"You murderous piece of shit!" Kevin's voice erupted with fury, the words tearing from his throat before he could stop them. He stared at the bloody ears. It was only logical that they may have come from the missing Caravan, and Carl thinks that Kevin knows it.

  Commander Johnson didn't need to give an order. Kevin had sprang forward, his glowing sword at the ready.

  The other Guards flicked their wrists, activating their batons with metallic clicks. Energy crackled as the weapons transformed. Some extending into glowing swords that hummed with power, others lengthening into pikes that cast a light across their angry faces.

  Their swift coordinated movements revealed their training. Anyone stupid enough to think they could start trouble here and would quickly discover these guys weren't for show. They were prepared for anything to come across their way.

  Kevin lunged forward with the first strike, but Gardros sidestepped with infuriating grace. In one fluid motion, the bastard whipped out a pair of silver-plated pistols that looked like they belonged in some ancient Earth western that cast shadows on the ground.

  The weapons aura glowed as it sucked an ominous dark yellowish orange energy into the barrels. He crossed his arms and fired, catching a couple of Guards by surprise. Johnson deflected the ones nearest to him while the others pulled the injured men to safety.

  Carl barely registered Johnson's movement. One moment the Commander was deflecting energy rounds, the next he'd closed the distance to his opponent, sword flashing toward the man's side. The blade connected but skidded harmlessly across Gardros' jacket, which repelled the strike with disturbing ease.

  The grin on the Anbar's face disappeared. Raising his hands in the air, he grabbed at nothing, but at the next moment, the dirt cloud that they saw in the forest whirled again.

  Johnson went into a defensive position. "You're quick to defend, Anbar. It be best you be getting out of 'er now."

  "The Conscript of Anbar will be your demise. See how I use their power for my purpose. See and be thy witness to what I can control!"

  The four spore-beast foxes tensed simultaneously, their fur bristling along their spines like warning flags.

  The silver shackles clasped around each of their forelimbs when Gardros held a silver round Resonance ball that carried eerie luminous glow seeping from the runic etchings.

  They vanished, leaving only afterimages hanging in the air. The space where they'd stood folded and twisted upon itself, and then, BOOM!, two massive rock creatures crashed into existence. Each monster sported four shackled granite arms, and four glowing eyes arranged to leave no blind spots in their field of vision.

  The dust cloud covered the front station all around causing the sky to darken causing many to cough and spit.

  Gardros yelled out. “Prepare yourself Conscripts! Feed your Hunger, and find my prize! Save the young for me, yes juicy morsels. I want to replenish my stock of consumables.”

  Much similar to the ants, Carl saw desert scorpions crawling out of the ground and flooded the gate. They advanced as one horrifying wave, pincers snapping and stingers looking for targets. The ground rumbled while the air filled with an awful putrid stench.

  “Why am I not surprised,” Johnson said pointing at Gardros. "Now it is high time for you to find out."

  The baton snapped in half with, then morphed into twin short swords glowing blue. Johnson yelled out. "Resonance: Advent Guard!"

  Much like how the Resonance magic works in this world by calling out its name and ability, Johnson apparently has the ability to mass call this power through the armor and in his helmet. The head piece rippled and transformed, forming an armored mask. He dropped into a fighting stance, his twin blades pointed forward, ready to strike.

  Carl rolled his eyes. "Ugh, much like Kevin to like this world as it has Dollar General Power Rangers here.

  The Guard mirrored their Commander's movements in perfect unison, each of their weapons splitting and reforming into identical blue-light blades and their armor melding onto their bodies.

  The scorpions crashed against the soldiers' defensive line. If they were a bit sooner, they may have been a threat, but when they struck against the armor, it sparked and skidded like a wave against stone.

  Yet despite their efforts, several of the smaller scorpions slipped through the gaps in their formation, scuttling rapidly toward the town. disappearing between the buildings.

  Paz turned to follow the scorpions. "The Retsam's children are in trouble. Contain and control that Power Sword before it dooms us all."

  "And how in the hell am I supposed to do that actually?" Carl asked. Several of the scorpions took notice and headed for them.

  Paz fired off a fireball from her staff. The scorpion screeched as it caught fire and skittered off. "If the Retsam will not help your knowledge, then what is the use of you in this realm?"

