2025-03-25 18:14:32The War Begins
The chamber was built of dark stone, towering with an arched ceiling where cold artificial lights cast deep shadows. The air felt heavy with authority—absolute and unshakable. Obsidian Heitt stood at the center, his black robes as still as the void, his silver eyes unreadable. Around him, the supreme council of the system had gathered, their holographic forms flickering as they joined from across the galaxy. Beyond these walls, millions of people were watching. The broadcast had already begun, spreading across every major world, every sector, every station. A single decree that would change history. Obsidian lifted his gaze, and when he spoke, his voice was calm but carried the weight of an executioner’s verdict. “The anomaly has chosen defiance.” His words echoed through the chamber and across the stars. “We will respond with extinction.” A murmur rippled through the council—some shifting uneasily. Even among the system’s highest ranks, some hesitated. They understood what this meant. One of them, a faction leader whose name didn’t matter in the grand scheme, leaned forward. His voice held doubt. “Are we certain this is the right course?” Silence. Obsidian turned slightly, his piercing gaze locking onto the man. “There is no right or wrong,” he said, his tone cold and final. “There is only survival.” That ended the discussion. The order was set. Every fleet, every major faction would mobilize. The system’s war machine was moving. There would be no hesitation. No mercy. Caden Kelly was now the most wanted man in the galaxy. And the hunt had begun. --- I watched the broadcast from inside the dimly lit ship, my jaw tightening with every word that came from Obsidian’s mouth. They weren’t just coming for me. They were coming for everything. The screen shifted, showing warships launching from massive orbital stations, their engines burning bright against the void. Every major faction had their insignias displayed, standing together under a single banner. My execution. A slow, burning anger built in my chest. I had spent too long running. Too long watching the system crush anyone who dared to live outside its control. No more. The ship trembled slightly as Rylan adjusted our course. He hadn’t said much since we escaped, but now, he finally spoke. “Well,” he muttered, nodding at the screen, “that’s a level of overkill I haven’t seen before.” I let out a slow breath. “They’re scared.” Rylan snorted. “Could’ve fooled me.” I turned away from the screen, staring out at the stars. Somewhere out there, the Vault of Creation was waiting. I didn’t know what I’d find—answers, power… maybe nothing at all. But I knew one thing. I wasn’t going to let the system decide how this ended. They thought the hunt had begun. But so had the war. --- The weight of my choices pressed against me like a crushing force. The system had always been ruthless, but this? This was something else. They weren’t just hunting me. They were erasing me. Obsidian’s words echoed in my mind. We will respond with extinction. I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms. They wanted to make an example of me. To remind the galaxy that no one could stand against them. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. Rylan glanced over from the pilot’s seat, studying me. “So,” he said, his tone lighter than the moment deserved, “what’s the plan, oh most-wanted anomaly?” I rolled my shoulders, forcing the tension out. “We go to the Vault.” He raised an eyebrow. “That easy, huh?” “Nothing about this is easy,” I muttered. “But it’s our only chance.” Rylan let out a low whistle. “Can’t say I love running straight into a target zone, but hey—maybe, for once, things work out in our favor.” I shot him a look. “You don’t believe that.” He smirked. “Not even a little.” The ship vibrated slightly as we entered hyperspace, the stars outside stretching into long streaks of light. For now, we were faster than the system’s reach. But that wouldn’t last. The screen still showed war fleets mobilizing, factory worlds shifting into full war production. An entire galaxy dedicating its resources to my destruction. All of this… for me. Rylan must have noticed my shoulders tense because he leaned back, kicking his boots up onto the console. “I gotta say,” he mused, “for one guy, you’ve got an impressively high kill-on-sight rating. Even warlords don’t get this much attention.” I shook my head. “It’s not about me. It’s about what I represent.” He tilted his head. “And what’s that?” I met his gaze. “Change.” His smirk faded slightly, replaced by