Eliza. The Jara-Jins. Archius. Yuki? They were in danger. Kazuki's mind flickered through those thoughts non-stop, as he crashed into an empty train. It was evacuated, but there were still the marks of death all around. The driver was killed. Kazuki pushed them off their seat, before pressing down on the level.

The Contract… The Contract he swore! He had to get there, now!

The metro train started, speeding up with a screech as the line ran all around the exterior of the palace. He didn't know where they were. But this was the line, he had to find them - somehow. Kazuki shook his head at the thought of Kantos' death.

Dread and anxiety scratched at Kazuki's mind. The mere idea of failure came to be. What if he failed the only Contract that mattered? What if he failed Eliza? "The last words would be all for nought, wouldn't it?" Kazuki scoffed to himself. Victoria's words, her contract, her last acts would be for nought if he failed here.

Not now, not now, he thought. Kazuki stayed motionless at the helm, listening to the train speed up and leave the station.

'NEXT STATION, SECTOR FOUR - LEVEL TEN. THANK YOU FOR TRAVELLING WITH THE PALACE EXPRESS.' Kazuki's ear twitched slightly at the mention of the next station. With a small shudder and chain noise, the train reached maximum speed.

Yet something felt wrong. Kazuki turned back to the metro cabins. Was there something here with him? And just like that, Kazuki's mind dialled to a thousand. He prodded his shield up, just in time to block a fusillade of bolts.

Slamming back back against the wall, Kazuki kicked himself forward. Drones? Dozens of them! Cloaking devices washed away to reveal dozens of drones, all firing away at him. Shit! These drones must have been hiding here, waiting for any more survivors.

Vicious and cunning, Kazuki commented. Either way, he pushed forward. Bolts riddled his shield and tore strips away from his trousers and suit. Reaching for his tool belt, hidden within his suit, Kazuki primed a grenade. Lobbing it forward, a bloom of smoke filled the speeding cabin.

Cloaked under a veil of smog, Kazuki slashed away, disabling as many drones as he could. Their erratic fire turned the whole cabin into a pincushion.

Even there, none hit their mark. Kazuki dashed around, even in this confined space - cleaving through cloaked drone after drone. Dragging his hand cannon to the forefront, Kaz unleashed a volley of acid downwards, melting through a dozen drones.

Yet more came.

As the smoke cleared, a drone hammered in on Kazuki - rushing straight at him. Kazuki yanked his shield up just in time to parry the drone into the wall. An explosion tore an entire hole through the cabin as the endless void was visible outside. The tracks were forming and deforming all around the train - making for a flexible route.

But that also meant instability. Blowing up part of a cabin did not help. More drones flooded in, rushing in with blades, energy knives and plasma bolters.

Kazuki attempted to fend off the horde. They came at him with suicidal tenacity, blowing each other up upon activating and destruction. A few dived towards the control panels, delving the train dead upwards. Kazuki grabbed onto one of the poles in the cabin, fighting the whole ninety-degree change.

The drones, however, were not affected.

"Fuck!" Kazuki grunted, throwing a drone into a group of them before igniting his shield to protect himself from the others. They were getting close, much closer now! They hovered up and around, surrounding Kazuki and taking turns chipping away at his defence.

The train kept running upwards. However, Kazuki had an idea. Even within the slowly depressurising cabin, Kazuki's brain predicted the next series of events. With a plan in mind, Kazuki started to climb. He took his pistol out and hamstrung all the drones above him, throwing them down.

Debris of steel and fragmentation bought him time as they exploded. He stared upwards, seeing that the train was heading straight into one of the centrifugal lobes of the Palace! Kazuki kicked up, weaving and dodging bolt after bolt as he latched onto the control lever.

Pulling it down, Kazuki watched the train swing back downwards, narrowly avoiding slamming into the Palace itself. The drones, however, were not prepared for that sudden change in momentum. Almost all of them slammed into the ceiling and walls, exploding in a heatwave.

"Ack!" Fragmentation skimmed through Kazuki's shield and clothes. Looking back at the cabin, he was the only one left. However, redirecting the train did not exactly guarantee its safety. Kazuki turned back to the panel as the train hammered into one of the stations.

