Chapter 78: Unraveling Ties

Chapter 78: Unraveling Ties

Silvia's POV

The council chamber was heavy with silence as Silvia stared at the Titan banner on the table. The faded fabric bore fresh symbols, twisted remnants of the old empire's insignia. The Remnants weren't just scavengers and rogue soldiers; they were trying to restore what had been destroyed.

She dragged her fingers across the cloth, feeling the dried blood crusted into the fabric. "They're not just a threat. They're a movement."

Garrik nodded grimly. "We were hoping they were just a collection of survivors clinging to a lost cause. But this? This is coordinated. Someone is leading them. Someone with power."

Silvia's mind raced. They had known Titan wouldn't vanish overnight, but she hadn't expected an attempt to bring it back so soon. And the man she had come face to face with earlier—the one who was supposed to be dead—was proof that this war wasn't over.

Dragon leaned in, arms crossed. "So what do we do? Wait for them to march on us?"

Silvia shook her head. "No. We need to break them before they gain momentum. If they're recruiting, then we have a small window before they become an unstoppable force. We strike now."

Tarren raised an eyebrow. "You said before that we don't have enough intel to attack. What's changed?"

Silvia clenched her fists. "They just made their move. Now it's our turn."

The Prisoner's Secret

Hours later, Silvia stood before a dimly lit cell beneath the city's fortress. The man inside was barely more than a shadow, bound in chains, his face bruised and bloodied. One of the scouts they had captured during the Remnants' attempted infiltration.

She stepped forward. "I know who you work for. I know what you're trying to do. The only thing you need to decide is how much pain you're willing to endure before telling me what I want to know."

The prisoner chuckled, a hoarse sound that grated against the silence. "You don't have the stomach for torture, Earthstar. You think you're different from Titan, but you're just another ruler trying to keep power."

Dragon leaned against the bars, his golden eyes flashing. "Oh, she's different. You see, Titan liked to make a spectacle out of cruelty. Silvia? She's efficient. So if I were you, I'd start talking before she decides you're not worth the trouble."

The prisoner's smirk faltered, just slightly. He shifted, wincing as his wounds pulled. "You're too late. The Remnants aren't waiting for you to find them. They're already inside your walls."

A cold chill ran down Silvia's spine. "What do you mean?"

The prisoner gave a bloody grin. "You think the Remnants are just outside your gates? We've been here for weeks. Watching. Waiting. And now? Now it's only a matter of time."

The Enemy Within

Silvia's footsteps echoed through the halls as she stormed back toward the council chamber. Every passing guard, every worker, every merchant in the city—she looked at them differently now. How many were spies? How many had been feeding information to the enemy?

Dragon followed close behind, his usual smirk gone. "We need a lockdown. No one leaves, no one enters without full clearance."

Tarren met them at the entrance. "What's wrong?"

Silvia's voice was tight. "We have a traitor inside the city. Maybe more than one. The Remnants aren't just gathering forces outside. They've been planting seeds here for weeks."

Garrik cursed under his breath. "Then we need to purge them. Now."

"No," Silvia said quickly. "If we start arresting people without proof, we'll create panic. That's exactly what they want. We need to root them out quietly."

Dragon tilted his head. "So what's the play?"

Silvia exhaled slowly, already forming a plan. "We turn their own game against them. Let them think we haven't figured it out. Make them slip up. And when they do…"

A cold fire burned in her eyes. "We cut them out at the root."

The First Steps of Deception

Over the next few days, Silvia, Dragon, and Tarren began carefully tracking individuals within the city—traders, blacksmiths, guards. Some had slipped under their radar for months, unnoticed among the city's growing population.

Dragon found Silvia studying reports late into the night. "You're working yourself to the bone."

She didn't look up. "Every second we wait, they gain ground. I can't risk missing something."

Dragon sat beside her, nudging her hand away from the parchment. "You're no use to the city if you collapse. Let me take some of this. We'll figure it out together."

Silvia sighed, rubbing her temples. She knew he was right, but the urgency made her restless. "Alright. But we need to move fast."

Laying the Trap

By the end of the week, they had identified three key individuals who had been making unusual movements—two guards who frequently left their posts without explanation and a merchant whose shipments never quite matched the city's records.

Garrik proposed a bold plan. "We let them think they're still in control. Then we feed them false information and see who acts on it."

Silvia agreed. They spread carefully crafted false intelligence through controlled channels, whispering about a supposed weakness in the city's southern walls. All they had to do now was wait.

And sure enough, by the following night, one of the suspect guards disappeared—vanished into the shadows beyond the city gates.

Dragon grinned, but there was no humor in it. "Looks like we caught our rat."

A City on the Edge

Now, it was a race against time. Silvia knew the Remnants wouldn't sit idle once they realized the city had caught wind of their infiltrators. The next move would be theirs.

She stood atop the watchtower, watching the distant horizon. The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the fields beyond the walls.

Tarren approached. "We have squads ready to move the moment you give the order. We can track the traitor and see where he runs."

Silvia nodded. "Do it. And make sure he doesn't make it back alive."

Garrik smirked. "Now that's the Earthstar I know."

Dragon leaned against the stone railing beside her. "So what happens after this?"

Silvia's gaze didn't waver from the darkening sky. "After this? We go to war."

The Remnants had played their hand. Now, Silvia would make sure they never got another chance.