Apocalypse: becoming the hidden Ruler

Wesley stepped down to inspect it. He gave it a sniff, then nodded. "Yeah. That's the real deal."

"Go ahead," Maxen said to his sister. Without hesitation, Esme took the pill and swallowed it.

The room was deathly quiet again. All eyes were on her now.

"Esme," Maxen began, tone professional, "While in Sin City, did anyone suspect that you were with Whisper Syndicate?"

"Yes."

"Did *you* tell them that yourself?"

"No."

The conference room erupted in hushed outrage.

"They were outed?! No wonder they got taken out so fast."

"She was betrayed?"

"This is fucked up…"

The crowd's mood shifted palpably—resentment bubbling under the surface, all directed toward Axel. Side-eyes turned into stares. Disbelief turned into suspicion. All while Axel sat, disbelief hardening into something colder.

Up front, Wesley was breathing slower, heavier. His eyes met Axel's, and for the first time, there was uncertainty there.

The questioning continued. Maxen leaned forward slightly, his voice steady. "Who were you with when you were identified? And where were you?"

Esme answered without hesitation. "With Axel. In Baird District. The Steel Serpents' base. That's the gang Axel was part of at the time."

The moment the words left her mouth, the room erupted.

Shouts of outrage. Murmured curses. Suspicion and disgust spilled from every corner of the conference hall like a dam had broken. The air turned thick with hostility—and all of it was aimed at Axel.

He sat motionless, letting it all wash over him. Faces twisted in contempt, insults rang out like gunfire—but he didn't flinch. Not once.

A few seats over, Gabriel looked distraught, trying in vain to speak up for him. "That's not how it happened! He—" But his voice was too soft, too uncertain. It vanished into the sea of anger before it even reached the front.

Axel, meanwhile, spun a small black sphere between his fingers, his gaze unfocused, as if none of it really mattered.

So this is how they're playing it. A twist of words, a half-truth, and I'm the fall guy.

Maxen and Esme exchanged a glance, both of them wearing smug satisfaction like it was part of their uniform.

"Don't worry, little sis," Maxen murmured with a smirk. "Someone's gonna pay for what they did to you."

Axel looked over at her, and sure enough, Esme was glowing with vindication. That look—the gloating confidence of someone who thought they'd already won—might've rattled anyone else.

But not Axel.

"I seem to recall," Esme said suddenly, her voice louder now, turning toward the crowd, "that the Syndicate has a rule. Anyone who exposes the identity of a member must die. Isn't that right?"

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Gasps. Murmurs. All eyes turned toward Wesley.

"And I assume," Maxen added, not missing a beat, "that the Whisper Syndicate intends to enforce its own rules. This is the Syndicate, after all."

The tension in the room reached a boiling point. The crowd was just a spark away from turning into a mob.

Wesley slammed his hand on the table.

"Enough. Quiet!" His voice cut through the chaos like a blade. "Axel. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Axel looked up, calm as ever. "Can I ask her a few questions?"

Wesley sighed, rubbing his temple. "You're under accusation. You know the rules—you can only speak through me."

Axel nodded, still composed. "Alright. Then I'll just tell you what really happened. Back in the Baird District, Esme and her team were being hunted. She wanted me to join them. I refused. She got pissed—and told me that if I didn't help her, she'd expose my identity."

"I didn't reveal her. In fact, when someone overheard her threats, I stepped in and cleared her name. I made sure she didn't get caught."

Wesley's eyes narrowed. He was listening carefully now.

Maxen scoffed. "What a load of shit."

He turned to the crowd. "She came to you for help? Really? You were a Level One nobody! Why would someone like Esme need you? That doesn't even make sense."

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the room.

"Yeah, she's way stronger."

"He's bluffing."

"And what? Someone just happened to overhear at that exact moment? That's real convenient."

"She took the Truth Pill. Case closed."

At the back of the room, Elijah sat silently, arms crossed. He didn't buy the accusation—not entirely. He knew damn well he hadn't been eliminated because of any betrayal. If anything, Axel's advancement felt like dumb luck… or something more complicated.

But what intrigued Elijah wasn't the crowd. It was Axel's face.

Even now, surrounded by doubt and venom, he looked completely unshaken. No anger, no desperation—just waiting.

What the hell is he planning?

Wesley's expression darkened. Esme and Maxen didn't just want Axel punished. They wanted him dead.

"Axel," Wesley asked, voice strained, "do you have anything else to say for yourself?"

Axel didn't answer him. His eyes slowly shifted to Esme and Maxen, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees. Gabriel, sitting next to him, trembled. He could feel it—Axel was pissed.

"So... you want me dead?" Axel asked the two of them softly, an odd, unsettling smile touching the corners of his lips.

That look sent a chill down Esme's spine. For a moment, she felt a strange panic bloom in her chest. Maxen, on the other hand, scoffed. As a Level Four Awakener, he didn't even bother hiding the contempt in his eyes. "Whether you live or die isn't up to me. It's up to the rules."

Axel nodded slightly, his gaze locked on Esme. "Then I'll ask you one more time. Esme, are you absolutely sure about what you just said?"

Esme wavered under his stare—but the moment passed. With Maxen by her side, and half the room seemingly on her side, she forced herself to stand taller. "What, are you trying to threaten me now?"

"Axel," Wesley warned, his tone tightening, "watch your attitude. Unless you've got hard proof......"

Axel ignored them both. He stood up, slowly, and pulled out the small black ball he'd been toying with.

"In Sin City, I kept my guard up. Always had a backup plan," he said, almost to himself. "I originally prepped this to use against someone else... didn't think I'd need it here."

Maxen laughed out loud when he saw the device. "Seriously? What is that, a toy bomb? You gonna blow us all up? This guy's cracked!"

Axel didn't so much as blink. Still calm, still focused, he walked straight to Wesley and held out the ball.

"Captain. You should probably take a look. It's a monitor."

The moment the word monitor left Axel's mouth, Esme froze. Her face drained of all color.

Beside her, Maxen laughed again. "Relax, sis. Don't let him psych you out. Whatever it is, we'll shut it down."

But she couldn't relax. Her eyes stayed glued to that little black sphere like it was a loaded gun pointed at her heart.

Wesley's eyes lit up. He grabbed the ball, waved over a technician, and had it hooked up to the conference room's main screen in under a minute.

"Let's see what's true and what's bullshit," he muttered.

The video flickered to life.

At first, it showed only the lower halves of Axel and Esme, standing in a shadowy alley. But the audio was crisp. Esme's voice rang out clearly.

> "Axel, we've talked it over. We're offering you a spot on our team. It's a good opportunity."

People started shifting in their seats. Some leaned forward. The video kept playing, the voices growing more revealing by the second.

Then, there it was.

> "What, you're really gonna turn us down? Fine. Then I'll tell everyone what you are. You're Whisper Syndicate. Let's see how long the Steel Serpents let you live once they hear that."

The moment those words hit the speakers, the room went completely still.

Then it exploded.