"So... Max. What are you guys actually doing here?"
Max turned toward him, but Ash didn’t wait for an answer.
"I mean... Apex is well known for keeping their operations hidden. Headquarters shouldn’t have been able to track them, let alone figure out they were operating on an uncharted planet in deep space."
Max nodded.
"True... Why do you think it took us almost a year?"
Ash narrowed his eyes.
’Almost a year?’
Headquarters kept tabs on major syndicate movements. But almost a year? They wouldn’t spend that long chasing a single lead without sending someone in. That meant they must have picked up the signal around the same time Ash had disappeared from the city.
’Wait... that means...’
Ash’s eyes widened.
"Me..."
He stared at his brother.
"You were tracking me."
Max gave a simple nod.
"Yeah. You were the beacon that led us straight to this rock. Though, to be fair, headquarters did give us an official directive to investigate what Apex was up to out here."
Max paused as Ash frantically ran his hands over his arms, legs, and chest.
Max raised an eyebrow.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for the tracking chip, obviously!" Ash snapped.
Max let out a short, amused chuckle.
"Do you really think you’d find it that easily? I made sure that after the last few times, you wouldn’t be able to just pull it out."
Ash gritted his teeth. He knew Max’s obsessive habit of chipping everyone he cared about. But the habit was dangerous. Extremely dangerous. Max was Fateless, utterly removed from the strings of fate. For him to constantly drag himself into Ash’s life was a death sentence waiting to happen, and Ash refused to be the reason his brother died.
That’s why Ash always dug out whatever transmitter Max had planted on him before disappearing. In fact, Ash distinctly remembered carving out the last chip before he left Varagos. There was no way it was still attached to his skin. He would have felt it.
’Dammit... it must be deep inside.’
His jaw tightened. Even so, the sheer distance between Varagos and this planet should have made a tracking signal impossible. Yet somehow, Max had bridged the gap.
With a heavy sigh, Ash muttered.
"I thought I told you to stop doing that."
Max smiled faintly.
"Oh? And why would I stop? You have a nasty habit of vanishing the second I turn my back. Protecting you was Mom’s final request to me, Ash. I don’t plan on breaking that promise."
With another tired sigh, Ash turned his gaze back to the frozen horde beyond the gate. He was hoping for a moment of quiet, but Max shattered the silence.
"So... why did you run away this time?"
Ash looked back, frowning in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Max sighed, resting his chin on his palm.
"Well... you always have an excuse for why you leave the city. Last time, it was because you had to ’find a birthday gift’ for me. The time before that, you claimed a voice was calling your name from the woods and you just had to follow it. So, what’s the grand excuse this time?"
Ash stared at him. It had been nearly a year since he’d heard that familiar, dry sarcasm. A faint, bitter smile touched his lips.
"There is no excuse this time. And I didn’t run. I was actually kidnapped. I was out taking a peaceful morning walk, minding my own business, when an Apex squad infiltrated the perimeter, grabbed me, and threw me onto a transport bound for their off-world facility. How else do you think I ended up here?"
It was a complete lie, of course.
The reality was that Ash had meticulously planned his escape, resolving to leave Varagos for good. For weeks, he had wandered through the most lethal regions of the wilderness in Varagos. His cursed Roots made death impossible, no matter how badly he wanted it. Eventually, he deliberately wandered into a high-hazard zone, crossed paths with an Apex raiding party, and allowed himself to be captured.
He spent months doing hard labor in their camps, but he hadn’t minded. It was paradise compared to home. He was far away from the people he cared about, and his [Eye of the Storm] Root was constantly bringing catastrophic misfortune down upon Apex instead of his family.
At first, Ash had thought it was a brilliant arrangement, until he realized his curse wasn’t harming the high-ranking Apex commanders, but rather the innocent prisoners forced to labor alongside him. To protect them, he had volunteered for this off-world mining expedition. On an uncharted planet, surrounded by dangerous creatures, he was safely isolated from everyone. Even Max shouldn’t have been able to trace him here.
Well... until now.
Max gave him a flat look.
"Right. Kidnapped... and I suppose Apex was thoughtful enough to surgically remove all my tracking chips for you?"
Ash shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I mean... yeah. They were very thorough with the contraband search."
Max nodded with a smirk.
"Sure. I’ll pretend I buy that. Regardless... I’m just glad you’re safe, Ash. Everyone back home was worried sick about you."
Ash lowered his head, staring at the dust on his boots. Returning home was the last thing he wanted. Going back would mean all those months away from his family had been for nothing. This miserable, dangerous planet was perfect for him. But he couldn’t tell Max that. If Max knew the truth, he would drag Ash back to Varagos in chains if he had to.
’I just have to hold out until the reinforcements arrive...’
The thought of the rescue party made Ash look back at Max.
"So, where’s the rest of Team Vortex? And Tyrin’s here too? Don’t tell me he finally won that tournament and joined the team like he always bragged he would?"
Max gave a slow nod.
"Well... in a way. He got second place."
Ash’s eyes widened.
"Second?! Someone actually beat Tyrin? Man, a lot must’ve changed while I was gone."
Max chuckled softly.
"You have no idea. Even Evy awakened her Soul Space recently."
Ash froze. A genuine smile slowly appeared on his face. Evy was like a sister to him, one of the few people who genuinely cared for him, no matter how hard he tried to push her away to keep her safe from his curses.
"She finally did it? She’s been dreaming about awakening forever. That’s... really good news."
He turned to look at Max, but the light mood instantly evaporated. Max had gone completely silent, his fingers frozen over his holographic screen. The confident smirk was gone. Max wouldn’t even look at him.
Ash’s smile faded.
"What’s wrong...?"
Max snapped out of his thoughts, scratching the back of his head with a weak, awkward laugh.
"Err... how do I put this? Well... I left Team Vortex."
Ash narrowed his eyes.
"...What?"
He was genuinely bewildered. Max hadn’t just worked hard to join Team Vortex. He had practically bled for it. Beyond that, their father was the high-ranking leader who oversaw Varagos’s elite units. There was no universe where Vortex would kick Max out.
"Wait... hold on."
Ash stammered.
"If you left Vortex, how the hell are you out here on an official infiltration mission? What team did you transfer to?"
Max rapidly tapped his screen, avoiding direct eye contact.
"Mm... see, that’s the thing. I didn’t transfer. I formed a new team."
Creating an officially sanctioned team from scratch wasn’t something just anyone could do. You needed serious authority, powerful backing, and at least three high-tier Ascended willing to form the team.
"What’s the name of this team... and how many members do you even have?"
Max fell quiet again, a sheepish grin spreading across his face.
Ash’s frown deepened.
"Max. Answer me."
Max let out a dry laugh, rubbing his nose.
"Ah... well, it’s nothing crazy. Our team name is... Tyrants."