All Chapters of Dark Soldiers: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Elliot’s POV The glow of multiple monitors washed over my face as I sat in the quiet hum of my private lab. On the central screen, a news anchor’s voice cut through the silence with rehearsed urgency. “Breaking news: A catastrophic meltdown has occurred at the Chernobyl-2 experimental reactor site. Massive amounts of radioactive energy have been released into the atmosphere. Emergency crews are responding, but experts are warning of unprecedented side effects. Some theorists suggest this could trigger the activation of latent genetic traits in individuals, potentially leading to… supernatural abilities.” My heart hammered against my ribs. This wasn’t a disaster; it was a catalyst. The Totem of Eternal Instinct and Life—a theoretical source of ultimate biokinetic power—had always been a myth chased by fringe science. But this… this radiation surge could be the key to locating individuals already predisposed to manifesting abilities, living batteries of potential energy that could f

Dark Soldiers’ Base – Holding Room Elliot stood before the bank of monitors in the control room, his reflection a grim mask in the glass. On the screens, six young men lay on simple cots in a sterile white room, each with a dull metallic bracelet clamped around one wrist. “We’re missing one,” Elliot said, his voice low. Amy stood beside him, her tablet in hand. “Yes, sir. The seventh signature. It’s… erratic. Fades in and out. The profile fits the historical parameters for the entity code-named ‘Shadowalker.’ How do we find him?” Elliot’s expression darkened, his eyes fixed on the rolling static that represented the missing target on the main screen. “We don’t. An entity that old, that powerful? He’s not someone you find. He’ll reveal himself when he chooses. Or… he’ll find us.” Suddenly, a loud, angry shout erupted from the audio feed of the holding room. “Where the hell am I?!” It was Bryan, already sitting up, yanking at the bracelet on his wrist. “And where’s that girl

Elliot’s POV – The Briefing Elliot gathered the team in a small briefing room later that day. The mood from the rec room incident still hung in the air. “Okay, guys, cut the internal drama. We’ve got a real problem developing, and it’s time for a history lesson.” Classy, now more engaged, leaned forward. “What do you mean, problem?” “It concerns the reason for our little forest alert earlier,” Elliot said, bringing up a blurred, ancient-looking symbol on the screen—a shadowy figure between two opposing forces. “You all know basic myths. But this one is… specific. The tale of the Shadowalker.” To everyone’s surprise, it was Emma who piped up, his voice hesitant but clear. “I… I’ve read about that. In a banned manuscripts forum. He was a demon… created by Lucifer not as a torturer, but as a ultimate weapon. A being designed to wipe out all life on Earth in one go. But Lucifer messed up the primordial spell. A variable was wrong. Instead of a mindless destroyer, Shadowalker became a

Elliot’s POVI watched the interaction between Bryan and Northstar on the monitor in my office. The audio was crystal clear. Amy stood beside me, her arms crossed.“He’s not integrating,” she said quietly.“He doesn’t need to integrate,” I replied, keeping my eyes on the screen as Bryan walked away from Northstar’s door, scratching his head. “He needs to be operational. The Shadowalker is a tool. Northstar is its handle. We don’t need the handle to be friendly; we need it to be grip-able.”“Sir, with respect, treating him like a tool is how you make a weapon turn in your hand.” Amy’s voice was carefully neutral, but I heard the concern. She’d seen the footage of the forest, of the portal, of the effortless barrier. She understood the scale of what we were housing.“I’m aware,” I said, finally turning to her. “Which is why the next phase is critical. We need to test the team’s cohesion under pressure. And we need to see how the Shadowalker reacts when his new… colleagues… are in danger

Dark Soldiers’ Base – Med-Bay Observation DeckThe sterile white of the medical bay was a stark contrast to the grimy chaos of the warehouse. Through the thick glass, we watched a team of doctors and medical drones work on Amy. She lay on a central table, surrounded by glowing holographic readouts and whirring machines. The two puncture wounds on her neck were covered with a clear bio-gel, but a dark, web-like pattern was already spreading under her skin, creeping toward her jawline.Bryan stood with his palms and forehead pressed against the observation window, his breath fogging the glass. He hadn’t moved since we arrived. His knuckles were white.The rest of us were slumped in chairs or leaning against walls. Emma was quietly crying, his broken hand forgotten. Mello stared blankly at the floor. Willz sharpened the blade of his scythe with a stone he’d produced from nowhere, the rhythmic shhhk-shhhk sound the only noise in the room. Classy stood beside Cara, who was shaking, wrapped