The off-roader bounced over a snowbank, and Elias gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles whitened. The forest around him blurred into a streak of dark green and white, but his newly awakened Primal Sense kept him hyper-aware of his surroundings—every rustle of branches, every flutter of snow, and the distant, faint vibrations of Shadow Devourers closing in. The bronze shard against his chest pulsed steadily, a warm anchor amid the chaos, its star-cluster pattern glowing faintly as if guiding him toward safety.
As he neared the edge of the forest, the dark red aurora overhead intensified, casting an otherworldly hue over the landscape. What had once been a thin streak across the sky had expanded into a massive, roiling curtain, stretching from the peaks of the Rocky Mountains to the horizon. The air hummed with unstable energy, and Elias could feel the Primal Force in his veins stirring in response—sometimes resonating, sometimes clashing, as if locked in a silent duel with the aurora's corruptive aura.
"Fifteen kilometers to the checkpoint," Major Coulson's voice crackled over the communicator, now laced with urgency. "We're detecting multiple energy spikes along your route—Shadow Devourers are swarming from the abandoned town. Prepare for engagement."
Elias gritted his teeth and floored the gas pedal. The off-roader's engine roared, and he burst out of the forest onto a snow-covered plain. In the distance, he could see the silhouette of the checkpoint—concrete barriers, searchlights slicing through the night, and the faint glow of energy shields humming to life. But between him and safety lay a nightmarish scene.
Dozens of Shadow Devourers were scattered across the plain, their pitch-black forms darting back and forth like living shadows. Some were the small, juvenile ones he'd faced earlier, while others were the larger, scaled high-rank variants. But there was something else—three massive, towering creatures that dwarfed the rest, their bodies wreathed in black mist, bone spurs protruding from their backs, and jaws lined with serrated fangs. They moved slowly, methodically, as if directing the smaller Devourers, their presence exuding a level of power that made Elias's blood run cold.
"Command, this is Elias," he said into the communicator, his voice steady despite the fear gnawing at his gut. "I've got three giant Shadow Devourers ahead—they're leading the pack. What are these?"
A moment of static, then Major Coulson's voice returned, tight with tension. "Those are Devourer Commanders. Satellite data shows they're capable of coordinating attacks and absorbing energy to strengthen the horde. They're also emitting a frequency that disrupts our communications and energy weapons. You need to avoid direct confrontation—we're sending a squad to cover your approach."
Before Elias could respond, one of the Devourer Commanders let out a thunderous roar. The ground trembled, and the smaller Shadow Devourers froze for a split second, then turned as one toward the off-roader. Their movements were no longer chaotic—they moved in formation, cutting off Elias's path to the checkpoint, herding him toward the Commanders.
"Damn it," Elias muttered. He swerved left, trying to break through the encircling Devourers, but two high-rank variants lunged at the vehicle, their claws scraping against the metal hull. The off-roader skidded, and Elias fought to regain control, his mind racing. He couldn't outrun them—not with the Commanders directing the chase. He had to fight.
He slammed on the brakes, grabbed the bronze shard from his chest, and leaped out of the car. The moment his feet hit the snow, he channeled the Primal Force, letting it flow to his hands. Golden-red light blazed to life, forming condensed energy blades—crude, but sharp enough to cut through Shadow Devourer flesh.
A juvenile Devourer lunged at him first, its claws outstretched. Elias sidestepped, swinging his right hand, and the energy blade sliced through the creature's torso. It let out a high-pitched squeal and dissolved into black mist. But more came—three juveniles and a high-rank Devourer, surrounding him in a tight circle.
Elias moved with a speed he didn't know he possessed, his Primal Sense warning him of every attack. He ducked under a claw swipe, spun around, and drove his energy blade into the high-rank Devourer's neck. It screeched, rearing back, and Elias followed up with a kick to its chest, sending it sprawling. He then turned, deflecting a juvenile's attack with his left hand, while stabbing another with his right.
But the Devourers kept coming, their numbers overwhelming. He could feel his Primal Force draining, the golden-red glow of his blades dimming. The Devourer Commanders watched from a distance, their eyeless faces fixed on him, as if studying his moves, savoring the hunt.
Just as a high-rank Devourer was about to pounce on his back, a streak of blue light sliced through the night, hitting the creature square in the chest. The Devourer exploded into black mist, and Elias spun around to see three armored vehicles racing toward him, their turrets firing blue energy bolts that tore through the Shadow Devourers like paper.
"Get down!" a voice shouted over a loudspeaker. Elias dropped to the snow as a hail of energy fire rained down around him, decimating the surrounding Devourers. The armored vehicles skidded to a halt beside him, and the doors swung open, revealing soldiers in futuristic exoskeletons, their faces hidden behind helmets.
"Elias Kane?" one of the soldiers asked, extending a hand. "We're Delta Squad, here to extract you. Let's move—those Commanders are waking up."
