Were the sun still in the sky, it would have been swallowed by the approaching waves.
The wall surrounding Bastion reached into the ash-choked sky, as if it could hold back the end. Huddled in their huts and tents beneath the iron curtain, the remnants of humanity awaited the coming of The Fall. The prophesized end, heralded by the shouts of street-corner doomsayers and those who still clung to the old age of religion, crawled out of the darkness of the storm wall that swallowed the horizon. Fully unveiled, the many-legged horrors hissed and sneered as they crossed the threshold. Their grotesque insectoid forms, armored and bloated, amassed in the distance as they ran over the first row of long-abandoned trenches.
The few who remained at their stations fired on the approaching insects. Lightning-tipped quarrels cracked the air, branching on impact with the sound of thunder. The insects halted as waves of electricity washed over them, stunning the weaker ones, but only for moments before they pressed on.
Maximilian watched the scene from his station at the top of the wall, the window next to him displaying rapidly increasing numbers.
[Hostiles detected: 1053, 1072, 1125…]
His grip tensed as the numbers climbed, the leather bands on his sword cracked and frayed with age. Gustav, recently promoted to captain class, paced at his side, surrounded by three smaller windows. Rows of icons lined the bottom of each, most blacked out and covered by ticking timers. His eyes darted from screen to screen, occasionally landing on Maximilian, still locked in his own inspection. If he didn’t know better, Gustav would’ve thought the old man caught in a panic-fueled trance as he watched the numbers rise. Not Maximilian, though. An earlier inspection revealed no active morale buffs, no fear immunity status effects nor anything similar. It was just him, the high commander of Bastion’s forces, staring down the coming of the end which he was promised decades ago.
“The cooldown is off,” Gustav said. “We can deploy the next shield wall now, sir.”
Maximilian’s lone eye turned to meet him. “Initiate tactical view, captain.”
“Yes, sir!”
Gustav reached for a pouch on his military belt and pulled out a black orb. Its obsidian surface glowed purple to the touch, energy pooling around his fingertips. Tactical grid orb. One of the perks of the class. He stepped to the edge and raised the orb to the sky.
“Release!”
A pulse of purple energy erupted from the orb, expanding in all directions. As it passed, it cast rows of glowing purple squares across the battlefield, visible only to those nearby. The hex grid itself was harmless, ethereal, dut the data it offered could level armies.
[System message: Tactical View level 3 activated]
Duration: 180 seconds
Cooldown: 300 seconds
Maximilian watched in silence as the squares changed color. Enemy-occupied tiles turned bright red, while those holding allied units glowed neon green. The rest remained purple...for now. He ran a hand through his unshaved grey beard, his eye jumping from one purple row to the next, calculating. To Gustav, this made him look like an ancient wiseman, a Prometheus plotting to steal the fire from the gods.
“Over there.” Maximilian pointed to a mid-row square. “Just above the third trench.”
Gustav nodded and tapped a box on one of his screens. The row turned bright blue.
[Force Shield: pending]
Twenty rows beyond, the insect wave crossed another trench, forcing the remaining soldiers to retreat toward the city. The five of them ran, heavy crossbows in hand, racing for the safety of the next trench behind the blue row. Gustav’s jaw tensed as one of them tumbled, crashing headfirst into the mud. As he fell, he let loose a bolt that struck a comrade in the back, disintegrating him in a flash of lightning. A mantis-like bug lunged forward, landing on the downed soldier. It tore through his chain armor with scythe-like limbs, sending rings and flesh flying. Gustav forced himself not to look away, maintaining focus on the pending skill. Once the last men cleared the row, Maximilian nodded, and Gustav released his hold. The squares blinked rapidly, colors shifting between white and blue. A moment later, a massive translucent wall rose from the ground, vanishing into the clouds above.
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[System message: Force Shield level 4 activated]
Deployment type: Wall
Durability: 50,000 HP
Duration: 1 hour
Cooldown: 4 hours
“That should buy us time,” Gustav said, watching a small group sprint toward the force wall, blue orbs at their shoulders. Engineers. A versatile class, rarely deployed in direct combat because of how few remained. Now they were thrown forward like disposable assets, tasked with reinforcing the wall. He brought one of them up on a side screen, for no other reason than to know the name of the soul thrown into the grinder.
