"Because I have absolutely no intention of sharing my spoils."
The woman’s warning hung in the air, charged with undeniable lethality. She remained a few meters from us, arms loose, a chilling serenity on her face. Behind her, the continuous purr of the engine underscored the tension of the encounter. Maya shifted her posture instantly, abandoning initial caution to adopt a pure combat stance.
Evelyn picked up on the hostility and adjusted her grip on her tactical knife.
"I demand identification," I exclaimed, gripping the metal bar with both hands.
The stranger tilted her head slightly, assessing me.
"Nadia Voss."
"Justify your presence in this perimeter, Nadia."
"I’m pursuing exactly the same objective as you." She gestured with her chin toward the ruined structure of the fire station. "I claim what lies inside."
"That statement creates a direct conflict. We arrived first."
Nadia sketched a smile devoid of warmth.
"You’re wrong. My arrival precedes that of your squad."
Without another word, she closed the distance in a single leap. She raised a hand and barely grazed the surface of my weapon. A brutal kinetic impact tore the steel from my fingers. The bar shot out like a ballistic projectile, crashing into the chassis of an abandoned car with a deafening clatter. I stood staring at my empty palms, processing the unnatural force of the impact.
"Welcome to the laws of the new world," she murmured.
The System deployed an emergency readout in my retina.
[Ability detected.]
[Provisional name: Kinetic Impulse Manipulation.]
[User: Nadia Voss.]
[Warning: Combat capability classified as high.]
[Note: This ability is a brute-force variant of kinetic manipulation. It differs from vector redirection (Scarlett) and vibration frequency (Iris). Each Awakened develops a unique expression of their Resonance pattern.]
Nadia resumed her advance. I retreated, aware that a single touch of her knuckles would be catastrophic. She threw a fast jab that I dodged by millimeters; her hand sliced the air a handspan from my jacket.
"Your technique depends on direct physical contact," I deduced aloud.
"You possess an excellent analytical capacity," she replied, chaining a sweep followed by a grab aimed at my shoulder.
I spun on my axis, forcing distance between us.
[Movement pattern observed.]
[Combat adaptation initiated.]
My body’s nerves began to assimilate the rhythm of her attacks. The System processed her kinetics, granting me the vital fractions of a second to anticipate her trajectories. Nadia threw a front kick. I blocked the blow with crossed forearms; the tremendous force of the impact dragged me a meter backward across the asphalt.
"Gabriel!" Evelyn shouted, positioning herself to intervene.
Nadia took advantage of my imbalance and, with preternatural speed, slipped toward my back. Her open palm aimed directly at my spine.
Maya burst into the trajectory.
"Now!" the Awakened bellowed.
She pivoted on her heels, evading Nadia’s lethal touch by the width of a hair, and raised her knife toward the enemy’s jugular. Nadia halted her assault abruptly. Her expression of superiority fractured for a fraction of a second.
"You..." Nadia hissed, sizing up her new opponent. "You have the ability to anticipate my acceleration."
"I possess the sharpness necessary to cut your throat," Maya replied, keeping the blade millimeters from the skin.
"Fascinating," Nadia murmured.
The tension threatened to erupt into carnage when an underground blast shook the street’s foundations. A dense cloud of dust and debris burst through the fire station’s windows. Nadia slowly lowered her guard, redirecting her attention toward the building.
"That shockwave comes from the central objective."
"Define the contents of that structure."
Nadia held silence for a moment before releasing the tactical information.
"It houses a Rupture Core. A massive concentration of energy in its pure state. Awakened individuals can absorb its radiation to exponentially increase their physical and energetic capabilities."
My System’s interest resonated with that revelation.
"Describe the contraindications of the absorption process."
Nadia let out a dry laugh, devoid of humor.
"Energy overload guarantees the incineration of your internal organs if you exceed your limit."
A second tremor, more intense than the first, forced us to seek cover behind the overturned truck’s body.
"Explain your vital need for that core."
Nadia leaned her back against the twisted metal.
"My own Ability destroys my tissues. Every impulse manipulation tears my muscle fibers at a microscopic level. The core possesses stabilizing properties. I seek to halt the deterioration and ensure my survival."
Her words established an irrefutable truth: in this new reality, accumulating power was equivalent to buying days of life. A third roar shook the asphalt.
