Chapter 100: The Frozen Grave

 

The Black Citadel (Shield HQ). Pacific Ocean. Command Center. 08:00 AM.

The holographic map of the world was no longer blue. It was dotted with Red Zones. Anomalies. Since the Chairman’s death, the Syndicate’s control grid had failed. The “monsters” were waking up.

Sebastian stood on the bridge, wearing a new uniform. Charcoal grey tactical gear with the Silver Shield emblem on the shoulder. He looked older, harder. The burden of the world was heavy.

"Report," Sebastian said, his voice echoing in the war room.

Kenji (Zero) spun his chair around. "We lost contact with Antarctica Station 5 three hours ago. The last transmission was... disturbing." He played the audio. Screams. Gunfire. And then, a chanting sound. In Latin. "Ascend... Ascend... The God wakes..."

"Latin?" Harper walked in, strapping on a new kinetic gauntlet. "Since when do alien monsters speak Latin?"

"They don't," Sebastian narrowed his eyes. "But cultists do." "The Syndicate kept these sites secret. Now that they are gone, the scavengers are moving in."

"Jack," Sebastian turned to his head of security. "Prep the Valkyrie." "We are going south."

---

[The White Hell]

Antarctica. Sector 8. Temperature: -60°C.

The Valkyrie (a prototype VTOL dropship stolen from the Syndicate and repainted) roared through the blizzard. Inside, the Shield Team was gearing up. They weren't wearing rags anymore. They wore Mark V Exoskeletons—sleek, insulated, powered armor designed by Sterling Corp. Jack checked his heavy rotary cannon. "I hope they have heat... I hate the cold."

"Approaching target," the pilot announced. "Station 5 is dark. No heat signatures."

"Drop ramp," Sebastian ordered. He put on his helmet. The HUD (Heads-Up Display) flickered to life. [ TEMP: CRITICAL. OXYGEN: 100%. WEAPONS: HOT. ]

They jumped into the snow. The station loomed ahead—a cluster of metal pods buried in the ice. The front door was ripped open. Not from the outside. From the inside.

---

[The Slaughterhouse]

They entered the mess hall. The smell hit them first. Frozen iron. Blood was splashed across the walls in strange, geometric patterns. Spirals. It looked less like a massacre and more like a ritual.

"Where are the bodies?" Harper scanned the room with her thermal vision. "There were twenty scientists here."

"Look at the table," Dr. Braun pointed, his voice trembling.

On the dining table, there were plates of food. Untouched. But in the center of the table, sitting on a silver platter, was a Human Heart. It was frozen solid. Carved into the muscle was a symbol: An Eye opening inside a Sun.

"The Ascended," Sebastian recognized the symbol from Kenji’s dark web files. "A fanatical splinter group of the Syndicate. They believe the Titans are angels sent to cleanse the Earth."

"So they killed the scientists?" Jack asked.

"No," Sebastian touched the frozen blood on the wall. "They converted them."

---

[The Tunnel]

A sudden tremor shook the station. THUMP... THUMP... It came from the Deep Borehole—the elevator shaft that went down 4,000 meters to the sub-glacial lake.

"They went down," Sebastian looked at the elevator. The cables were cut. "They are trying to reach the Source."

"If they wake up whatever is down there..." Kenji warned over the comms. "It will trigger a chain reaction. The ice shelf will collapse. Global tsunamis."

"We have to stop them," Sebastian walked to the emergency stairs. "Jack, set charges on the support pillars. If we fail, bury this place."

"With us inside?" Jack asked.

"Especially with us inside."

---

[The Priest]

They descended the stairs. Down, down into the dark. At Level B-10, they found the Drilling Chamber. The massive drill was silent. Instead, a group of figures stood around the borehole. They wore red robes over stolen arctic gear. They were chanting.

In the center stood a man. Tall, bald, with scars carved into his face to mimic the eyes of a monster. High Priest Malakai.

"You are late, Guardian," Malakai turned to face Sebastian. His eyes were wide, manic. "The bell has already been rung."

He held up a detonator. "The charges are set. Not to destroy the station. But to crack the ice."

"Drop it!" Sebastian aimed his rifle.

"Why?" Malakai smiled. "Do you not hear him? He is hungry." "He demands flesh."

Malakai pressed the button. BOOM.

---

[The Awakening]

The floor beneath them shattered. The ice cracked open. Water from the sub-glacial lake geysered up, freezing instantly in the air.

And from the abyss... something rose. It wasn't a Titan. Not yet. It was a Spawn. A tentacle, thick as a subway train, covered in bioluminescent eyes, shot out of the hole. It grabbed Malakai. The Priest didn't scream. He laughed. "Take me! I am chosen!"

CRUNCH. The tentacle crushed him instantly and dragged him down into the black water.

Then, more tentacles rose. They slapped against the metal catwalks, tearing the steel like paper. Leviathan Spawn.

"Open fire!" Sebastian yelled.

The Shield Team unleashed hell. Jack’s rotary cannon spun up. BRRRRRRRT. Thousands of rounds tore into the flesh of the monster. Harper fired grenades. THUMP. BOOM.

The monster shrieked—a sound that shattered the glass of their helmets. It wasn't just physical. It was psychic. [ WARNING: SUIT INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. ] [ MENTAL CONTAMINATION DETECTED. ]

"It's in my head!" Jack screamed, clutching his helmet. "Get it out!"

Sebastian activated his suit’s Override Mode. "Focus! It's fear! It's weaponized fear!" He drew his High-Frequency Blade (stolen from Takeshi’s lab). He charged at the tentacle that was reaching for Harper.

He jumped. The blade hummed with blue energy. He slashed. SQUELCH. He severed the tentacle. Blue blood sprayed over his visor.

The monster recoiled, retreating back into the hole, hissing. It wasn't dead. Just hurt.

---

[The War Begins]

The shaking stopped. The team stood on the ruined catwalk, panting. Below them, the dark water churned.

"That was just a baby," Harper whispered, looking at the severed tentacle twitching on the floor.

"And the Ascended just fed it," Sebastian wiped the slime from his visor. He looked at the detonator Malakai had dropped. The timer had stopped. But the damage was done. The seal was broken.

"Kenji," Sebastian activated his long-range comms. "Mobilize the fleet." "We are not going home." "We are building a base here. On top of the hole."

"Sir?" Kenji asked. "That's suicide."

"No," Sebastian looked into the abyss. "That's war." "From today, Antarctica is under martial law. Nothing comes out of that hole. And no one comes in."

He turned to his team. "Welcome to Outpost Zero."