Chapter 220: Oakhaven Ruins

The Ruins of Oakhaven were two hundred miles south of the fortress.

Maeve had plotted the route using the coordinates from Vespera’s journal, cross-referencing them with old military survey maps and satellite images. The journey would take three hours by jet to the southern border, followed by a six-mile hike through dense forest before they reached the ruins.

Holden made the trip in silence. Cora and Sera sat in the rear compartment with their gear stowed beside them. Neither Twin spoke. The three of them remained in the humming cabin, watching the landscape change beneath the jet as the green mountains of the north gave way to flat, grey plains, then finally to a thick stretch of ancient forest that seemed to run all the way to the horizon.

The jet landed in a stripped clearing twelve miles from the city. The last road leading to Oakhaven had been washed out years ago, leaving the rest of the journey to be completed on foot.

The forest was ancient. Massive trees blocked out most of the sky, their branches twisting together into a thick canopy. Decades of fallen leaves had softened the ground, and every step sank slightly into the damp earth. The air smelled of wet soil and rotting wood, but there was something else beneath it.

Poison.

Holden’s 10,000x processor identified the scent almost immediately. The concentration was low, barely above the natural background, but it had spread through the soil and air for years. Whatever had caused it had been in one place long enough for the poison to settle into the forest itself.

Lord Vandiba.

Rank 4, 1-Star. Poison and shadow specialist. The weakest of the Eclipse Syndicate’s known operatives, but still far beyond Holden’s current level. He had been hiding here for years, long enough for the land around him to carry his presence.

The three moved through the forest without making a sound. The Void Mantle wrapped around them, bending light and erasing their presence as they slipped between the trees.

Then the city appeared.

Oakhaven looked like a ghost rising from the forest.

It had once been a prosperous border city, a major trading hub built where three roads met. The streets had been wide and paved, while tall buildings had filled the skyline.

Oakhaven had been abandoned forty years ago. No one lived here anymore, and almost no one came here. The forest had reclaimed nearly everything. Trees grew through the streets, their roots splitting the pavement apart. Vines covered the buildings, pulling stones loose one piece at a time. Roofs had collapsed, walls had fallen, and the towers that once defined the skyline stood as skeletal frames wrapped in green.

Rain slipped through the broken canopy in thin, steady streams. The entire city was wet, green, and dead.

At the center, in what had once been the main square, someone was waiting.

Holden spotted him from six blocks away.

Lord Vandiba.

He looked nothing like the monster Holden had imagined. The man was thin, old, and strangely elegant. A simple wooden chair had been dragged into the middle of the square, looking completely out of place among the ruins. Vandiba sat on it with his hands resting calmly on his knees.

He wore a dark formal suit, complete with a cravat and pocket square. His long hair was combed back and tied with a silver clasp. His face was narrow, and although he might have been handsome in his younger years, decades of poison use had changed him. His skin carried a faint grey-green tint that was visible even from a distance.

His energy was almost completely silent.

Not weak. Suppressed.

It felt like something powerful being held behind a locked door, waiting for the moment it was allowed to break free.

Rank 4, 1-Star.

The weakest of the Eclipse Syndicate’s known operatives was still far too strong for Holden to fight directly.

Holden pulled back from the rooftop and crouched behind a collapsed wall. Cora and Sera joined him a moment later.

"This is a Rank 4 target," he said quietly. "We don’t fight him head-on. One mistake could get us killed."

The Twins remained focused.

"We win with the city, not our strength. These buildings have been falling apart for decades. We use the damage against him."

Holden opened his System Inventory and pulled out three small discs. Each one was about the size of a hockey puck, with a red indicator light on top and runic markings around the edge.

"Aether-traps," he explained. "Military-grade charges. Each one carries enough force to hurt a Rank 4, but not enough to kill one. That’s not what we’re using them for."

He handed one to Cora and another to Sera before keeping the third.

"The goal is to bring the buildings down on him."

Holden looked toward the northern side of the square.

"Cora, you take buildings one through four. I’ll send the exact placement points to your comm."

His gaze shifted to Sera.

"You take buildings five through eight on the east side. Same thing. Plant them exactly where I mark."

He lifted the final trap.

"I’ll handle nine through twelve on the south side. The west side stays open. That’s his escape route."

Sera frowned slightly. "You’re letting him escape?"

"Not exactly. We want him to think he can."

Holden pointed toward the western streets.

"If we trap him completely, he’ll know something is wrong. A cornered Rank 4 is dangerous. Give him one direction that looks safe, and he’ll take it when he needs to move."

Cora studied the square. "And the bait?"

"Both of you."

The Twins exchanged a quick glance.

"Vandiba knows Vespera’s aura," Holden continued. "He’ll recognize her training in you. Your techniques, your energy patterns. If you release your energy deliberately, he’ll know Vespera’s disciples are here."

"And he’ll come looking for us," Sera said.

"Exactly. He’ll want to see you for himself. He’ll probably talk before he attacks. That’s when I finish setting the traps."

Cora nodded. "And after that?"

"You retreat. He follows. Once he steps into the kill zone, I bring the buildings down."

Cora’s expression remained calm, but she still asked, "And if the traps aren’t enough?"

"Then I improvise."