  "Right, guess I'll just… I don't know.. figure it out." Carl said fending off a scorpion with his claws. It was then that he realized that he was focused on the looking at the Guard's transformation that in his momentary lapse, lost track of someone important.

  “Kevin?” he asked. "Shit… where did he go?

  Carl fought his way forward trying to keep the dust out of his mouth. He did not want to create much noise as he called out again through the cloth muffling the sounds as best as he could.

  Two glowing red auras appeared in the dust clouds, one in the shape of a human and a smaller one that looked to be floating in midair a few feet away from it. When he drew closer to the auras while dodging scorpions, he found Kevin.

  The reddish aura illuminated around his friend, who wasn't actually walking fast. It looked as if he was moving slowly getting drawn into the smaller reddish glow. He wondered what exactly what that glow was and when he got closer it was the large red scimitar floating on the back of the crazy Anbar.

  Carl felt a warm glow where he'd stashed the Empress's pendant as he grabbed Kevin's arm and yanked him back a few steps. "Dude, what the hell are you doing?" he hissed.

  Like his friend was instinctively reacting, he yanked himself free, not giving a glance toward who or what was pulling him. The pendant's glow subsided, but Carl couldn't shake the sensation of invisible insects crawling beneath his skin where he'd touched it, an unnatural prickling that burrowed deeper the more he scratched at it.

  "It sings," Kevin whispered, his gaze distant and unfocused. His voice had changed not the words, but the cadence, the inflection. Something older and rawer edged each syllable. "All this time, all this way... just to find me. Don't you hear it calling?"

  A chill. This was Kevin's voice, but not Kevin's manner not the hollow, emotionless shell he'd become, nor the friend Carl had known for years. This was something in between, something dangerous.

  "No, man, I don't hear anything," Carl said carefully, the way one might speak to an unpredictable animal. "We need to get you back to safety. Why aren't you armored up like the others?"

  Kevin's eyes drifted to where the scimitar had been, though nothing visible remained. "Shhh..." He raised a finger to his lips, a strangely childlike gesture. "There it is again. It doesn't like who it was attached to." His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, sending goosebumps across Carl's arms. "We must... and the beat, I..." A violent cough interrupted him, and when he covered his mouth, Carl caught the unmistakable gleam of something red and metallic on his palm.

  Johnson's voice cut through the moment. "Get that boy inside. NOW."

  “Hold up! Stop pulling away from me dude!” Carl grabbed his arm as two of the conscripts jumped at them.

  Kevin used his sword to cut them with ease. Shaking off Carl again, he stepped over the carcasses and continued walking.

  The dust cloud caused by the golems increased as he saw Johnson and others blocking blows. Kevin's shape disappeared within it.

  Determined not to lose his friend in chaos, Carl pursued. “Damn it, what the hell is wrong with you!”

  Ignoring him, he looked the other way toward the sword again. “Calling me… Master," said Kevin.

  Carl looked around. He did not hear that word, and when Kevin yelled it again, a fear of worry encompassed him.

  “Damnit you are freaking me the hell out. Ain't nobody here but me and you. Quit acting all exorcist and shit," Carl said, though he lied and heard the faint whisper like it was in the wind.

  Kevin yelled again. “Who… you need me. I am not your master.”

  That was when Carl saw it coming preemptively.

  Lasers sliced through the dust cloud. He leaped forward, taking a round to the shoulder but tackled Kevin to the ground. The dust cleared and he saw where they came from.

  Gardros gave them a raised eyebrow, first looking at Carl, then at Kevin. He refocused his aim at each of them.

  "Ah, ah, ah. You cannot sneak on Gardros. Petty tricks won't work on…" Then his eyes widen when he notices Carl. "Wait! Round ears? Another emissary!" His voice rises with excitement. "The Sun King smiles on us today!"

  Carl grabbed Kevin, yanking him to his feet. “Time to go bud, your date with destiny will have to wait.”

  Kevin refused to move. His eyes fixated on Gardros, more specifically the red sword on his back. "Master…"

  Gardros bent his neck backwards. "Master? Yes… my Master. Your Master. What is confusing about the two. I bring many. We are many. I am many. You stand in the presence of many."

