Chapter 45 – Siege Protocol: Omega Breach
The moment the sun dipped beyond the jagged skyline of Sector Ten, a terrible silence took over the warfront. The winds died, the ash stopped falling, and even the chirps of sensor drones ceased. Aaron Velcris stood on the western rampart of Fort Jericho, armor plates steaming from his last kinetic burst, his RS-I interface pulsing with cascading alerts.
> [REALITY SYNC INTERFACE – RS-I] Synchronization Status: 97% Command Module: Siege Protocol - Omega Breach Activated Tactical Priority: HOLD UNTIL DAWN Allies Online: 32 Combat Effectiveness: [Aaron Velcris – S++] Support Sync: Astrid Reyne (98% Linked) Adaptive Skill Buff: "Unbreakable Formation" – 280% Physical Resilience (Squad-wide)
Behind him, the ragtag band of Ascendant operatives had converged for what Command called "The Final Hinge." Their mission was suicidal—defend the breach while evacuating the last batch of civilians through the subterranean plasma conduit. It wasn't just about holding the line anymore. It was about rewriting the odds themselves.
Aaron's HUD flickered, and then Astrid's feed overlay lit up next to his—a live stream from the inner corridors of the fort. Her face was smeared with blood and nanite residue, but her voice came in clear.
"Main corridor secure. Civilians at 78%. We've got six more minutes before the evac tunnel collapses from overburn. If the eastern gate falls, we're toast."
Aaron nodded. "Understood. I'm initiating Phase Shift lockdown."
With a subtle gesture, Aaron triggered the RS-I Reality Bending Layer. The air around the breach shimmered. Geometry twisted, gravity reversed, and steel plates fused into crystalline defense matrices. His voice echoed across the comms.
"All units. Engage Omega Breach formation. Archers to spires. Kinetic users hold the front. If they want in, they'll have to come through me."
As the reality field solidified, the enemy emerged.
---
They weren't human. Not anymore. Once-dead Ascendants reanimated by spectral parasites swarmed the outer fields—grotesque figures of former comrades twisted by corruption. Their leader, the Hollow King, a skeletal juggernaut wrapped in living shadows, marched at the front, dragging a three-bladed halberd forged from null-entropy.
The Hollow King's voice dripped into their minds.
"Flesh unworthy. Time ends now. Submit."
Aaron stepped forward, summoning the full strength of his RS-I. Runes lit across his armored arms. His left shoulder emitted radiant hex-energy while the sword on his back hummed with evolving power.
"You'll have to kill me first," he whispered.
Then came the onslaught.
Wave after wave crashed against the defenses. Kinetic shields flickered, cannons overheated, and bio-nanite healers screamed as their resources ran dry. Yet Aaron stood firm, deflecting blow after blow, his blade dancing with furious resolve.
Beside him, Ryu Malik activated his Gravity Dome skill, crushing entire rows of spectral enemies. Junya used her refracted illusions to redirect the beasts back onto themselves. Still, it wasn't enough. The Hollow King had not yet entered the fray—and when he did, the world cracked.
With a motion that defied physics, the Hollow King surged forward, instantly decimating Aaron's forward shield. The shockwave blasted three defenders into pulp, and Aaron was thrown back fifty meters, crashing through the command tower's foundation.
> [CRITICAL HIT SUSTAINED] Armor Integrity: 42% Neural Lag Detected – Stabilizing... New Objective: Delay the Hollow King – 6:00 Minutes Remaining
He groaned and stood, bones re-knitting under forced regen. His RS-I flared.
> [New Symbiosis Unlocked: Astrid Reyne – Dual Core Overclock] Fusion Status: Synchronized Ability Manifestation: "Singularity Blade – Starbreaker Mode"
From across the chaos, Astrid reached toward Aaron, her power merging with his in a stream of golden fire. Their weapons fused, evolving into a two-meter blade of compressed singularity particles. When Aaron grasped it, the battlefield trembled.
The Hollow King turned, tilting his head.
Then Aaron was gone—vanished into a reality shift—and reappeared midair above the Hollow King's skull. The strike that followed didn't slice flesh. It erased existence.
> [Reality Severance Triggered – Enemy Core Ejection Imminent]
But it wasn't enough.
The Hollow King regenerated, laughing with an otherworldly resonance.
"Your reality bends. Mine shatters."
And then came the second wave.
---
As time dwindled, and Aaron's body began to overload from RS-I exhaustion, his vision tunneled. He saw Astrid fall. He saw Ryu collapse, organs crushed by quantum recoil. He saw the breach begin to rupture from within.
That's when Aaron made the call no Ascendant ever wants to make.
He activated the Alpha Burn.
> [WARNING: SYSTEM OVERCLOCK AT MAXIMUM THRESHOLD] Initiating Symbiosis Detonation – Fusion Stability: 13% Side Effects: Lethal
He poured everything into the final strike—life, soul, memory. The singularity blade expanded into a black sun. The Hollow King laughed—until the sun exploded.
The battlefield went white.
And then black.
And then—
---
Aaron woke up on a med-station floor, gasping. He blinked.
The sky was no longer red.
A doctor hovered above him. "He's awake! Velcris is alive!"
He looked down at his chest. His RS-I was gone.
> [REALITY SYNC INTERFACE – STATUS: RESET] New Directive: Path to Ascension – Phase II
Aaron turned his head slowly. The war was over.
But the next war had just begun.
>End Chapters 45-