The world outside the military compound was still drenched in the faint glow of the dying sun. A convoy of armored vehicles rolled down a dirt road toward the outskirts of Sector 7, where a decommissioned base lay abandoned since the last continental war. The air was dry, filled with dust and static tension. Inside the rear vehicle sat Blade, hands bound in steel cuffs that weren't meant for restraint but for synchronization cuffs that pulsed faint blue light, connected to the control monitor in front of Dr. Crow.
Crow's gaze was sharp as ever, his expression a mixture of fascination and clinical detachment. He watched Blade through the glass panel that separated them, speaking into his comm. "Subject 07 is stable. Neural synchronization is complete. Preparing for live deployment test."
Blade's eyes were half-lidded, his mind a storm of scattered thoughts and flashes of memory that refused to form a whole picture. Images of the sterile white room. Needles. Blood swirling into glass tubes. Voices whispering behind thick glass.
He exhaled slowly, the air vibrating faintly around him as if his body responded to unseen frequencies. Something inside him that strange power that had begun to awaken hummed beneath his skin.
The convoy stopped. The steel door hissed open.
Cold night air hit Blade's face. The facility loomed ahead: tall, broken towers, floodlights flickering weakly, and a massive hangar entrance half buried in sand. A holographic seal shimmered faintly above the doorway, marking it as property of the organization's internal testing grounds.
Crow stepped out first, adjusting his lab coat. "This is where you'll earn your classification," he said, voice calm but cold. "You're to retrieve an encrypted data core from inside and neutralize any hostiles you encounter. Consider them uncontrolled test subjects failures, if you will."
"Failures?" Blade repeated, his voice low and hoarse.
Crow's eyes glinted. "Yes. Those who didn't meet our expectations. Think of them as reminders of what you must never become."
A small team of armed operatives unloaded crates behind them. Each wore masks with glowing visors. One approached Blade and unlocked his cuffs. "Time starts once you enter the facility," Crow added, his tone almost playful. "Show me what the serum has made of you."
Blade said nothing. He stepped toward the entrance, feeling the faint thrum of energy crawling beneath his veins. Every sense sharpened. The darkness inside seemed to call to him.
He entered.
The heavy doors closed behind him with a clang that echoed through the corridor. Dust and silence filled the air, interrupted only by the distant hum of old generators. The building smelled of rust and old oil, of experiments left behind.
Blade moved forward cautiously, his boots crunching on shattered glass. Faint shadows darted across the far wall too fast to belong to rats. His instincts screamed.
He stopped, listening.
A sudden metallic screech rang from above. A figure dropped from the ceiling, landing hard in front of him. Pale skin, eyes glowing faint red, body covered in surgical scars. Its breath came out in short, animal-like gasps.
Another subject.
"Identify yourself," Blade demanded, stepping back slightly.
The creature lunged.
Its speed was brutal a blur that tore through the air like a cannon shot. Blade reacted instinctively; his body moved before thought. The world around him slowed, colors stretching, sound twisting into syrup. His first ability had triggered.
He sidestepped, grabbed the creature's arm mid-strike, and twisted. The movement was too fast, too precise. The world snapped back into motion. The body crashed into the wall, leaving a crater of shattered concrete.
Blade stood over it, chest rising and falling in steady rhythm.
The creature twitched once, then stilled.
He didn't feel triumph only a strange emptiness, the same void that haunted his dreams.
In the control room miles away, Crow watched the feed from the facility's interior cameras. A smile curved on his lips. "Remarkable," he whispered. "The temporal reaction is stabilizing."
An assistant nearby hesitated. "Sir, should we initiate Phase Two?"
Crow tilted his head. "Yes. Release the remaining subjects. Let's see how he performs under sustained pressure."
Back inside, Blade heard the low groan of metal as sealed doors began to open across the corridor. More footsteps echoed heavy, rapid, multiplied.
He clenched his fists. His heart raced, but not from fear. The serum inside him burned, alive and hungry.
He looked down the dark hallway as shapes began to emerge from the shadows. Dozens of eyes glimmered in the darkness.
His lips curved slightly. "Come on, then."
The first one charged.
Blade moved like water, his movements fluid yet sharp. He dodged, struck, twisted, and crushed. Every time he fought, the world around him seemed clearer sharper. For the first time since awakening in that hospital, he felt awake.
