As Rex gripped the reforged Excalibur, a new name fell from his lips—"Atherion."
The moment he spoke it, light burst from the blade, brilliant and blinding. Lightning cracked from the heavens, and with each strike, armored soldiers materialized, wielding an array of weapons.
Rex hurled Atherion. Mid-flight, the sword shifted into a spear, piercing the massive doors ahead and shattering them with divine force. A brilliant wave of light erupted, forcing the summoned soldiers to their knees, trembling under its righteous radiance. Without hesitation, Rex drew Eclipse and swept it in a single arc—decapitating the army where they knelt.
Grabbing his weapons, Rex sprinted toward a nearby airfield. But lightning chased him relentlessly. He vaulted into a small plane, setting it to autopilot, but another strike ripped from the storm—soldiers appeared atop the aircraft, clinging to its wings like vultures.
The battle raged in the skies. Rex drew Silent Fang, deflecting a crushing blow from three armored foes while unleashing his gun, Cerberus, to mow down the swarming horde. One by one, they fell. Once the deck was clear, he leapt back into the cockpit—only for another thunderous bolt to cripple the engine.
The plane plummeted. Rex flung himself into the ocean just before impact.
The sea was no gentler. A great white shark circled and lunged, but Rex struck with Silent Fang, cleaving the beast in two. Another seized him in its jaws, dragging him into the abyss. More circled, their teeth gnashing. With one hand, Rex fought free, carving through their ranks until silence returned to the deep. Bleeding, battered, he swam to shore—emerging on the beaches of New York.
Half-dead, he staggered into a small clinic. There, as he stitched his wounds, his mind turned not to survival but to innovation. If the world was to stand against this enemy, medicine had to advance.
At his base, he ordered his men to bring him to the lab. There, Rex built a prototype—a microscopic robot designed to rebuild muscle and tissue. Hours later, his ruined arm pulsed with new strength. Unsatisfied, he crafted a second machine—one capable of producing countless healing nanobots, multiplying recovery twentyfold.
When his work was done, he summoned Cyrus.
"Gather the others," Rex commanded. "War council. Now."
"But my king—the war room is incomplete," Cyrus stammered.
Rex's gaze hardened. "Then we'll meet in what's built."
The half-finished chamber filled with his royal guard. Rex stood tall, his presence commanding silence.
"I know you have questions. You deserve answers. The truth is this—the world itself is our enemy. But this is not the only Earth."
Shocked murmurs swept the room. Artemis spoke hesitantly. "You mean… other dimensions?"
"No." Rex's voice cracked like thunder. "Other Earths. Countless ones once existed—but they've been forced together, merged into the single world we now inhabit. It was never meant to be. And it can never be undone."
Silence pressed heavy on the chamber.
Cyrus finally found his voice. "Then… those armored soldiers? Who were they?"
"The true enemy," Rex said grimly. "The ones I was tasked to destroy."
Faces around the room paled.
"I will reveal the full truth only when our army is whole," Rex continued. "When we've hunted the rest of the Ten Commandments… and when the Royal Guard is ready."
The room echoed as all present bowed, their voices unified: "Yes, my king."
Rex turned without another word, leaving the war council in a silence deeper than fear—a silence born from the weight of a truth too vast to bear.