The Final Gambit

The industrial district was cloaked in a haunting stillness as Anastasia and Maximilian stood at its edge, their eyes fixed on the stronghold looming in the distance. It was a fortress of corruption—high concrete walls topped with barbed wire, flanked by watchtowers that seemed to scrape the sky. This wasn’t just a building; it was the epicenter of everything they had been fighting against. Verdonia’s suffering, its collapse, was orchestrated from within these walls.

"Are we really ready for this?" Olivia’s voice trembled slightly, breaking the silence. She stood beside them, her face pale and still marked by the bruises and scars from her earlier attack. Yet, despite her visible weakness, her resolve was as fierce as ever.

Maximilian didn’t take his eyes off the stronghold. "We don’t have a choice. This is it. If we don’t strike now, they’ll finish what they’ve started. Verdonia will be lost forever."