  Carl could not break Kevin from his position. He calmed the noise around him, closing his eyes to the outside world. He saw his Kevin in his thoughts, not struggling or enjoying the moment, but paralyzed at something calling to him. It was like an invisible wind flowing into his ears. When he listened, it yelled at him. Not verbally but mentally.

  “Leave me alone!” As loud as it pounded his ears, the phrase sent shockwaves through the area. Did it come from Kevin? He didn't speak. Or did he? Carl heard the screaming in his head that wouldn't stop and when it said it again, this time the pressure was too much to bear.

  Carl flew back when a large pulse emanated from his friend. What was that? He felt it. Whatever ‘it’ was, Kevin's facial expression gives an emotion he knew all too well. Unfortunately, it is not the one he wanted right now.

  "Get off of me!"

  Another pulse of energy, and he was certain it came from within Kevin. Gardros fired instinctively in relation to the sound, one hitting Kevin in the forearm, the other flying wild. He looked as if he was going to fire again when Gardros turned and blocked a set of blades coming on him.

  The Commander stood locking his grip. His fading bluish knives pulsed. “Bryson! Get yo' ass in gear. I do not know what happened to the Captain but get him out of here ASAP!”

  Bryson ran and assisted with Carl, each hooking Kevin under the arms and pulling him away.

  “Let me go! Damnit! Get off of me! Let me go! The voice wants me!”

  “Kevin, there is no voice. Calm down before they send you to Arkham!”

  Gardros turned his attention back to the Commander giving Carl and Bryson a golden opportunity to create some distance.

  However, Kevin resisted, breaking free a couple of times and finally anchoring and digging his boots in whatever ground they lost. “The voice! Don't you hear the damn voice?”

  Gardros fired more shots which the Commander deflected with ease. “You prevent The Sun King's disciples calling. Let them, let them. Come and receive. Yes, yes receive your blessing!”

  Johnson countered. "Listen up, I am not telling ya again. We've got you outmatched, Anbar. Here is the deal. Give it now before you lose more than just your sanity."

  Gardros cocked his head with a manic grin. "Speaking like a winner? No, no, no. Yes, but you forget…" his voice chanted with madness, "I have golems."

  The rock monster appeared through the dust storm and swung its heavy fist. The Commander was forced to defend the attack, however another arm appeared and this time he went further out. “Now, be a good subject and play while I complete this transaction.”

  Gardros aimed and fired at Bryson.

  Bryson released Kevin to make a paltry attempt to deflect the shots. One struck his spear but the other struck his left side. The round tore at his clothing leaving a charred wound that burned the skin. He went to one knee and motioned to Carl, “Go! I will delay the enemy, get the Captain out of here and both of you get to safety!”

  “Delay?” Gardros appeared instantaneously kicking Bryson into Carl. “Delay. There is no delay. Only Sun King.” He pointed both pistols back at Kevin.

  Carl grabbed Bryson’s spear and slammed Gardros’ arm. Standing and using the weapon as extension to swing it around. “Yo, stay the hell away from him, I do not wish to hurt you man!”

  Gardros laughed dodging the swinging spear, "Magnificent! Your flow, pristine as Cascade waters! Your friend…Kevin, yes? Not a round ear like you. sniff sniff Wonderful smell! So different! Your name? You're not from here with those pointed ears. Why? Why? WHY?! Come on! Tell me!"

  “Why is it that the enemy always want to know where you are from. I tell you what. Not from around here partner. Leave this place, and never to return.” In the back of Carl’s mind, he always wanted to say that last bit.

  “Ah, I guess,” Gardros cocked his weapons, “you will have to learn your place eventually. Now might be the time.” He fired his weapons.

  “Have it your way!” Carl spun the spear around his body deflecting the rounds.

  With Carl now locked in combat, he found himself strangely detached from the chaos around him. Meaningless. The clashing of metal, the grunts of exertion, the flashes of energy, all of it happened at a distance, as if he were watching someone else's body move through the motions. His arms deflected blows, his legs pivoted and steadied, but his mind floated somewhere above it all.

  The desperate struggle that had his heart pounding seconds ago now felt hollow, as if he was fighting shadows in a world that wasn't real. Strange how quickly survival instinct could give way to this odd numbness, this disconnects between action and meaning. Around him, the battle raged on, but Carl's thoughts had gone somewhere else.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  None of it mattered anymore. Only one thing consumed his thoughts now.