something more thoughtful. He nodded once. “That’s what scares them, huh?” I nodded. The system had spent centuries shaping the galaxy into their perfect version of order. Every law, every purge, every act of control—it was all to prevent change. To keep evolution from happening. I was proof that they were failing. Rylan sighed. “Alright then.” He stretched, cracking his neck. “Guess we better make sure you survive long enough to actually change things.” The comms panel suddenly flashed red. An incoming transmission. My body tensed as Rylan sat up, fingers hovering over the controls. “That’s not a friendly signal.” I stepped forward, eyes narrowing at the blinking alert. The system couldn’t have caught us this fast—unless they already had ships in the sector. I hesitated only a second before nodding. “Patch it through.” The screen flickered, static filling the ship for a moment before resolving into a shadowed figure. Their voice came through, distorted and mechanical. “Caden Kelly.” Rylan stiffened beside me. I kept my face neutral. “Who’s asking?” A pause. Then— “A warning.” I frowned. “Yeah? About what?” The figure leaned slightly forward, their features still hidden. “You aren’t ready for what’s coming.” A chill ran down my spine, but I didn’t let it show. “That so?” “The Vault of Creation is not salvation. It is a battlefield. And you are already too late.” The transmission cut off. Silence filled the ship. Rylan exhaled sharply. “Well,” he muttered, “that’s… not great.” I stared at the blank screen, my pulse steady, my mind racing. The Vault wasn’t a secret anymore. Someone else was already there. And if I didn’t move fast, I wasn’t just going to be hunted. I was going to be erased. I turned sharply. “Increase speed. We’re not waiting.” Rylan muttered something under his breath but obeyed, hands flying across the controls. The stars outside blurred even faster. The war had already begun. And I was running straight into the fire.
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CHAPTER 40
The War BeginsThe chamber was built of dark stone, towering with an arched ceiling where cold artificial lights cast deep shadows. The air felt heavy with authority—absolute and unshakable. Obsidian Heitt stood at the center, his black robes as still as the void, his silver eyes unreadable. Around him, the supreme council of the system had gathered, their holographic forms flickering as they joined from across the galaxy.Beyond these walls, millions of people were watching.The broadcast had already begun, spreading across every major world, every sector, every station. A single decree that would change history.Obsidian lifted his gaze, and when he spoke, his voice was calm but carried the weight of an executioner’s verdict.“The anomaly has chosen defiance.” His words echoed through the chamber and across the stars. “We will respond with extinction.”A murmur rippled through the council—some shifting uneasily. Even among the system’s highest ranks, some hesitated. They understood
CHAPTER 39
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CHAPTER 38
The System’s LiesThe chamber flickered to life around me. The walls pulsed, and golden data streams wove through the air, forming images—no, memories—so vivid they felt real.A battlefield stretched before me. The ground was scorched, littered with bodies. Smoke coiled into the sky, thick and suffocating. And in the middle of it all stood them.The anomalies.They weren’t the monsters the system had made them out to be. They weren’t destroyers, weren’t threats to civilization. They were people. People with abilities that defied the system’s design. And for that, they had been hunted.A line of towering figures loomed in the distance—cold, mechanical, ruthless. The system’s enforcers. Their armor gleamed under a crimson sky, their weapons humming with barely restrained energy. No mercy. No hesitation.Then, the slaughter began.I watched as the anomalies fought back, their abilities twisting reality itself. Fire and lightning danced at their fingertips, the ground cracked beneath thei
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CHAPTER 36