'WE-WE-WELCOME.... WELCOME...' The intercom was broken. Shit... Kazuki got out of the train, slowly. Luckily, it hadn't burnt up in a fireball, crashing safely within the station's platform. Kazuki felt his handshake, his limbs waver. He had to run. Run where?! Kazuki glanced at the Hazard shard, the transfer shard for information...

It shined in one direction. Shit. It wasn't good, faint light. It was a hope Kazuki had to latch onto. Running and bleeding across the halls and chambers of the station, Kazuki battled his way towards the signal source. Another station?! Kazuki could hear fighting, leaping down the stairs...

And his sight became blurred.

Blood gushed everywhere. Was he too late? No. He had to believe. He had to believe. Kazuki repeated the mantra. He forced it to be real.

Another crush of his exospine came with a burst of energy. It added to the debt, he was teetering on overcharging and clocking out.

He raised his railgun and pulled the trigger. Silence... The Behemoth robot ceased to exist. Silence... Its components crumpled onto the floor, leaving Kazuki standing. Blood was everywhere.

His eyes scanned to the left, Nihara. Breathing. Across the room was Václavos... Breathing. He didn't need to take a good look. He knew his men would survive. But whose blood was… this?

Kazuki took a series of calculated steps forward. His brain felt like it was going mush. He had to breathe manually. His body was shutting down... Still: silence, the sound of the galaxy's winds outside crackled with laughter at him.

Approaching the stairs, Kazuki saw Eliza! She was trapped under debris, hand out... stretched... towards him.

He froze. His mind followed. The sight felt so familiar... Kazuki holstered his railgun, feeling the fresh blood leave his body. How could he have forgotten?! Kazuki grabbed his head with one hand.

But things were different… Kazuki knew he could save her. That was what Kazuki thought, as his eyes locked on Victoria. She was trapped beneath the rubble.

Failure. No… Second chance? No… But Victoria's right there! He has his exospine… He can save her! All he must do is lift the debris up.

Blood was dripping from Kazuki's suit and clothes. Minor wounds were already clotting, whilst the major ones dripped… bled and trickled down his face and chest.

An eye glanced to Archius. Archius... What was he doing here? It doesn't matter. Archius was saying something... He wasn't at P-1... Kazuki's mind kept fracturing until not a single ounce of sense was left.

Silly Archius! He... wasn't there. Kazuki felt blood creep down his forehead, as he took steps forward, towards Victoria.

"Don't worry... Victoria," Kazuki muttered to himself. Archius stopped. He walked up to Victoria, kneeling beside her in the rubble. His ears were ringing. Was something wrong? "I'll... save you. No matter what... I don't care if I die here... as long as I..."

Victoria looked older. Her dress was different... And she was wearing glasses. His memory clicked into place. A clear solution was forming for this… inconsistency.

Who… was he talking to? Words muttered to him from across his memory. Memory? Kazuki's mind began to falter. When he closed his eyes, he saw something else… Opening them, he saw what his perfect memory had to show…

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Victoria? Kazuki glanced left and right, seeing the empty halls of a library. Dim golden rays of light entered the windows. Kazuki stood up. At a single detail, Kazuki noted the date: 4914… One year before the incident. Walking to the window, he stared out at the bright Engan countryside.

Oh yeah, he thought, this was a boarding school. That fact alone made Kazuki's dull face sour. Even as a kid, he wasn't good at emotions, let alone people. The doors swung open behind him, as a pink-haired and blue-haired duo entered.

Kazuki spoke without speaking, the memory playing by itself as Kazuki stared down at the replay, "It's late. The library's closed, you know?"

"Then why are you here then, huh?" Noah grunted, stepping forward. Victoria shuffled in front.

Victoria glared at Kazuki for a moment. "You're that foreign student, aren't you!? That uh… prince!?"

Kazuki rolled his eyes.

"Yes."

"Woah… that's cool!"

Great. Another sycophant or fool trying to earn favour. Kazuki looked away. His mind was already made on these two people.