"Time is running out," Nadia urged. "An entity guards the core. An aberration with power massive enough to force me to seek tactical reinforcements before attempting an infiltration."
I exchanged an evaluating glance with Evelyn and Maya.
"We will establish a temporary alliance. We execute a coordinated assault and, after neutralizing the threat, we divide the core’s resources."
Nadia accepted with a sharp smile.
"A highly pragmatic agreement."
Evelyn adjusted the straps of her medical backpack, and Maya tightened her grip on her weapon. We formed a squad born of absolute desperation, ready to plunge into the abyss.
The interior of the fire station displayed the ravages of a ground zero. Blackened fissures ran across the concrete walls, and various sections of the floor looked melted under anomalous heat. A crimson luminescence pulsed from the building’s depths, tinting the air a suffocating red.
My interface’s visor blinked.
[Rupture energy detected.]
[Distance to objective: 63 meters.]
My pulse quickened. We descended the stairs to the basement in close formation. The air took on the density of lead. Suddenly, a guttural growl vibrated in our chests.
Maya raised a closed fist.
"Full stop."
From the shadows of the lower level emerged a hybrid colossus, an aberrant amalgam of human and bestial anatomy. It displayed four upper limbs, an exoskeleton formed by thick obsidian plates, and a scarlet orb embedded in the center of its sternum.
[Rupture Devourer.]
[Threat level: High.]
[Detected characteristic: Absorption of thermal and kinetic energy.]
"A Devourer," Nadia murmured. "They are born from the fragmentation of a Rupture Core. They are its natural guardians."
Nadia cursed under her breath.
"Suspend all direct attacks! That creature assimilates the force of physical impacts to feed itself."
The Devourer roared, shaking the pillars, and charged with the force of a freight train.
"Evasive maneuver to the right!" Maya shouted.
We broke formation instantly. The beast collided with a structural wall, pulverizing the concrete and sending a shower of shrapnel across the room. Evelyn covered her face while Nadia slid her fingers over a metal support column. She released a massive impulse; the heavy steel structure broke loose and swept the floor, striking the creature’s knees. The monster lost its balance and stumbled.
"Fire at will!" Nadia bellowed.
Lacking my steel bar, I grabbed an industrial pipe from the rubble and charged at the fiend’s right leg. The impact echoed hollow; the creature barely registered the damage.
"Ineffective attack!"
Maya scanned the beast’s anatomy in motion.
"Concentrate punishment on its left flank! That joint bears all its structural load!"
I caught the vulnerability instantly. I dealt a devastating blow directly to the left obsidian kneecap. The joint cracked and the Devourer collapsed onto one knee.
Evelyn pointed frantically toward a wall covered with industrial valves.
"Gabriel, the main pressure lines!"
I ran to the panel, grabbed the wheel of the largest valve, and turned it with all the strength in my shoulder. A thick torrent of flammable fluid flooded the basement floor.
Nadia processed the strategy in a second.
"Clear the ignition zone!"
The colossus tried to get back up. Maya acted as a decoy, drawing the beast’s attention and guiding it toward the liquid trap. With an acrobatic leap, she cleared the pool of fuel; the monster followed blindly.
In perfect synchrony, Nadia propelled a massive scrap panel from the ceiling. The steel plate struck the monster in the back, knocking it face-first onto the flammable fluid.
Evelyn activated a chemical flare.
"Fire in the hole!"
She threw the bright cylinder into the center of the pool.
BOOM!
An orange deflagration engulfed the Devourer in a pillar of liquid fire. The colossus let out a shrill scream, thrashing furiously in the flames. Its thick plates began to fracture from thermal stress, until its joints gave way completely and it collapsed in a pile of smoking ashes.
[Threat neutralized.]
[Survival experience assimilated.]
I inhaled a deep breath of toxic air, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
"This hostile environment demands too high a toll," I murmured.
Evelyn positioned herself beside me, breathing with difficulty.
"We’re barely completing the tutorial, Gabriel."
We located the objective at the basement’s epicenter. The Rupture Core levitated above a pedestal of fused scrap. It was a faceted crystal, dark as the void, housing a heart of scarlet light that beat with a hypnotic rhythm. I took a step closer.
[HIGH COMPATIBILITY RESOURCE DETECTED.]
[Rupture Core.]
[Adaptation available.]