As the fight intensified, faint flashes of the future began to overlay his vision micro-seconds ahead of reality. A punch here, a strike there, a shift in stance. His second ability had joined the fray, weaving itself seamlessly into his movements.
One creature tried to flank him from behind. Blade ducked just before the attack connected, pivoted, and slammed his palm into the creature's chest. The impact sent it flying backward.
He barely noticed the blood, the sound, the destruction. His mind was quiet. His body acted on instinct, guided by something deeper.
When the last of them fell, the corridor was littered with motionless bodies. Blade stood amidst the ruin, breathing slowly, his eyes faintly glowing with golden light.
For a brief second, he felt something stir in his right eye a pulse, as if it were awakening to a new perception. But before he could understand it, a voice crackled through the intercom above him.
"Excellent performance," Crow's voice echoed. "Proceed deeper. The data core is in the command room below Hangar C. But be cautious the real test begins now."
Blade looked ahead, the dim light flickering over his face. He wiped a streak of blood from his cheek.
"Fine," he muttered, his voice steady. "Let's see what else you've got."
He stepped deeper into the darkness.
The corridor sloped downward, leading deeper into the abandoned base. The walls were lined with old pipes leaking a misty vapor that made the air heavy and metallic. Emergency lights blinked erratically, painting the path ahead in red and white flashes like the pulse of a dying heartbeat.
Blade moved silently, his boots echoing faintly against the steel floor. The adrenaline from the earlier fight still coursed through his veins, but there was a strange calm to it a sense of purpose. Every breath came measured. Every step calculated.
He stopped before a thick blast door. A faint hum came from behind it power still ran through the circuits inside. He reached out, pressing his palm against the cold surface. Beneath the metal, he could feel movement heartbeats. Several of them.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Monitoring his vitals," Crow's voice whispered through the comms, distant but clear. "His heart rate is steady. Neural patterns normal. This level of combat awareness is beyond initial projections."
Another voice replied, one Blade didn't recognize older, deeper, commanding. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Doctor. He's only a prototype. Push him too far, and we'll lose another investment."
Crow didn't answer.
The blast door opened slowly, gears grinding as if resisting the command. Beyond it lay a large chamber filled with old machinery conveyors, cranes, and suspended cages. Chains hung from the ceiling like iron vines, and dim light filtered through broken skylights above.
But Blade's attention was drawn to the figures standing in the center of the room.
Three of them.
They weren't like the failed experiments from before. Their stances were composed, deliberate. Their eyes focused. Each wore partial combat armor marked with the insignia of the organization. Their skin bore faint geometric lines that glowed faintly signs of stabilization.
Not failures.
Competitors.
One stepped forward tall, lean, with sharp silver eyes and a scar across his jaw. His voice was calm, almost respectful. "You're the new one, aren't you? The doctor's pet."
Blade said nothing.
"I'm Subject 09," the man continued. "We're part of the Black Fang Division. We were told to test your worth."
Another figure, shorter but broader, cracked his neck. "Test, or eliminate. Doesn't matter."
Blade tilted his head slightly, eyes glinting under the flickering light. "If you're looking for a fight," he said quietly, "you found one."
Without warning, the broad soldier charged, the ground cracking beneath his boots. His movements were fast unnaturally fast. Blade barely had time to react before a punch whistled past his head, grazing his jaw.
He slid backward, pivoted, and struck back with a palm strike to the soldier's ribs. The impact sent the man stumbling but not falling. The opponent grinned, blood dripping from his lip. "Good. You can hit hard."
The other two began to move in unison, their coordination almost inhuman. They flanked Blade from both sides, forcing him to pivot and shift positions rapidly. The sound of clashing steel echoed through the room as one drew twin blades that vibrated with energy.
Blade caught the first slash on instinct, twisting his body to avoid the second. Sparks flew.
He activated his temporal ability. The world slowed to a crawl. The blades' arcs became visible lines of motion suspended midair. He slipped between them, countering with a knee to one opponent's chest, then followed with a spinning elbow that sent another crashing into the ground.
When time resumed, the noise returned in a single thunderclap.