  Kevin. That was all that mattered. Getting him out of this mess and away from this madness. This wasn't supposed to be this way. Not here, not now. Something was wrong with his friend, something beyond the chaos of battle surrounding them. Carl could feel it like a cold knot in his stomach, that terrible certainty that things were spiraling beyond his control.

  "Damnit!" Carl did not see him come out from behind. The dust and debris had obscured his vision at exactly the wrong moment. His heart lurched painfully against his ribs as Kevin moved with unnatural speed.

  Kevin suddenly rushed Gardros, who responded by putting two lasers into his chest. The sizzling beams left smoking holes in Kevin's clothing, but he stayed unfazed, his expression eerily vacant. Without hesitation, he bear hugged the madman, his muscles straining as he reached around for the scimitar. His fingers stretched desperately toward the red blade, as though the weapon itself was calling to him.

  Gardros screeched in a high pitch like a wounded animal as Kevin hugged him, the sound piercing the air with manic intensity. He jabbed his pistols frantically into the back of Kevin's head, metal barrels hot against skin as he swung back and forth in desperate, jerking motions to throw him off. His limbs flailed and his eyes widened with a mixture of panic and rage.

  The sword pulsed with seething energy. When Kevin's fingers finally grasped the handle, the world went silent. For one suspended heartbeat, nothing happened, then crimson flames erupted where skin met metal, not burning but merging with him. Fire became blood, metal became bone, and something long-buried in Kevin's hollow chest ignited.

  His back arched in a silent scream as liquid rage flooded his veins, memories that weren't racing through his mind: Children crying. Doors slamming. Silhouettes in rain-streaked windows. "I'm sorry, Kevin, but you can't save them."

  He crashed to his knees, clutching the sword with white-knuckled fists. His skin glowed from within, cracks of molten light spreading beneath his flesh like a shattering porcelain doll being reconstructed from the inside out. A terrible, wonderful pressure built in his chest, the exhilarating agony of feeling something after an eternity of nothing.

  "It wasn't my fault," he whispered, the words strange and foreign on his tongue. "It wasn't my fault!" The world around Carl faded, overwhelmed by the roaring in his ears.

  Gardros backed away, his eyes widening with a mixture of curiosity and fascination. The certainty that had fueled his madness moments before evaporated under a merciless sun.

  He looked as if something was terribly wrong. He reached to his back, feeling the air where the scimitar should have been, his fingers grasping desperately at nothing but empty space.

  "No, no, NO!" he muttered, continuing to pat at his back as if the sword might magically reappear. "Where is my blessing? My beautiful, BEAUTIFUL extension gifted by the Holy Ark?" His movements became increasingly frantic, like a drowning man panicking without a life preserver.

  Kevin yelled something unintelligible. It was a roaring sound that it was something alive and angry. It wasn't a shout, it was power and fury given voice, the sound that made the bravest Advent Guard to take an instinctive step back. Johnson retreated a bit before regaining his composure.

  When Kevin finally ran out of breath, the sudden silence felt as shocking as the cry itself. The sound didn't fade gradually, it cut off like someone had slammed a door on it, leaving a ringing emptiness that vibrated through the air. His throat burned raw, chest heaving as he gulped.

  The others stood frozen in place, eyes wide and bodies tense. The dust particles hanging in the air paused their dance, suspended in the crushing weight of the silence.

  A massive pulse of crimson energy erupted from the corrupted Power Sword, expanding outward in central rings that distorted the air itself. The pulse obliterated the dust cloud instantly, vaporizing the particles into nothingness.

  In fact, the clouds in the sky reacted the same way, all scattering away from the epicenter as if fleeing in terror, leaving a perfect ring of clear blue directly above. The atmosphere held its breath in the wake of raw, uncontrolled power, waiting for whatever horror might follow.

  Carl heard Kevin mutter something. “It wasn’t my fault. Why were they there? Leave them alone…”

  "What in the Creator's name was that?" Bryson demanded, his hand instinctively moving to his weapon as his eyes darted around for the source of the disturbance. "The Captain ain’t himself. The resonance in him is definitely unstable."

