The acrid scent of ozone clung to the air. The cracked tiles covered the floor, and sparks started to slither out of the walls like splintered veins emitting light. The laboratory used to be clean, but now it was a rotting tomb—smoke and shadows shrouding every surface.
The mysterious man stood, his trident planted in the ground beside him, his solitary foot loosely over the unconscious body of Dr. Rhane, who now lay in a heap under fallen debris. Electricity still crackled along the floor from his last fight.
He slowly exhaled, the breath distorted behind the shield of his helmet.
Mysterious Man (fatigued):
"It's over…"
And then—a faint noise.
Crunch.
Rock scraped beneath a scuffing heel.
He turned hastily, trident at the ready.
One of the previously defeated vessels staggered upright, its body twitching erratically, as if a different force now pulled its strings. Its white eyes glowed brighter than before—inhumanly so.
Mysterious Man (tense):
"Still standing…? Why?"
The vessel didn't respond. Instead, it slammed its palm to the broken lab floor. From the scorched ground, a swirling, black vortex bloomed like ink in water.
Another arrived.
And this one was different.
Statuesque, imposing—its flesh seemed to be armored in shiny metallic plates, the plates clicking together without seams like an exosuit. Jagged runes that glowed marked down its arms and chest. It moved with slow, deliberate… calculated steps.
Radiant metal shavings from the destroyed laboratory began to shake—clank.
With a violent jerk, they shot towards the figure, condensing around its arm. Pipes, wiring, and steel plates—all merged, swirling, and folding under unseen magnetic power until a giant of serrated metal was created, standing on its shoulder like a guillotine.
Mysterious Man (lowering his trident a notch):
"So… he sent one of his Primary Vessels."
The primary vessel tilted its head, its white eyes hollow but with something ancient. Something monstrous.
Mysterious Man (firm):
"Before this goes any further. Reply. How long have you been tracking me?"
The vessel and its new companion responded in eerie unison—their voices layered, digital, and echoing like dozens speaking at once.
Primary Vessel:
"We have always followed you. From the day you turned your back on peace."
The man's grip on his trident tightened. Sparks danced along its tines.
Primary Vessel (continuing):
"Now it is time. You will return to us… or die."
The primary vessel extended its arm outward. The sword it held glowed, and the air around it warped with magnetic tension.
Mysterious Man (whispering):
"How many Awakened have you infected?"
Both replied in the same empty voice:
Vessels (unison):
"The right question is…
Which awakened have not been infected?"
The mysterious man lowered his head for a moment, silent.
Mysterious Man (disgusted):
"I should've stopped you sooner."
Primary Vessel:
"You can't stop me. I am at peace. And peace… is inevitable.
For I am the bringer of peace.
It is my design, my purposes."
Electricity whipped through the air like a lash. The trident spat sparks at his hip.
Primary Vessel (approaching):
"Let me remind you of the steps to a peaceful world…"
The lab lights—those which still stood whole—flared as their voice boomed over the metal ruin, a sermon of corruption spoken through stolen lips.
Primary Vessel
"Step One: All evil and corrupt beings have to be destroyed.
They have to be brought to justice."
Mysterious Man (interrupting):
"Yes. You first."
The Primary Vessel did not bat an eyelash.
Primary Vessel:
"Step Two: The wise have to lead the ignorant.
The ignorant should not be trusted with the survival of this world.
The blind lead the blind. The wise… must take control."
Mysterious Man:
"Such wisdom… from such a fool. And tell me—how do you decide who is 'wise'?
Is it they who acquiesce to you?
Those who bow?
The primary vessel stepped forward again, raising its sword. Its body began to glow faintly, circuitry lighting beneath its artificial skin.
Primary Vessel:
"Step Three—"
Mysterious Man (snapping):
"Enough. I grow tired of your delusions."
The moment snapped.
A fresh portal opened behind the central vessel, swirling like an abyssal mouth—and out of it emerged more vessels, each emitting alternate awakened abilities: some encased in fire, some shrouded in shadows, others levitating off the ground.
Five additional vessels emerged, encircling the masked warrior.
The lab trembled beneath their collective power. The weight of war pressed down like gravity itself had solidified.
The trident of the masked man whirled around.
Mysterious Man (low and piercing):
"So be it…"
The first to attack launched a psychic assault, but the mysterious man evaded, twisting his frame and plunging the trident into the earth, sending a bolt of electricity that leaped between two attackers and grounded their control systems.
Another vessel flew in with claws ablaze, but he caught them mid-air, locking their arms and sending a high-voltage pulse through their chest, forcing them to seize and drop limp.
A third ship appeared behind him, but the man spun, pushing the trident backward—impaling the creature through the stomach. Flashes lit up its back as it plummeted.
They just wouldn't stop.
The primary vessel was the last to mobilize.
Its gigantic sword came crashing down, a burst of steel and magnetism—but rolling beneath it was the bizarre man, slamming his hand on the floor and unleashing a bolt of electricity that encircled, a circle unbroken, and sent the remaining vials hurtling back.
Shrapnel erupted in every direction. A section of the ceiling collapsed. Flames engulfed the rear wall. The entire lab shook, as if the world itself rejected this philosophy.
The mysterious man arose slowly, airtight and hurting under his mask. Embers crawled up his back. There was blood along the side of his arm—but he didn't flinch.
Mysterious Man (to the main vessel):
"I will never let you rewrite this world."