[TACTICAL WARNING: Extreme risk during the absorption process.]
[Estimated Adaptation gain: +2% to +4%. Safe amount: Unknown parameter.]
I formulated the query mentally: Provide the safe assimilation limit.
[Safe amount: Unknown parameter.]
"An extremely encouraging metric," I muttered sarcastically.
Nadia let out a short laugh.
"You maintain a peculiar habit of conversing with the void."
"It has become my primary consultation method."
Nadia approached the pedestal, claiming priority over the spoils.
"I will initiate the process."
She extended her palm over the crystal. Torrents of crimson energy immediately flowed into her veins. Nadia let out a guttural cry; her knees buckled and a network of dark veins stood out on her arms under the brutal effort. After a few seconds of agony, the connection cut off. She took a deep breath, inspecting the firmness of her hands.
"The treatment works." She closed her fists. "Cellular degradation has ceased."
It was my turn. I did not know the exact dose required to reach that ten percent Adaptation, but strategic necessity dictated my actions. I placed my bare hand on the pulsing crystal.
Hell invaded my bloodstream.
Liquid fire replaced the oxygen in my veins. I fell to my knees, my jaw locked by a scream stifled by absolute pain.
"Gabriel!" Evelyn’s voice sounded distant, distorted.
The interface flickered frantically on my cornea.
[Absorption initiated.]
[Adaptation Rate: 1%... 2%... 3%... 4%... 5%... 6%...]
My mind disconnected from the fire station, thrown into an abyss of mental static. A vision burst in with the clarity of broken glass.
A thriving metropolis, oblivious to the apocalypse. Flowing traffic, pedestrians crowding the sidewalks, and neon lights shining in the normality of the night. Suddenly, the firmament tore open, birthing the colossal structure of the black tower.
Before the monolith, a solitary human silhouette raised its right hand in a gesture of absolute command.
The silhouette wore a dark tactical jacket. It had messy black hair. And on its right hand, a faded scar crossed the knuckles.
It was my hand. My jacket. My scar.
The image struck me as a warning, or perhaps as an instruction. The silhouette turned its head slightly, and for a fraction of a second, I saw its face. It was mine. Older. Tired. But mine.
The hologram disintegrated, returning me abruptly to the charred basement floor. I collapsed backward, gasping for air while Evelyn held me by the shoulders.
"Stabilize your heart rate," the doctor ordered.
My organs burned, but I maintained stable vital signs. I checked the holographic panel.
[Final Adaptation Rate: 6%.]
[Absorption process complete.]
[Warning: The vision you experienced was a Resonance imprint. The origin is unknown. The System cannot analyze it further.]
The progress was significant, but the enigma of the vision weighed infinitely more than the lingering fire in my veins. A key piece of information had just manifested, bypassing the System’s records. The silhouette in the vision was me. But older. In a city that hadn’t fallen yet.
Nadia scrutinized my sweat-soaked face.
"Report your visual hallucinations."
"The process was strictly physical pain."
Nadia sketched a half-smile.
"You maintain a terrible deception technique."
Suddenly, the System issued an alert I had not noticed.
[EXTERNAL SIGNALS DETECTED.]
[Multiple unidentified vehicles approaching.]
The simultaneous rumble of multiple heavy engines cut off the interrogation. Maya hurried toward a street-level skylight and assessed the outside situation. Tension completely transformed her expression.
"Massive tactical deployment on our perimeter."
I got up with difficulty and peered out beside her. A convoy of heavy vehicles blocked all escape routes from the station. Halogen spotlights swept the ruined façades. Nadia clenched her fists, preparing for an imminent massacre.
"Identify the hostile force," Evelyn demanded.
Maya stepped back, moving away from the glass.
"Marcus."
An external public address system emitted a sharp click, followed by a voice dictating absolute sentences.
"Gabriel Bowman."
I recognized the mercenary leader’s authoritative cadence instantly.
"I confirm your presence in those facilities." Marcus flooded the street with his command. "I issued a clear directive forbidding your approach to the Tower."
I maintained a sepulchral silence, exchanging glances with my squad members.
"Now you will face a strict interrogation about the Rupture Core you have just secured."
I observed the black crystal, still latent on the pedestal, and then surveyed the military cordon outside. The hunt had just evolved from a simple warning to a total siege. We were the new extermination target.