  "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

  Kevin lurched to his feet, his movements jerky yet fluid, like a puppet with invisible strings. He leveled the Power Sword at the two approaching golems making their way to him. Kevin's eyes blazed like actual flames, orange and red dancing where normal irises should be, making Carl's stomach drop. This wasn't Kevin anymore, the sword had to be possessing him, using his body like some magical conduit.

  "What is going on with the Captain?" Bryson yelled.

  "I don't know man, this shit never happened before. Not like this!" Carl turned to Kevin. "Damnit dude, fight it! We have seen way too many movies on why this should be a thing!" Carl shouted, his voice hoarse with desperation as he took a step toward his friend.

  When he grabbed his shoulder, he saw something. An image. A school. Rain. Lights. Years of friendship, countless shared memories, all of it vanished behind that vacant, burning gaze.

  However, that was nothing compared to his body reacting violently. Like all of Carl's nerves suddenly woke all at once, his mind flashed. No. This wasn't flashing… He remembered this feeling.

  Lightning.

  Kevin lashed out. With one fluid slash through the air, the kind of perfect movement Carl could never pull off in their backyard sparring sessions, a red arc of energy whipped outward. The crimson wave cut through space with a sound like tearing fabric, cleanly decapitating a golem in a single stroke.

  As Kevin's crimson energy sliced through the air, something electric surged through Carl's veins in response. It was as if some dormant circuit had suddenly closed, power flooding back through long-dead channels. The familiar tingle of energy raced across his shoulders, and to his fingertips.

  Carl didn't think, he acted, throwing his hand forward as blue lightning exploded from his palm. The jagged bolt of electricity coiled around his arm like a living thing before launching toward the second golem. His eyes blazed with sapphire fire, crackling arcs dancing across his vision as the power he'd thought lost forever answered his call once more.

  The timing was perfect, Kevin's crimson slash and Carl's azure lightning struck simultaneously. The golems' stone heads toppled with thunderous impacts that shook the ground beneath their feet, their massive bodies frozen in place for one suspended moment before collapsing into avalanches of rubble.

  In the sudden silence that followed, Carl stared at his still-sparking hand in shock, then at Kevin. As they had years ago, their powers had awakened together, two halves of the same whole responding to each other's need.

  The golems shuddered violently, cracks spiderwebbing across their stone bodies before they exploded in a deafening shower of debris. Chunks of rock and dust scattered across the battlefield like deadly shrapnel.

  As the dust cleared, it revealed the four fox beast-kin sprawled awkwardly on the ground beneath, their russet fur matted with dirt and blood. Each bore an identical crimson gash across their body, and currents of electricity erupting from different parts of their fur.

  Most disturbing of all, the fox-kin made no sound, no whimper, no cry of pain, as if the energy had severed not flesh but their connection to life itself.

  "Ah, seems you took something I didn't know was mine," Gardros raised his pistols, lips curling predatorily. "Be a good boy, hand that sword. Sharp things are for grownups, yes?" He tilted his head, eyes gleaming.

  Carl stared in horror at Kevin's eyes, where flames danced like living entities. The fiery glow had transformed his best friend's face into something barely recognizable. For a terrifying heartbeat, Carl couldn't tell if it was Kevin anymore or something else wearing his skin.

  "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"

  The words exploded from Kevin with force that the air itself vibrated. The raw anguish in his voice sent chills.

  Kevin raised the Power Sword. Then suddenly, as if someone had flipped a switch, the dangerous energy flickered and dissipated. The red glow receded from the edges inward, the sword's outline blurring until it faded into nothing but scattered motes of light. The weapon that had seemed solid and terrifying vanished.

  Without the sword's support, Kevin swayed unsteadily. His eyes rolled back, the unnatural fire extinguished, leaving only the whites visible before his knees buckled and he crumpled to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.

  "KEVIN!" Carl lunged forward, diving across the dirt to catch his friend's head before it cracked against stone. He cradled Kevin against his chest, panic clawing at his throat as he searched for signs of life in that too-pale face. The body in his arms felt unnaturally hot, as if something was burning Kevin from the inside out.

