing abandoned bunkers. The tide had turned.

  From an elevated ridge, Mira watched through a spyglass, her body aching, her side still bound tightly from the previous attack. She caught sight of the burning wreckage near The Iron Tempest’s mooring and knew Rez had succeeded. Her voice rang out to the resistance forces below.

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  "Push forward! Take the ridge! No quarter!"

  As the resistance surged, a new silhouette appeared above the wreckage. The Iron Tempest, battered but not beaten, began lifting off from its moorings. Steam vented from its engines, and fire flickered along its wings. At its helm, through a brass-framed window, stood Captain Foundry, eyes smoldering with rage.

  He watched the chaos unfold below—his fleet burning, his forces routed, and his second-in-command lying dead. The glint of fury in his expression was unmistakable.

  “Curse them all...” he growled. “But this isn’t over.”

  He turned to his helmsman. “Get us out of here. Set course for the Blackspire Fortress. Prepare every remaining Etherium reserve. If they want a war... we’ll give them one.”

  The Iron Tempest roared to life, rising slowly into the smoke-filled sky. Its hull was scorched, panels missing, but it still held the terrifying presence of a predator retreating only to strike again. Resistance fighters aimed their weapons skyward, but it was too late—the vessel vanished into the clouds, leaving only thunder in its wake.

  Back on the ground, the remaining pirates surrendered. Others attempted to flee, only to be rounded up by the resistance or cut down by the relentless miners. The air hung thick with soot and victory.

  Rez, helped by Lyra and Eren, was brought back to the command ridge. Mira met them with an incredulous smile and eyes full of unspoken pride. She looked at Rez—bloodied, pale, and still standing—and nodded.

  “You did it.”

  Rez managed a half-smile. “Not alone.”

  He collapsed into a chair, the medics swarming him instantly.

  That night, fires burned not as beacons of destruction, but of survival. The resistance lit pyres for the fallen, honoring their dead with silence and stories. Songs of old rebellion were sung by firelight, joined by the voices of those who had lived through the unthinkable.

  Lyra sat with the wounded, using her magic to soothe the pain where she could. Eren kept to himself, cleaning his rifle in silence. Kael helped build the barricades anew—less as fortifications, more as markers of reclaimed ground.

  Rez lay under the stars, painkillers dulling his senses, but his thoughts remained sharp. Arvis was gone. Cloud Pass was theirs. But Captain Foundry still lived—and now, with The Iron Tempest retreating to the ominous Blackspire Fortress, Rez knew the fight was far from over, but couldn't help close his eyes in exhaustion.