Lucius’s eyes fluttered open, and pain immediately flooded his chest.
It was not the dull ache of an old injury or the sharp sting of a fresh wound. This was something far worse. It felt as though something had reached deep into his chest, wrapped a burning hand around his heart, and squeezed with all its strength.
His body jerked violently as his fingers clawed at his chest.
"Gaaaah!"
His scream tore through the cave, echoing off the rocky walls before fading into the darkness.
Heat spread through every part of his body. His skin felt as though it were burning from the inside, while every breath sent another wave of agony tearing through his lungs. Lucius rolled onto his side, his teeth grinding together as sweat rapidly gathered across his forehead and dripped down his face.
Then, a light panel suddenly appeared before his eyes, several lines of text materializing across it in rapid succession.
[Xenovian Royalty Bloodline Syncing... 80% ... 90% ... 100%]
[Xenovian Bloodline Syncing Complete]
[Devour Talent Awakened]
Buzz!
Lucius felt as though he had slammed headfirst into a moving train. His entire body convulsed violently, every muscle tightening at once as his vision blurred.
[Human Genes Undergoing Evolution... 70%... 80%... 90%... 100%]
[Human Genes Successfully Evolved]
[Hand Of God Talent Awakened]
The letters on the light panel slowly came into focus, and Lucius studied them deeply, his mind struggling to comprehend what he was seeing.
"Devour and Hand of God?" Lucius mumbled in confusion.
The writings on the panel vanished, and new letters began replacing the old.
[Name: Lucius]
[Age:18]
[Lifespan: 300 Years]
[Race: Hybrid][Human/Xenovian]
[Xenovian Bloodline Purity: 1.5%]
[Talents]
[Name: Hand Of God]
[Status: Upgradeable]
[Type: Specialist]
[Talent Grade: S]
[Description: Allows you to assimilate matter of any form.]
[Name: Devour][Incomplete]
[Status: Upgradable]
[Type: Unknown]
[Talent Grade: Unfathomable]
[Description: Taps into your Xenovian bloodline, boosting your physical capabilities while also granting you the ability to steal talents by feasting on the hearts of individuals]
"Hold up, hold up... I have two talents and can live for 300 years?" Lucius blurted out in disbelief.
How does a man go from being a Dreg to a dual talented Guardian after getting stabbed in the chest?
[Your body was fused with royal Xenovian genes, granting you the Devour talent. This triggered the evolution of your human genes, awakening your true human talent]
"Xenovian?"
Lucius blinked in surprise and turned his attention toward the meteor behind him. Instinctively, he cautiously stepped away from it, moving into the fog behind him.
"Wait... I can breathe normally here?" Lucius muttered, his voice filled with disbelief.
He stepped back into the clean space around the meteor before stepping into the fumes again, yet he felt no difference whatsoever.
Lucius could not make sense of anything happening to him. What the hell were Xenovians, and how had being fused with one given him two completely insane talents?
However, Lucius’s train of thought was interrupted when he heard approaching footsteps. He quickly turned around, only to see several beams of light appearing within the thick smoke.
Lucius instinctively stepped backward and glanced over his shoulder. There was only a massive meteor behind him. There was no place to run and nowhere to hide.
"Fuck my life," he cursed under his breath before turning his attention back toward the source of the sound and bracing himself.
Several seconds later, men dressed in black tactical gear emerged from the darkness. Their bodies were completely covered, including their faces. Strange circuits ran across their suits, glowing with flowing blue energy that resembled the aether crystals embedded throughout the mine.
Each man carried a weapon Lucius had never seen before. The guns were sleek and metallic, with glowing blue chambers built into their frames.
Unfortunately, Lucius could barely see their faces. The flashlights attached to their weapons were pointed directly at him, their harsh beams making it difficult for him to see anything beyond the silhouettes of the approaching soldiers.
"Mine 2 DC clear!" one of them barked.
Another soldier immediately raised his weapon and pointed it toward Lucius.
"Dreg spotted! Permission to eliminate?"
Lucius froze. ’Eliminate?’
The lead soldier did not hesitate.
"Eliminate."
Lucius’s face twisted into an ugly frown. "You can’t be serious!"
He instinctively shut his eyes and threw both hands in front of his face.
Xiu! Xiu!
Xiu! Xiu!
The soldiers pulled their triggers without hesitation. Several concentrated beams of blue energy tore through the cave toward Lucius.
Suddenly, the energy beams bent sharply through the air, as though an invisible force had seized them. They twisted away from their original trajectory before funneling directly toward Lucius’s extended palms.
Hand of God!
The aether beams disappeared into his hands in a single stream, while Lucius’s entire body began glowing faintly. Blue veins pulsed beneath his skin as the aether he had absorbed coursed through his veins.
The cave fell silent, and the soldiers stopped shooting. Behind their masks, several pairs of eyes widened in disbelief.
"A Guardian?" The lead soldier’s voice contained both shock and terror.
Lucius remained completely still, his eyes still shut and his hands still extended in front of him. He was waiting for pain, death, or whatever happened when someone was shot several times with an energy weapon.
But nothing happened.
When neither pain nor death came, Lucius slowly opened one eye.
"I’m not dead?"
He lowered his hands slightly and looked ahead.
The same soldiers who had just tried to execute him were now standing several meters away. Some had lowered their weapons, while others were half bowed.
Lucius slowly turned his head from one soldier to another.
"What?"
The leader of the group stepped forward, and Lucius immediately raised his hands again. The man stopped. Then, to Lucius’s complete surprise, the soldier slowly removed his mask.
A blond man with blue eyes appeared beneath it. His jawline looked sharp enough to cut glass, and a long claw scar stretched from his left eye down toward his cheek. Somehow, instead of ruining his appearance, the scar only made him look more intimidating.
The man stopped at a respectful distance and saluted.
"Forgive me for failing to recognize an esteemed Guardian!" he barked. "I’m Sergeant Skull from the 31st Division stationed here in Pennsylvania!"
Lucius stared at him, his mind completely failing to process the situation. Five seconds ago, they had been shooting at him, and now they were saluting him.
Lucius slowly looked down at his hands before looking back at the soldiers.
"W... what the hell?"