Name: Ygor Stefanovich
Class: Engineer, level 5
Strength: 6, Dexterity: 5, Vitality: 5, Intelligence: 12
Active skills:
For mankind! (Morale buff +10)
Structural repair lvl 5 (Restore 100 durability/second, 30 seconds) / status – pending
The picture next to the wall of text showed a Slavic man in his forties, with a thick black mustache and a lazy left eye. More pictures lined up under it, small and difficult to make out without zooming in. A group of people in lab coats. A younger Ygor, with who Gustav assumed were his parents. And a photo of a child sitting on top of a pink pony, sucking on a thumb. The pictures disappeared as Gustav zoomed in on the text to the side. It was useless data, but easier to look at. Still, he skimmed through them, looking away from the wall.
Maximilian watched him through the screen’s reflection, a minor upgrade he’d ordered, just to keep an eye on his back. The young captain paced again, scrolling blindly through the interface. He didn’t judge, knowing what moments like this did to a man.
‘’Let him rest a while longer.’’
The world froze. Engineers stood dead in their tracks. The letters on Gustav’s screen blurred mid-scroll, unreadable. Even the bugs, hissing and clawing at the blue wall, were frozen in place. Only Maximilian and the man in the black blazer and red tie remained in motion.
“As you wish,” the man said, waving his black-gloved hand through the air. The screens flickered, distorted, then snapped back into place. ‘’Honestly, Maximilian, how many times do we need to do this?’’
“As many as it takes, Witness.” Maximilian turned and stepped toward the smiling figure, gaze locked. Clad in plate armor, the commander looked like he could crush the suited man with his bare hands. “The wall will hold. It always does.”
“Against The Fall?” The Witness scoffed. “You’ve grown delusional in your old age.”
“Perhaps,” Maximilian said. “Though I would say hopeful is a better term.”
“That is a thin line, my friend.” Something cracked in the distance, beyond the blue wall and the insect lines. Thunder from inside the storm, unfazed by the stillness around it. Neither man turned to face it. “Don’t pretend this wall protects anything.”
“A solemn wager, then,” Maximilian offered, drawing a smirk from his companion. “Humanity will survive The Fall. If it does, you’ll see the bugs never threaten our species again.”
“It doesn’t work like that, Maximilian.”
“You will ensure to the best of your abilities that the bugs no longer threaten our species.” The commander corrected himself. “If it doesn’t, I will give you what you seek.”
“Intriguing.” The Witness smiled and raised his hand, tapping Maximilian’s chest. “Though humanity is such a broad term, don’t you think? Skews the odds in your favor.”
“Bastion, then.” Maximilian slapped his hand away. “A single soul from Bastion, at least, and you will uphold your end of the bargain.”
‘’Shall we time it?’’
’'Five hours.’’
‘’You have four.’’ The Witness vanished, letting the world return to normal.
“Commander!”
Gustav turned, panic in his voice. His screen, the same one from before, blinked red.
“Something is wrong with one of the engineers!”
[File identified: Ygor Stefanovich, engineer.]
[File identified: Helen Kraut, engineer.]
[File identified: Alan Pedersen, engineer.]
[ERROR: UNIDENTIFIED FACTOR!]
Someone screamed further down the walkway, pointing toward the force wall. Maximilian’s heart sank as he saw a crimson number hovering in the center of the wall.
4.
An explosion ripped through the engineer line, cracking the blue barrier. The breach expanded, branching fast until it spread across most of the wall. Gustav checked his Force Shield skill.
[Active skill: Force Shield level 4]
Deployment type: Wall
Durability: 10 HP
Duration: 0 hours
Cooldown: 4 hours
The wall erupted in a rain of blue pixels.
The horde pressed on, flashing pincers and teeth as they gained speed. All around them, men ran to their battle stations, crossbows at the ready. On the towers, ballistas turned downward, the tips of their massive bolts cracking with energy. Screams rose from below as civilians caught sight of the chaos at the wall. Gustav looked to Maximilian, hoping for some kind of explanation. The commander didn’t flinch, but Gustav knew the old man was already figuring it out. Just like he did when the plague hit. Just like when the sky turned red the first time. Somehow, he always knew.
“Fucking gods!” Maximilian spat and unsheathed his sword. “To arms! Bolts at the ready!”
The last battle for Bastion had begun.