She stared at him for a moment.

"That’s not exactly reassuring, Master Voss."

"It wasn’t supposed to be."

Sera gave a small nod. "Understood."

"Move," Holden said. "You have thirty minutes to reach your positions. Radio silence until I break it."

The Twins vanished into the ruins, two invisible shapes carrying explosives and the energy signature of the woman who had raised them.

Holden activated the Void Mantle and stepped into the nearest shadow.

Shhp.

He appeared on the next rooftop, landing on a crumbling concrete slab covered in moss. From there, the square opened beneath him. Vandiba was still sitting in his chair, completely unaware of the movement around him.

Shhp.

Another shadow. Another rooftop.

Holden moved through the ruins while his processor mapped the surrounding buildings. Decades of neglect had turned Oakhaven into a perfect trap. Rust had eaten through support beams, moisture had weakened the foundations, and tree roots had cracked the walls from within.

The first building had a steel support beam that was barely half its original thickness. One charge at the base would be enough to bring the structure down.

The second had a foundation split by thick tree roots. A charge placed inside the crack would break the weakened stone and send the wall collapsing into the street.

The third was even simpler. Most of its roof had already fallen. One remaining support column was carrying the weight of the entire structure.

Holden moved from building to building, planting the Aether-traps exactly where the processor marked them.

Shhp. Shhp. Shhp.

Shadow to shadow, building to building.

Twenty minutes passed.

All twelve charges were in place. The north, east, and south sides of the square had been rigged, each structure prepared to collapse in a controlled chain. The west remained open.

Holden crouched on the rooftop of building twelve, the tallest structure on the southern side.

The square lay fifty feet below.

Lord Vandiba was still sitting in the middle of it.

Holden checked the comm link. Cora had reached building one. Sera was in position at building five. Both were hidden and waiting.

He broke radio silence.

"Now."

The Twins released their energy.

A controlled pulse spread from each position, shaped by Vespera’s training. Her techniques were woven into the energy signature, making it unmistakable to anyone who knew her well.

Vandiba felt it.

His hands lifted from his knees. His head turned toward the north, where Cora’s energy was strongest.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Well..."

His voice carried through the empty square.

Then he stood.

"Well, well, well."

The old cultivator looked around the ruined buildings.

"Vespera’s little orphans," he called. "Still hiding after all these years?"

His tone was smooth, almost playful.

"Come out, little mice. Let me see what she left behind."

His senses spread through the ruins, searching for the source of the energy. He could feel them now. The Twins carried Vespera’s techniques in every movement, her influence stamped into their cultivation like a maker’s mark.

"Come out," Vandiba said again. "Let me finish what the Abyss started."

Five stories above him, Holden remained completely invisible beneath the Void Mantle.

Vandiba’s senses passed over the rooftop without detecting anything.

The processor tracked everything. The Twins. Vandiba. All twelve Aether-traps.

The old cultivator was four feet from the nearest charge, ten feet from another, and fifteen from the third.

Not enough.

Vandiba needed to move farther north, toward the four buildings Holden had prepared for the first collapse. If he triggered the traps too early, the debris would spread too wide, giving a Rank 4 enough time to escape.

Cora released another pulse.

Stronger this time.

The energy struck across the square like a silent challenge.

Vandiba’s smile widened.

"There you are."

He started walking north.

There was no fear in his movements. To him, this was a hunt, and he was certain he was the hunter.

Holden watched him cross the square.

Vandiba reached the kill zone.

Holden’s hand moved toward the detonator, but he didn’t press it. The processor had already calculated the collapse timing. Once triggered, the buildings would take roughly 2.3 seconds to fully fall.

Vandiba could clear the danger zone in about 1.8 seconds.

That left half a second.

The timing was possible, but only if Vandiba didn’t react immediately. Holden needed the man’s attention somewhere else.

"Master Voss."

Cora’s voice came through the earpiece, quiet but tense.

"He’s ten meters from building one. We’re ready."

"Good. Wait for my signal."

Holden watched Vandiba continue forward.

"When I say now, step out. Both of you. Make eye contact and keep his attention on you. Don’t give him a reason to look up."

"Understood," Cora replied.

"Understood," Sera echoed.

Vandiba crossed the final few meters.

Then he stopped.

He stood in the center of the kill zone, surrounded by weakened buildings and hidden charges.

His eyes settled on building one.

"I can smell you," he said softly. "You smell like her. Vespera’s training. Her techniques."

His voice became colder.

"Her failures."

One hand rose.

Darkness gathered around his palm, thick and heavy, moving like liquid smoke between his fingers.

"Come out, little mice."

The smile returned.

"Let me finish what the Abyss started."

Holden checked the formation one final time.

The traps were ready. The Twins were outside the blast radius. Vandiba was exactly where he needed him.

Now he only needed the man’s attention.

"Now."

Cora and Sera stepped out from behind the ruins.

They appeared on the north side of the square, directly in front of building one.

Vandiba’s head snapped toward them.

His thin lips curled into a smile.

"There you are."

His eyes locked onto the Twins. The darkness around his hand thickened as he prepared to strike.

He wasn’t looking at the buildings anymore.

He was looking at them.

Holden pressed the detonator.