Elias grabbed the soldier's hand and climbed into the vehicle. As the doors closed, the vehicle lurched forward, speeding toward the checkpoint. Through the window, he watched as the Devourer Commanders finally moved, their massive forms charging after them, black mist billowing in their wake. The energy bolts from the armored vehicles bounced off their thick scales, barely leaving a scratch.
"They're too strong," Elias said, staring at the Commanders in disbelief.
"Their armor is infused with void energy—our standard weapons can't penetrate it," the soldier replied, adjusting his helmet. "Only Primal Force can damage them. That's why you're so important, Kane. You're the first person to awaken the Primal Bloodline in centuries. Professor Alan spent his life searching for someone like you."
Elias thought of his mentor—his kind smile, his obsession with the bronze shard, his final message about the Primal Mark. "What did Alan find? Why is the Primal Force the only thing that can stop them?"
Before the soldier could answer, the vehicle shook violently. One of the Devourer Commanders had caught up, slamming its fist into the rear of the vehicle. The metal crumpled, and alarms blared. The driver swerved, narrowly avoiding another attack, and the turret rotated, firing a concentrated beam of blue energy at the Commander's head.
The beam hit, but the Commander merely let out a roar and swatted the vehicle aside. It went spinning off the road, crashing into a snowbank. Elias was thrown against the wall, his head throbbing, but he quickly scrambled to his feet. The door was jammed, so he channeled what was left of his Primal Force and kicked it open.
Outside, the situation was dire. Two of the armored vehicles had been destroyed, their wrecks smoldering in the snow. Delta Squad was engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the remaining Shadow Devourers, but the three Commanders were closing in, their attacks relentless. One soldier was grabbed by a Commander's jaws and torn apart, his scream cut short.
Elias felt a surge of anger and grief—for the soldier, for Alan, for the world being torn apart by these creatures. He gripped the bronze shard, and this time, instead of reaching for the Primal Force within him, he reached for the shard's energy. He could feel it responding, its warmth spreading through him, merging with his bloodline, amplifying his power.
The shard's star-cluster pattern blazed, and a new fragment of information etched itself into his mind: "Primal Resonance – Space Law: Phase 2 – Spatial Distortion."
Elias closed his eyes, focusing on the Commander closest to him. He visualized the space around its legs twisting, warping, trapping it. The Primal Force surged out of him, invisible but powerful, and the air around the Commander's lower body rippled like water. The creature stumbled, its legs suddenly trapped in a warped pocket of space, unable to move.
"What the hell?" one of the soldiers muttered, staring in shock.
Elias didn't have time to explain. He directed his focus to the second Commander, warping the space around its arms, pinning them to its sides. The third Commander roared, charging toward him, but Elias dodged, then twisted the space in front of its face, creating a vortex that pulled the creature off balance.
"Now!" Elias shouted to the soldiers. "Hit them where their scales are thin—their necks, their eyes!"
The soldiers reacted quickly, raising their weapons and firing concentrated energy bolts at the vulnerable spots. This time, the bolts pierced the Commanders' armor, drawing black blood that smoked as it hit the snow. The trapped Commanders roared in agony, struggling to break free of the spatial distortion, but Elias held on, his muscles straining, the bronze shard glowing brighter and brighter.
But the strain was too much. His vision blurred, and blood trickled from his nose. The Primal Force was draining him at an alarming rate, and he could feel his consciousness slipping. Just as he was about to collapse, the checkpoint's energy shields flared to life, and a massive beam of golden light shot from the fortress, hitting the largest Commander square in the chest.
The Commander let out a final, ear-splitting roar, then exploded into a cloud of black mist that was quickly dispersed by the wind. The other two Commanders, weakened by the soldiers' attacks, followed suit, their bodies dissolving as the golden beam swept over them. The remaining Shadow Devourers scattered, fleeing into the night as the fortress's defenses locked onto them.
Elias collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. The bronze shard dimmed, and the spatial distortions faded. The soldiers rushed to his side, lifting him up, and he felt himself being carried toward the fortress's gates. As they passed through the energy shield, the dark red aurora overhead seemed to recoil, as if repelled by the fortress's protective barrier.
Looking up at the massive, imposing structure of Colorado Fortress—its walls built into the mountainside, energy cannons lining the top, and thousands of soldiers patrolling the perimeter—Elias knew he had reached safety, but only for a moment. The Shadow Devourers' vanguard had arrived, and the aurora's corruptive energy was spreading. The battle for Earth had just begun.
As he was led into the fortress, the bronze shard in his chest pulsed once more, a faint, new pattern appearing alongside the star cluster—a tiny, stylized sword, glowing softly. And in his mind, he heard a single word, clear and distinct, as if whispered by the wind: "Legacy."
Little did he know, this legacy was not just his to bear. The bronze shard was more than a mere artifact—it was a key to a forgotten war, a war that had raged at the dawn of creation between the guardians of Primal Force and the rulers of the void. And the Devourer Commanders he had just faced were nothing but scouts, sent to Earth to prepare for the arrival of their true master—the entity that had nearly destroyed the universe once before, and now sought to finish what it had started.