Understanding the PowerDarkness clung to the chamber like a second skin, thick and suffocating. I sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, my hands resting on my knees, palms up, trying—desperately—to still the storm raging inside me. My power wasn’t just something I wielded. It was something that wanted to wield me.The flickering torches cast distorted shadows against the walls, as if they, too, were uncertain of what they were becoming. The energy inside me coiled, alive, eager. It burned beneath my skin, pulsed through my veins, whispered in my mind.Control it, I told myself.But it laughed.Not aloud—no, that would be easy to fight. The real battle was more insidious, more intimate. It was the whisper that slithered through my thoughts, the weight pressing against my ribs, the hunger lurking beneath my every breath."You crave it," the voice inside me murmured. "You always have."I shut my eyes tighter. My pulse hammered in my ears."No," I breathed. "That’s not me.""But it i
CHAPTER 35
The Hunter Becomes the HuntedThe neon lights flicker above me, casting long, distorted shadows against the rain-slicked pavement. The undercity breathes in short, sharp bursts—the hum of generators, the distant shouts of drunken gamblers, the occasional echo of a gunshot deeper in the slums. I keep my hood low, my face hidden beneath the dim glow of passing advertisements.Every step I take feels measured, deliberate. The bounty on my head has tripled overnight, and now the city itself is hunting me. Every set of eyes lingering too long could belong to a mercenary weighing their chances. Every whispered conversation could be about me.I pass a group of thugs loitering near a broken-down hovercraft, their voices dropping as I move past. One of them, a brute with cybernetic arms and an ego too large for his own good, sneers.“Dead man walking.”I don’t break stride. I don’t react. That’s exactly what they want—a sign of weakness, a flicker of fear. But fear has no place here. Not anymo
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Unintended ConsequencesThe battlefield was silent, but not with peace—only with death.Smoke curled from the wreckage, twisting in the cold wind. The ground was littered with bodies, some still twitching, others unnervingly still. Sparks spat from broken ships, their engines gutted, the metal carcasses groaning under their own weight. The acrid scent of burning wires and blood coated the air, thick enough to taste.I stood in the center of it all, my hands slick with something warm. My breath came steady, controlled. Too controlled. I should have felt something—guilt, regret, even relief—but instead, there was just… nothing.My fingers curled into fists, but the emptiness didn’t go away. I looked down at the nearest body, a man barely older than me, his helmet cracked open, his chest rising in weak, ragged jerks. His mouth twisted as if trying to form words, but all that came out was a broken cough.I knelt beside him, my face unreadable even to myself. "You’re dying."His bloodstain
CHAPTER 33
The Battle EscalatesThe sky darkened, thick clouds rolling in like an omen.From above, the air rippled as ships descended in eerie silence. Their hulls reflected the ruined cityscape, bending light like a mirage, making them appear almost invisible. Not the usual loud, flashing entrances of military dropships—no, these were hunters. They didn’t announce their arrival. They didn’t need to.I wiped the blood from my mouth with the back of my hand, the metallic taste grounding me. My muscles burned, my ribs ached, but the real problem wasn’t pain. It was numbers.Too many. More than before.They moved with precision, forming a tight, deliberate circle around me, closing off every possible escape route. No wasted motion. No hesitation. They had done this before.One way in. No way out.A familiar figure stepped forward—the bounty hunter I had fought earlier. His mask was cracked from our last encounter, revealing part of his face. A jagged scar ran down his cheek, an old wound, but the
CHAPTER 32
First BloodThe city was dead.Ruins stretched as far as I could see, the skeletal remains of skyscrapers jutting into the sky like broken ribs. Shadows pooled in the cracks of shattered streets, their silence heavier than the wind howling through the wreckage. Everything smelled of rust and decay—of something old, abandoned, forgotten.I moved carefully, every step deliberate. The air was too still, too watchful. My skin prickled with unease, a familiar warning curling in my gut. Something was wrong.I wasn’t alone.The feeling slithered down my spine like ice. I’d learned to trust my instincts, and right now, they were screaming. The city was supposed to be empty, but I could feel the presence lingering just beyond sight.A vibration rippled through the ground beneath my boots. Subtle, but there. A footstep? A shift in weight? My pulse quickened as I scanned the ruins.Nothing.But I knew better.A voice cut through the silence, smooth and taunting. “You don’t know what you are, do
