✨ CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX — AIDEN'S AWAKENING: THE VESSEL WON'T BREAK ✨
The beam struck.
Golden light met blue.
But something inside Aiden… resisted.
The pain should have torn him apart. His body should have disintegrated. His aura should have collapsed entirely.
Yet the moment the beam touched him, a second pulse erupted—from deep within.
White-gold energy, threaded with faint cosmic symbols, erupted outward like a miniature supernova. The Extraction Web flinched—its chains snapping, burning from inside out.
Maya's eyes went wide. "Aiden… what—what is happening?!"
Dara stumbled backward, almost falling off the rubble. "BRO—HE'S… HE'S LIVING INSIDE A CANNON!!"
The golden-white aura grew, coiling around Aiden like a living halo. The fragments of the Heavenly Entity, long dormant, whispered inside his mind—soft, ancient, almost like starlight speaking through thought.
"Do not fear. I am the First Star. And you… are my Guardian."
Aiden gasped, vision blurring as his subconscious tapped into the Entity's power. His body shook violently, muscles straining, aura tearing through the limits of his mortal frame.
Golden wings of pure light unfurled from his back, their edges crackling with starlight. The Hunters froze mid-charge, spears raised, unsure if they faced a boy—or a god.
Maya's silver glow flared, intertwining with his light. "Aiden… you're… awakening!"
Dara clutched the bus, jaw slack. "Yeah… I don't think I can even describe how broken this looks."
The Citadel's cannon faltered—the beam sputtering under the opposing force. Its locking mechanism spun, struggling against the surge.
Aiden's eyes glowed white-gold, pupils slitted with cosmic intensity. His voice echoed—not just in sound, but in presence, vibrating across the battlefield.
"I… AM… NOT YOURS TO TAKE."
The white-gold aura expanded, sweeping across the rooftop in a wave of pure celestial pressure. Concrete shattered, steel bent, and the Hunters were thrown back by the sheer force. The Extraction Web evaporated, chains snapping like they were made of paper.
One Hunter tried to teleport behind him—but Aiden's awareness had expanded. With a flick of his hand, golden energy flared, intercepting the Hunter midair and sending them skidding across the ruined street.
Maya lifted both hands, weaving silver threads into his aura. "I'm linking to you… stabilize it! Control it!"
Aiden inhaled sharply. The voice inside—the First Star—guided him:
"Control the Vessel. Let the fragments align. You are both the shield and the blade."
He focused. The golden-white wings shimmered, feathers of light forming intricate constellations. Energy spiraled around him, not chaotic, not raw—precise. Every pulse, every flare, every strike a manifestation of the First Star's fragment, now partially fused with him.
Dara's eyes were comically wide. "BRO! YOU'RE LITERALLY A ONE-MAN PLANET NOW!!"
The Hunters scrambled, forming defensive positions—but the aura alone was pushing them back. Even the Citadel's cannon began retreating its energy, unable to pierce the Vessel's new layer of protection.
Aiden stepped forward, voice steady, body radiant:
"If you want the Vessel… you'll have to go through me. All of me."
The Hunters hesitated. For the first time, they sensed the power they underestimated—a Vessel not just surviving extraction, but transcending it.
Maya's silver threads danced around him, amplifying the white-gold energy, reinforcing every movement, every attack.
Dara stood up, gripping his pipe like it mattered. "Then… let's remind them we're a team, right?"
Aiden smiled faintly, golden wings stretching fully. "Right. No one touches my family."
With that, the first real counterattack of the Vessel Awakening began. Aiden, now partially merged with the First Star, surged forward. Light collided with darkness, and the rooftop became the stage of a battle no Hunter would survive without breaking their own limits.
The Dominion had underestimated him. And they were about to pay the price.