The third soldier, the leader, hadn't moved. He watched calmly as his two comrades fell, his silver eyes narrowing slightly. "So it's true," he murmured. "You're not bound by the control chips."
Blade frowned. "Control chips?"
But the man didn't answer. He raised his hand, and the air shifted. A ripple of distortion spread through the chamber, distorting light and sound.
The temperature dropped instantly.
Blade braced himself as the leader's body began to emit faint black mist, tendrils of shadow coiling around his limbs like smoke. His aura was suffocating, his presence heavy.
Crow's voice cut through the comms, alarmed. "That's Subject 09! One of the advanced models! Blade, disengage immediately"
Static cut him off.
The leader blurred forward, appearing in front of Blade in less than a heartbeat. Blade ducked, the blow grazing his shoulder and leaving a burning mark that hissed with residual energy.
He countered with a flurry of strikes, each blocked effortlessly. The man was fast faster than any subject he'd faced before.
Then, for a brief instant, Blade's second ability flared. The future flashed before his eyes — a glimpse of his opponent's next movement.
He sidestepped before the strike even came, twisted his body, and drove his elbow into the man's abdomen. The impact forced him back several steps.
The leader exhaled sharply, eyes narrowing. "Interesting. You saw that coming, didn't you?"
Blade didn't reply. He wiped the blood from his lip and steadied his breathing.
The fight resumed.
This time, it wasn't brute strength it was precision. Every movement, every feint, every strike carried intent. The sound of their battle echoed across the empty hall, a symphony of impact and fury.
Chains rattled overhead as shockwaves rippled through the floor. Dust fell from the ceiling.
The leader tried to overwhelm him with raw speed, but Blade matched him. His perception of time stretched further, his awareness sharpening beyond instinct. For a moment, it almost felt like the world itself bent to his will.
Then silence.
Both stopped, standing a few feet apart. The air between them shimmered with energy.
"You're different," the leader said, almost admiringly. "You're not like us. They failed to break you."
Before Blade could respond, the man smiled faintly and pressed something against his neck a trigger implant.
"Let's see how far you can go when the real monsters wake up."
He slammed his hand to the floor.
The entire chamber shook.
Massive steel pods hidden along the walls began to open, releasing thick clouds of gas. The sound that followed was inhuman growls, screams, the sound of claws scraping metal.
Crow's panicked voice returned over the comm. "Blade, get out of there now! Those are incomplete models! Their stability is unpredictable!"
But Blade wasn't listening. His focus was locked on the shadowy shapes emerging from the pods hulking figures, their forms twisted and unstable, a grotesque fusion of muscle and machinery.
His pulse quickened.
He took one step forward, his hand tightening into a fist.
If this was the test, he would pass it his way.
The chamber became a storm of chaos.
From the ruptured pods, abominations clawed their way into existence warped silhouettes of failed soldiers, their bodies a patchwork of metal, sinew, and pulsating veins. Their eyes glowed with crimson light, unfocused yet hungry. Each one was a mistake that refused to die.
The scent of ozone and blood filled the air.
Blade stood at the center, his breathing calm despite the carnage around him. The floor trembled beneath his boots as the creatures began to converge, crawling over machinery and broken scaffolds like insects drawn to flame.
He cracked his neck. "So this is the real test."
One of the creatures lunged first a hulking beast with an exposed spinal core and a distorted face that still bore traces of a human jawline. Its scream tore through the air like feedback.
Blade sidestepped the charge, slicing through the creature's neck with surgical precision. Black fluid splattered across his arm, sizzling where it touched skin. The creature convulsed, then fell limp.
But for every one that fell, two more emerged.
Crow's voice returned through static. "Blade! Do you copy? The energy readings in your sector are spiking off the charts! You need to"
The signal cut again.
He ignored it.
The ground erupted as another creature even larger burst from below, its body reinforced with armored plating. It swung a massive arm, sending a shockwave that hurled debris in every direction. Blade ducked low, sliding beneath the strike, then drove his elbow into the creature's core joint. The impact cracked its armor, and with a follow-up strike, he shattered it completely.
The thing roared then exploded in a flash of unstable energy, sending Blade crashing into a pillar.
Pain shot through his body. His vision blurred for a moment, then refocused.
He exhaled slowly.
