The journey from the humid Nigerian rainforest to the Chapter 15 staging ground was a blur of deafening engine noise and sterile silence. Kwandezi and Aisha occupied the main cabin of the VDC Dropship, a heavily armored transport vessel codenamed Iron Beetle. The cabin was dominated by the faint, clinical smell of ozone and disinfectant, a scent Kwandezi found increasingly repugnant—it was the odor of the system that had manufactured his entire miserable existence.
Kwandezi sat across from Aisha, his new black combat mesh suit absorbing the faint vibration of the dropship's plasma engines. The suit felt like a second skin, unnervingly light, but the silver dampener bracelets on his wrists were a constant, cold weight. He was no longer just a monster; he was a machine in a highly specialized chassis. He didn't speak. He simply stared, not at Aisha, but through her, his consciousness tracing the contours of the energy field that contained him. He was analyzing his cage.
Pathetic. They think metal can hold the will of the Void, the Void Host whispered inside his mind, its voice a dry, echoing mockery. Let them believe their science is sufficient. It will make the shattering more satisfying.
Kwandezi suppressed the thought with the practiced ease of long years of self-hatred. His focus remained singular: Marcus Thorne. The name was a new anchor, a reason to endure the sickening cycle of life, death, and immediate resurrection. He had failed to die; he would not fail to exact revenge.
Aisha finally broke the tense silence. She was examining a holographic schematic projected from a device embedded in her Specialist Aegis Suit's forearm. The schematic showed a multi-layered structure plunging deep into the earth, crisscrossed with seismic stress lines and cooling conduits—the Deep-Earth Research Site in the Delta region.
"This site, it's Tier 3," Aisha said, her voice strained. "It's one of the oldest Void-Energy harvesting stations the VDC has. It draws power from deep seismic fissures. If the Tier-Two Void-borne reaches the primary core, it won't just be an explosion; it'll be a regional energy collapse. Millions of people in the Clean Zones will lose power and protection."
Kwandezi lifted his gaze slightly, his purple-tinged eyes finally settling on her face. "And the protocols?"
"The local protocols are already at Void Alert Level 3 (Extreme Threat). Standard procedure dictates a full Chapter deployment to secure the core," Aisha explained, tapping a blinking red zone on the schematic. "But Chapter 15 is thin on resources. Their Captain, Zara, is from the Ironclad Family. They specialize in resource and material control, not direct combat. They manage the logistics of the Veil, the supply lines, the physical world. They prefer Magnetic Field Generation and industrial weaponry to raw power."
"A family of thieves, controlling the logistics of other thieves," Kwandezi summarized dryly, his lips barely moving. "And they are meeting a notorious traitor, Thorne, who is also one of them. The corruption is beautifully simple."
"Thorne was a General in the Storm-Walker Family's military division, before his disappearance," Aisha corrected, her eyes darting to the closed cabin door, ensuring the VDC pilot couldn't hear. "He was part of the inner circle of the Banisher Family's enforcement network—the one responsible for purging 'unstable assets' like you. Akanni giving you Thorne's name is a double-edged sword. It's your vengeance, but it's also a way to tie up a dangerous loose end that threatens the stability of the Veil."
They are all insects caught in the same web of lies, the Void Host sneered. We will burn the web and the insects together.
Kwandezi ignored the voice. He saw the logic. The VDC was using him to erase their own shame. "I don't care about their stability. Tell me about the monster."
"The Tier-Two is classified as a Geo-Parasite. It consumes seismic and raw mineral energy. It's tearing the tunnel systems apart, looking for the core," Aisha pulled up a grainy sensor image. The creature was indistinct, a massive, jagged shape covered in crystalline formations. "Our primary concern is its physical structure. Standard Plasma Railgun fire might only superheat its crystals, making it more volatile. Magnetic Field Generation will only redirect it."
"It's made of rock and metal," Kwandezi concluded. His knowledge of matter and energy was now instinctive, a cold clarity granted by the Molecular Transmutation power. "I can turn the rock to sand and the metal to water. It's a glorified mineral deposit. Child's play."
"No," Aisha said, leaning closer, her voice dropping to an urgent whisper. "It is not child's play. If you use that much power down there—if you transmute that much mass—you'll destabilize the entire research site, triggering the collapse. The Captain said you must be efficient. You need precision, not annihilation. That means no Null-Kinetic pulse. You need to find its energy nexus and transmute only that core."
Kwandezi finally met her eyes, a glimmer of cold, calculated respect replacing his boredom. She was right. She was forcing him to control the monster, not just unleash it. She was challenging the Void Host's desire for brute force with human intelligence.
"You're a good Anchor, Operative," he conceded. "You know how to use the leash."
Arrival at Chapter 15
The Iron Beetle dropped them onto the cracked concrete apron of the Deep-Earth site. The air here was not humid like the rainforest, but oppressively hot, thick with the sulfurous scent of geothermal steam and fear. The site was a chaotic mess of heavy machinery—massive drill rigs, reinforced container units, and cooling towers—all bearing the rust-red and silver insignia of the Ironclad Family.
They were met by Captain Zara. She was younger than Akanni, maybe early thirties, wearing a custom Ironclad Aegis Suit that was less bulky than standard VDC issue but reinforced with visible magnetic stabilization plates. She looked exhausted, her face smeared with soot, her eyes frantic.
"You're the asset," Zara stated, bypassing Aisha entirely and looking Kwandezi up and down with unconcealed skepticism. "You look like a teenager who just got dressed by a tech broker. And this is a Void Alert Level 3 situation. We have lost contact with two containment teams. The Geo-Parasite is 80 meters from the main reactor core."
