MORE POWER STONE MORE CHAPTER
The SHIELD jet cut through the skies in silence. Henri sat across from Eyla, watching her sleep—head tilted, arms crossed, the faint glow of her system interface dimly pulsing along her wrist.
> She looks calm now, he thought. But how long before that peace gets ripped away too?
His own system HUD was in full diagnostic mode, running background processes on the synced data from the Wakanda battle.
Something was off.
Not wrong… just different.
More alive than ever before.
---
🧠 System Sync Status
> Node-2 Linked
Beacon Energy Stabilized (68%)
Admin Protocol: [Dormant] – Status Update Pending...
---
Then… the HUD froze.
> Wait—what the hell?
Lines of red code crawled across the edges of his vision. The usual interface dimmed and warped, as if being overwritten.
A new voice echoed in his mind.
Sharp. Cold. And inhuman.
> "Node-1 identified. Sync established. Authorization incomplete. Initiating Shadow Admin Protocol."
---
📛 SYSTEM OVERRIDE
WARNING: ROOT ACCESS ATTEMPTED
> Defense Subroutines Online
Intrusion Type: Internal
Source: The First Admin
> "Who are you?" Henri demanded out loud.
The voice responded instantly.
> "I am the architect. I am the echo. I am the First."
> "You mean… you created the system?"
> "I was created with the system. But I am not your ally."
---
Henri clenched his jaw. "Then what do you want?"
> "To restore control. The Upgrade System was never meant to be fragmented. You are unauthorized. You are interference."
The HUD flickered violently.
> "Surrender your node, or be cleansed."
---
Henri's system flared an urgent alert.
---
🧠 Emergency Quest Activated: Admin Override Detected
> Objective: Block Admin Access
Time Limit: 10 minutes
Failure: System Lockout / Node Corruption
Reward: Admin Firewall | Access to Root Log | Skill Upgrade Slot
---
Henri tapped rapidly into his Quick Craft panel, searching for anything that could fight back against a system-level threat.
> C'mon, think… I need to protect the interface itself.
---
🔧 Blueprint Detected: System Firewall Node v0.9
> Effect: Blocks Admin Override for 24 Hours
Power Draw: High
Crafting Time: 45 seconds
Materials Needed: Interface Crystal | Data Coil | Shielded CPU
> I've got the materials in the Jet's med panel techbox. Barely.
---
He sprinted to the cabinet, grabbed the tools, and began building.
Fingers flying. Sweat dripping.
Red lines of code surged down his vision—his HUD tearing apart pixel by pixel.
> 35%... 51%... 67%...
The voice returned, louder now.
> "You are delaying collapse. It is inevitable. Return the system to the core."
> "Yeah?" Henri muttered. "How about you eat static."
He slammed the crystal into place—
FWOOM.
A burst of violet-blue energy surged outward from his wristband.
The code lines burned away.
The voice screamed—not in pain, but like static tearing through a dying radio signal.
And then…
Silence.
---
✅ System Firewall Node Deployed
> Admin Override: Repelled
Duration: 24 Hours
Permanent Bonus Gained:
> +1 System Awareness
Skill Tree Branch: "Defensive Coding Protocols"
Access Granted: Root Log Fragment #001
---
Henri collapsed back into the seat, chest heaving.
> That wasn't a hacker. That thing was inside the system's bones.
He accessed the Root Log Fragment.
---
📜 ROOT LOG – FRAGMENT 001
> "The Upgrade System is not a tool. It is a vessel. A bridge. A key to access realities beyond structure and time. Each Node is a fragment of the original entity… before the Collapse. Before the War."
"If a user reaches 100% sync… they may awaken the True Core. But the Admins will not allow that. They remember the cost."
---
Henri read it twice.
> The system's not just giving me upgrades. It's rebuilding something older. Something broken.
And some "Admins"… wanted to stop it from ever waking up.
He looked over at Eyla, still sleeping.
> I'm not dragging her into this alone.
---
🛬 SHIELD Site-7 – Return Bay
Fury was waiting as the jet landed. Dr. Kane stood beside him, arms crossed, watching Henri carefully.
"So… good news or end of the world?" Fury asked.
Henri gave him a tired smirk. "Little of both."
He handed over a memory chip.
"Recovered enemy schematics. Synthetic Reclaimer variants. We stopped a node breach."
Kane narrowed her eyes. "And the system? Still stable?"
Henri hesitated. "Stable. But someone tried to override it from the inside. Not a virus. Something older."
Fury's face darkened. "So it's evolving?"
Henri nodded. "And whatever's at the center of it? It's watching."
---
📦 Later – Henri's Quarters
Eyla sat across from him now, sipping SHIELD's terrible coffee.
"So… this Admin thing," she said, "it wants the system back."
Henri nodded. "Or wants to erase us before we figure out how to use it properly."
She grinned, tired but fierce.
"Then we better get stronger."
The system pinged both of them.
---
🧠 Joint Mission Opportunity – Node 3 Tracking Available
> Location: Unknown
Clue: 'The Administrator's Blade lies buried beneath the ice.'
Sync Bonus: +1 Shared Craft Slot
Risk Level: Tier II++
---
Henri smirked. "You up for some ice?"
Eyla tapped her interface.
"Let's go hunting."
---
Far above the Earth…
In a black satellite orbiting beyond S.W.O.R.D.'s detection grid…
A glowing orb pulsed red.
Inside it…
> Node-3 initializing. Host candidate located.
A new voice whispered from the dark.
> "Soon, they will come for me. But I will not be claimed."