The implants in his bloodstream began to respond. His veins lit faintly beneath the skin a dull silver glow.
"Adaptive boost detected," whispered a mechanical voice from deep within his auditory implants. "Overclock protocol: unlocked."
His heartbeat quickened. Time stretched again, slower than before but sharper. He could see the ripples in the air where the next creature moved, predict every trajectory before it happened.
He vanished.
To the monsters, it looked as if he'd simply ceased to exist. Then, a heartbeat later, they began to fall one by one each strike too fast to follow, each motion impossibly clean.
Blades of light cut through flesh and steel. Bones shattered. Sparks erupted.
When he stopped moving, the floor was littered with corpses twitching masses that leaked black fluid into the cracks of the metal floor.
For a brief, heavy moment, the chamber was silent again.
Then, from the smoke, a figure emerged.
Subject 09.
Half his armor was torn away, revealing a network of scars and cybernetic veins. His eyes glowed brighter than before not silver now, but white-hot, burning like twin stars.
"You adapted faster than expected," he said, voice strained but calm. "Maybe you really are what they say you are the perfect echo."
Blade steadied his breathing. "You're talking too much."
Subject 09 smiled faintly. "And you're still holding back."
Before Blade could react, the man raised his hand and detonated a pulse grenade at point-blank range.
The explosion wasn't concussive. It was gravitational.
The entire room folded inward for an instant, space itself bending as the floor cracked and the air turned heavy. Blade felt himself being dragged down, his limbs straining against invisible pressure.
He roared, forcing his body to move through it. The implants in his neck flared, overloading their circuits just to stabilize balance.
Subject 09 moved within the distortion like it was natural, his attacks coming faster now, each one aimed to cripple. Blade countered as best he could, sparks flying every time their blows collided.
Their movements became a blur of force and speed two storms colliding.
Finally, Blade caught his opponent's arm mid-strike, twisting it until bone snapped. He followed with a brutal headbutt, shattering the man's visor and sending him sprawling across the chamber.
The gravitational field began to collapse, the distortion unraveling violently.
Subject 09 coughed blood but was still smiling. "Good… you'll need that strength soon."
"What are you talking about?"
He looked up, eyes flickering. "You think this is about you, Blade? You're just one variable in their equation. They call you 'The Catalyst.' When your system synchronizes fully… the real experiment begins."
Before Blade could demand answers, alarms blared throughout the base.
WARNING: Core containment breach. Evacuation recommended.
The lights turned red. Massive steel shutters began to fall, sealing corridors one by one.
Crow's voice broke through the static, frantic this time.
"Blade! You need to move! The core's going to blow the energy readings are unstable!"
Blade glanced back at Subject 09, who was laughing weakly, blood dripping from his mouth.
"Run if you want," he said. "But it won't matter. The reset's already been triggered."
Then his body began to disintegrate not burning, not melting, but fading into streams of light that dissolved into the air.
"Wha?" Blade took a step forward, but the floor beneath him cracked.
The entire chamber erupted in a blinding flash.
For a heartbeat, everything stopped sound, gravity, thought.
Then came the roar.
The explosion tore through the facility, vaporizing steel, stone, and flesh alike. Blade was thrown upward, crashing through collapsing ceilings as fire and light swallowed everything behind him.
He landed hard in an upper corridor, smoke filling the air. His armor was scorched, systems flickering. The world tilted, but he forced himself to stand.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
Crow's voice returned, faint and broken. "Blade… do you read me?"
He touched his earpiece, coughing. "Still here."
"Oh, thank god the data… the readings from your neural core it spiked before the explosion. Something's something's changing inside you."
Blade looked down at his hands. The faint silver glow beneath his skin had deepened, spreading into intricate patterns that pulsed like circuitry.
He clenched his fists, unsure if what he felt was power or fear.
"Crow," he said quietly, "what did they make me into?"
There was a long pause on the other end. Then, almost in a whisper:
"…Something they can't control."
The communication line went dead.
Blade stood amidst the smoke and ruin, the last echoes of the explosion fading into the distance. The base burned behind him, collapsing piece by piece.
Above, through the shattered roof, he could see the first light of dawn.
He took a slow breath, then turned away from the fire, disappearing into the mist.
The operation was over.
But the war had only just begun.