"I mean, not as cool because I finally beat you in the last mock exam!" Victoria puffed her chest, grinning with her messy hair. Wait… huh? Kazuki glanced back, squinting to look at Victoria.

"Oh?"

"Wait… is that all you have to say?!" Victoria's eye twitched in frustration. "You're like… my rival! Right!?" Kazuki had never heard of or seen this girl before. What does she want? Kazuki stared dumbfounded like a stupid child… Well, because he was a stupid child.

"Uh… Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Kazuki tilted his head in confusion. Victoria stampeded forward and instantly placed Kazuki into a headlock. "Huh?"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Noah jumped in, trying to calm Victoria down as his head swivelled around. Did he expect guards or something? Pah… Like his parents cared about Kazuki that much…

Kazuki grunted, tapping Victoria on the arm as she was snivelling. "How dare you! I spent so long trying to beat your perfect record and you didn't even take notice?!"

"Am I supposed to?"

That only tightened the grip. "Screw you! You…. You… idiot!"

As Kazuki was being softly choked in a headlock, he thought that perhaps these people weren't… too bad. Stupid authenticity was better than artificial love or amicability, after all… Closing his eyes, Kazuki's memories flickered forward, playing a film reel.

His body and mind were transported back to that dim, dark sewer. Archius and Sato looked to him… Huh? Sato mumbled, but Archius gripped Kazuki's shoulders. All three wore Clandestine's vest-plate markings. He was reminded of what Archius said: focus on the mission. Mission? Uh…

What mission?

Kazuki must be remembering things wrong... Yeah, that must be it!

He placed his eyes back onto Victoria. His mind came swirling in a crash. He had to protect Eliza.

Fingers snapped. He's brought back to reality. Elizabeth was heaving for air, her hand stretched up to him. "Kaz…"

Kazuki's body moved before his mind, he ripped the debris off... Kazuki blinked several times. No matter what, he maintained his emotionlessly dead face. Eliza rolled off the debris, as Archius helped her up.

Where was he? Kazuki looked around. A metro station. Holographic posters littered the walls. He looked to the floor.

Oh... Kazuki's eyes glanced to the side, before becoming accustomed to the sight. "Oh," Kazuki remarked. It was Irya. His eyes told him he was dead, slumped against the wall, squashed against it.

He was dead.

Standing up, Kazuki did a bow of respect to him... So... both are dead. This is a problem, he thought... So many dead... But why does this one feel different?! Why does he feel so… disappointed?

"Kazuki... I..." Archius started. "I'm sorry, the grenade didn't buy enough time... Nihara fought well but..."

"Eliza?" Kazuki started. "What happened here?"

He stood firm, planted in place. This feeling... it felt so strange. His mind and exospine were slowly dying. Eliza said, "Václavos... he did his best but..."

"He had a clean shot of the Behemoth's head!" Archius remarked. "Fucker nearly got all of us killed if you hadn't showed up."

Kazuki's head turned to Václavos.

Oh. So that was the case?

He gave Nihara a glance. She was slowly getting up, giving him a thumbs up. She was bruised, but not damaged. Her durability persists.

Irya… He neither had the equipment, nor the training. Dammit…

Kazuki walked up to Václavos.

Kazuki extended a hand to him. Václavos' arm shot up, grabbing it. "Thank you... Kazuki... I..."

"Say nothing," Kazuki ordered him. He pulled Václavos up. Nothing felt normal anymore, in Kazuki's head. He was still… so confused. He was reminded anew of the cruelties of the galaxy.

It was different to the plight of all. The only thing that doesn't discriminate is death. Not wealth, not fate or even skill can bypass death's grip on the galaxy. Kazuki glanced over to Irya's corpse, blood running down his suit as he was slumped against the wall of the station.

His hands were shaking. It was not stressful, however.

Why?

Why was he… shaking?

He frowned slightly, was he upset? No… Irya's death is…

Kazuki's hand moved on its own. It punched Václavos across the face. He stopped himself from a second strike… Václavos had a notable bruise already forming on his cheek before he fell back against the wall.

