Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 161 - Chapitre 170

POV: BarzilHe knew these hallways. The scent of ozone and recycled air was a memory etched into his olfactory nerves. He used to guard them. Now his presence was a violation.The cargo crawler hissed to a halt at the secondary docking bay of the Apex. The airlock cycled. A cloud of pressurized steam vented into the hold—white, opaque, smelling of sanitized lemon and cold metal. It was the scent of the sky city."Masks," I ordered.I pulled the black tactical cowl up over my nose. The fabric was rough against my skin.Viggo, Wolfy, and Guller did the same. We were no longer the ragged survivors of the Wastes. We were shadows moving through the arteries of the machine.We moved out of the cargo hold. We slipped between crates of hydroponic vegetables and refined Barzil ingots. The dock was automated. Droids loaded and unloaded with a quiet, efficient hum that vibrated through the floor plates.I approached the service hatch. It was a Class-3 security door. I knew the code. I had writte

POV: ViggoStealth was boring. Explosions were honest.The blast in the service tunnel displaced air with a concussive thump I felt in my diaphragm. The metal maintenance hatch twisted outward, hitting the marble floor with a chaotic, clattering crash that echoed down the corridor.As the smoke cleared, the alarms began.Woop. Woop.The sound was high-pitched, rhythmic, and piercing. It vibrated in my eardrums."Cover is blown," Wolfy stated.He adjusted his cuffs. His heart rate remained steady, a slow, rhythmic thud I could hear over the sirens."Probability of resistance has increased to 100%.""Finally," I grunted.I kicked the twisted metal aside. It skidded across the polished stone—a sharp, scraping sound."Form up," Barzil commanded.He drew his sword. The steel sang against the scabbard—a clear, ringing note."Viggo, point. Wolfy, control. Guller, keep the minds off us."We moved. Our boots hit the floor in a synchronized, heavy rhythm. We weren't the ragged survivors of the

POV: NeomaThey wanted my power. I decided to give them all of it.The laboratory was a sensory nightmare. The air smelled of burnt ozone, copper blood, and the high-pitched, chemical tang of fear.Barzil was a blur of violence. His sword moved with a speed that registered only as a streak of light on my retinas. The sound of metal cutting through armor was wet and sharp—like tearing thick canvas.Viggo followed him. He roared. The sound vibrated in my chest, a deep resonance that competed with the hum of the machine. He wielded a detached metal door. The impact of steel against bodies was a dull, heavy thud that cracked bone.Wolfy slid across the floor. He didn't look up. He touched the tiles, and ice bloomed in jagged spikes, freezing the boots of the guards with a sharp crack.But I was still strapped to the table.And the machine was still drinking me."Hold the line!" Nergal shouted.He retreated behind a wall of elite guards. His voice was high, strained."Protect the extractio

POV: ViggoBeing alone in a room with a monster induced cortisol. Being the monster induced adrenaline.I hammered my fists against the translucent wall. The impact jarred my bones up to the shoulder. My knuckles split. Skin tore. I smeared red streaks across the energy field.It didn't vibrate. It didn't crack.The Class 5 Barzil Barrier was a solid sheet of indifference. It separated my physical form from the biological anchors that kept me sane."Let me out!" I roared.The sound was swallowed by the acoustic dampeners. It felt like shouting underwater—heavy, muffled pressure in my ears.On the other side, Barzil clutched Neoma. She was limp. Grey. Broken.She looked at me. Her violet eyes were wide. Her pupils were dilated with a terror that wasn't for her own safety. She raised a trembling hand. Black veins pulsed weakly under her skin. She tried to summon the Void to shatter the wall.A spark of black lightning fizzled against the barrier. Psst. A weak, dying sound.She was empty

POV: NeomaHe wasn't gone. He was just buried under the biological imperative to kill.I watched Barzil fall. The Iron Warden, the man who had been a wall of muscle and gravity between me and the world, crumpled.He hit the floor plates with a heavy, final thud.Blood pooled instantly. It was dark, rich, and viscous against the white tile. It smelled of iron."Barzil!" Wolfy screamed.He tried to rise from the corner. His leg was twisted at an unnatural angle. The bone pressed against the skin.Viggo didn't look at the man he had just gutted. The monster didn't acknowledge collateral damage.The monster only acknowledged the target.He loomed over me.Twelve feet of matted fur and muscle vibrated with a chemical hate so potent I tasted bile. The Red Mist swirled around his ankles. It fed him. It kept the fire stoked in his blood.His breath washed over me. It was hot. Wet. It smelled of copper pennies and raw meat. Drool, thick and pink with foam, dripped from his jowls. It landed on