"I am Specialist Kwandezi, on direct orders from the Capital. This is my handler, Operative Aisha," Aisha interjected, using the official VDC protocol voice. "We have the updated schematics. Thorne is our priority."
Zara scoffed. "Thorne? Who cares about some relic thief when the entire Delta region is about to go dark? My priority is preventing a core breach. My men are struggling to deploy the magnetic containment grids because the monster is destabilizing the conduits. We are Ironclads; we manage the structure of this world, not the chaos! If you're so special, go down there and transmute the damn thing! I'll take the credit for the stabilization."
"We will neutralize the target, Captain," Aisha confirmed coldly. "But Kwandezi needs detailed knowledge of the core's composition to avoid a cascade failure."
Zara, desperate, quickly pulled up a holographic projection showing the internal structure of the site. "The core is triple-shielded with Corundum-Steel alloy. The creature's activity is concentrated in the old Tungsten-Rutile supply tunnels. You hit the main power nexus there; the core is safe. But if you touch the Corundum-Steel with that... power of yours, the entire site implodes. Understood?"
"Understood," Kwandezi replied, his voice a low monotone. He was already visualizing the chemical composition of Corundum-Steel, logging the molecular structure of the hazard zone. This was a puzzle now, a test of his control—precisely what the Void Host hated.
The Captain's contempt was palpable. "Don't disappoint me, Specialist. My Chapter's reputation depends on me stabilizing this site before the Storm-Walkers send their muscle down here to take over."
Into the Deep
Kwandezi and Aisha descended into the research site via a repurposed ventilation shaft, the air growing thick and hot. Aisha used her Specialist Aegis Suit's winch to rappel down, while Kwandezi simply dropped, relying on a controlled kinetic dampening field to soften his landing twenty meters below.
The tunnels were a nightmarish labyrinth of twisted, fractured metal and steam-blasted concrete. The silence was broken only by the rhythmic, groaning sounds of stressed metal—the Geo-Parasite was actively working on its target.
"The air quality is toxic," Aisha reported, her voice slightly muffled by her helmet. "My Synch Rate monitor is active. Your current power output is zero. Good."
Kwandezi ignored her. His eyes, naturally adjusted to the gloom, scanned the walls. He wasn't looking for movement; he was looking for molecular stress. He could feel the difference in the material, the weak points where the monster's energy was focused.
"The creature is not just consuming the seismic energy," Kwandezi murmured, drawing his twin shortswords. The blades shimmered faintly in the gloom, their Void-tempered edges eager for contact. "It's using its own mineral composition to destabilize the metal on a subatomic level. It's a slow-motion molecular disassembly. Efficient, actually."
A sudden surge of pressure slammed into the wall near them. The concrete fractured violently. Aisha brought up her Plasma Railgun, the barrel charging with a focused whine of energy.
"There it is," she whispered. "Two hundred meters. And the seismic sensors are spiking. We need to move fast, Kwandezi, or we'll be crushed."
They moved through the tunnels—Kwandezi moving like a shadow, Aisha following, relying on her suit's augmented speed and situational awareness. They passed the remains of the VDC containment teams—not bodies, but empty Aegis Suits, their armor buckled and cracked, lying beside piles of strange, crystalline sand. The creature wasn't consuming them; it was transmuting their bodies into elemental minerals, leaving only the synthetic shell behind.
A magnificent power, the Void Host purred, its voice thick with cold appreciation. The creature understands that flesh is transient. It is a crude mirror of our own power.
Kwandezi fought off the wave of appreciation the Host projected. He focused on his twin swords. He had to hit the creature's power nexus—a specific point, not the whole mass.
They reached a massive cavern where the primary geothermal conduit ran like a glowing, orange river of heat. In the center, attached to the thick Tungsten-Rutile walls, was the Geo-Parasite. It was enormous—a pulsating, jagged mass of raw, crystalline mineral, crackling with captured seismic energy. Its movements were slow, deliberate, as it used its massive forms to grind the metal walls into a useless crystalline powder.
A wave of crushing heat and pressure hit them. Aisha staggered. "Kwandezi, its density is off the charts! My Synch Rate monitor is peaking. You must be precise!"
Kwandezi's eyes narrowed. He recognized the pattern. The creature was not just made of rock; it was using its own molecular frequency to vibrate the surroundings into dust.
"I need to match its frequency," Kwandezi said, his voice flat. He extended his hand, and the Void energy that covered his left arm intensified, becoming a solid, pulsating sheet of violet energy. He focused his will. "I can't simply erase it. I have to unravel it."
He didn't need to touch the monster. He focused his power on the air around the monster, intending to reverse the polarity of its molecular vibration. The ground began to hum violently, not from the monster's power, but from his own controlled molecular field. Kwandezi was playing an impossible frequency on the massive crystalline creature.
The Geo-Parasite shrieked—not a physical sound, but a deafening noise of shearing molecular bonds. It started to shake, its crystalline armor cracking and falling away as its own internal structure began to violently disassemble.
A blinding flash of movement followed.
A figure emerged from the smoke, moving with the cold, practiced speed of a veteran operative. It was a man in a scarred, personalized Storm-Walker Aegis Suit—Thorne. He was holding a briefcase secured with Void-sealed locks and wearing a grin of manic desperation.
"You won't stop me, you VDC brats!" Thorne roared, aiming a specialized Void-Relic Cannon at the ceiling. He was not aiming to kill them, but to bring down the whole cavern. "The VDC's corruption ends tonight!"
Kwandezi didn't hesitate. He knew the monster was dealt with. He only had eyes for Thorne. He shot forward, twin swords drawn, a hurricane of fury aimed at the traitor who had killed his mother. The game had just become deadly personal.