"Kazuki?!" Eliza shouted at him. "Wait... what are you doing?"

"Kazuki..." Václavos trailed off. "Nihara was... in the way. I would have… killed her!"

Kazuki found it… relieving? Unspoken words echoed with that punch.

Nihara was walking towards them, huffing for air.

Irya was dead, nothing could change that. Yet… punching Václavos… it felt good. It felt refreshing. He hated to admit it. Biting his tongue, Kazuki killed the thought.

He is to lead them, not torment them, he reminded himself.

The Contract-Breaker would not yield so easily to the death of two. They were associates, Kazuki thought, but the Contract-Breaker was simply a machine for death itself.

Why does he feel this? No answer was given … He's the Contract-Breaker, he's the AGENCY's arbiter. Tens of thousands rely on him to lead them. He had to seize the moment.

Václavos did something wrong. He will correct it. Or else.

Kazuki glared at Václavos. "You're the self-proclaimed best shot in the galaxy."

"But... it was a grenade launcher!" Václavos spat out.

"Nihara's survived more than a grenade before. Irya is dead," Kazuki stated. "You must answer."

Václavos looked to Irya's corpse. "How…"

Eliza rushed forward, only for Archius to stop her. "Don't get in his way…" he muttered.

Nihara stood behind Kazuki, to the side. Václavos looked at her, begging her for mercy. "Kaz…" Nihara said, before falling silent to his glare. Good.

"Failure," Kazuki stated. He kicked Václavos in the guts a few times. Václavos shook his head as if begging for mercy. He will get none. "Why do you deserve mercy?"

This felt amazing… He didn't want to admit it. Maybe Archius was right about torturing hardline crims… Feels amazing.

Let the Contract-Breaker rise from the ashes, Kazuki thought. His taste for violence was gone. The punch felt refreshing, but the kicking got exhausting. He thinned his eyes in regret, before straitening himself out.

"You failed. At least die if you're going to fail your Contract," Kazuki remarked. He crouched down in front of him. He deserved this, Kazuki thought... The Contract-Breaker can afford no failures. This is... an acceptable level of punishment for such a fatal mistake.

"We don't have the luxury of ideal scenarios, Václavos. Remember that."

Václavos nodded several times in quick succession, head leaning against the wall.

Nihara spoke up, "Kazuki. I think you've done enough."

He nodded. Václavos allowed this death to happen by his own hands, his own negligence and omission of his duty. He is a contractor, someone to focus on the objective entirely.

He failed. Irya and Kantos are both dead. They were just two insignificant droplets onto the blazing rocks of a stove.

Two of his five-strong allies lie dead. Those drones… The perpetrator is clear. The enemy has revealed their hand and intentions. They have made their move. It was time for him to make his.

And for that, he'll bring down the hammer. The hammer and jaws of justice to kill them all… He'll kill them… Each and every last one of them… Even if he has to die in the process.

A sparkle of worry seeped into his consciousness, before fading away. He helped Václavos onto his feet.

Kazuki turned to Archius and Eliza.

She stared at the monster... That's right… This was the bloodthirsty man that killed your sister. It was he who murdered thousands, broke all his promises and burnt his way to the top.

His golden bulbs crackled into life. Kazuki placed one foot in front of the other, walking. "Treat your wounds. Dismissed."

Kazuki knelt down beside Irya's corpse and took his brooch. He then closed his eyes, and patted Irya on the shoulder… Death permeated around Kazuki, that was a fact. Thousands of his men had died for his ambition, for their freedoms.

Squeezing the brooch, Kazuki thought that this was different.

The weight immediately sunk him down. He had to fight to keep his hand still. Kazuki braced his mind, slowly lifting the transfer shard upwards.

Moving Hazards and Brooches was never his strong suit, too much was on his mind to bear its pressures. Even now, Kazuki felt knives in his mind, all prodding at him for any moment of failure.

He shoved it into his pocket. He will bear this alone. The Contract-Breaker needs no friends. The Contract-Breaker will achieve his goals. Kazuki held that true.

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