  "Come on, man, stay with me," Carl pleaded, his voice cracking. Memories flashed through his mind, skinned knees on playground asphalt, late-night video games, promises made in childhood darkness that they'd always have each other's backs. After everything they'd survived, he couldn't lose Kevin like this, to a war that wasn't theirs. "Don't you dare check out on me now. We're going home together, remember? Both of us."

  His hand pressed against Kevin's chest, feeling for a heartbeat. What he found instead was a rhythm like war drums, pounding with unnatural strength beneath his palm.

  Gardros seized the moment. He fired again, however, not before Johnson rammed into him causing the rounds to arc and miss. “Move away, pointed ears; the power mongers are calling me to take them home.”

  “Look around Gardros," Johnson replied. "The battle resulted in our victory. Drop your weapons and surrender. No one must die today.”

  "Laughable! You stand no chance! Few surprises, yes, but I won't leave without that power! Great Darkness approaches! No explanations, just die so I can take what you offer! Don't want those power mongrels anyway. That splendid power your fingers stole from me. Give it back, give it to me, GIVE IT!"

  "Listen up! I ain't asking twice Gardros!" Johnson launched himself skyward, his massive frame defying gravity in a way that seemed physically impossible. He flipped mid-air, maneuvering behind his opponent.

  Raising his twin sabers overhead, small lance shaped pulses pelt Gardros in the back. Johnson turned and swung but Gardros disappeared, this time rematerializing in the sky. “I grew tired of these silly games. Bow and bow and bow to the Sun King’s prayer.”

  Gardros floated in the sky and pointed his weapons at the town. A yellowish globe formed in front of him, and yellow particles of energy gathered between the twin's barrels.

  Johnson removed his helmet with a practiced motion, his expression grimly determined as he set it carefully next to Bryson. The polished surface reflected the ominous crimson glow that now saturated the air around them.

  "Commander, that does not look good. He is overloading the Resonance." Bryson asked, tension evident in his normally steady voice. The air between them vibrated with unseen energy, making the fine hairs on their arms stand on end.

  Johnson didn't answer. His eyes narrowed in concentration, jaw clenched tight as he lowered himself into a kneeling position. He twisted his twin sabers around, bringing their hilts together until they locked with a soft metallic click. A faint hum emanated from the joined weapons, like they were whispering.

  Johnson's armor glowed with intense light, then liquefied, flowing off his body and onto his connected sabers. The molten metal reshaped the twin blades into a massive trident spear. The newly formed weapon sparked with energy.

  Rising to his feet, the spear manifested at its tip, a chain of lightning that spiraled downward around the shaft in a hypnotic pattern.

  "Strength have at it!"

  Johnson's muscles coiled like springs as he drew back his arm, the lightning trident humming with barely held power. For a heartbeat, he stood frozen in perfect form, like a classical sculpture of an ancient god about to unleash divine judgment.

  "For Rowen!" The words tore from his throat as he launched the weapon skyward.

  The trident didn't simply fly, it detonated, fracturing into a thousand arcs of screaming lightning that blossomed outward like the branches of some terrible electric tree. Each tendril sought Gardros with uncanny precision, converging on him from all directions in a cage of blinding light.

  The impact didn't sound like thunder, it was thunder, the air around Gardros compressing and exploding outward in concussive waves that rattled teeth and shattered nearby windows. The sky turned white, then blue, then an impossible violet that burned itself into the retinas of anyone foolish enough to look directly at it.

  People screamed, dropping to their knees and covering their heads as the shockwave rolled over the Commons. Carl threw himself on Kevin's prone form, shielding him with his own body as debris rained down around them. The air itself caught fire, superheated particles dancing and swirling where Gardros had been suspended. The air itself vibrated with raw power as waves of energy pulsed outward in concentric rings. When the blinding flash finally died away, leaving purple and green afterimages dancing across vision, all that remained of the magnificent weapon was the trident.

  The weapon landed with a resonant thud at Johnson's feet, its prongs embedding in the dirt. Within moments, the majestic trident began dissolving, particles of energy scattering like fireflies as it shrank and transformed back into Johnson's bluish baton. The commander snatched it, his expression grim as he scanned the battlefield.

  Gardros was nowhere to be found. Not a trace remained, no blood, no body, not a scorch mark to indicate where the self-proclaimed Sun King's servant had been.

  "Listen up men! Find the bastard!" Johnson barked, his New Jersey accent more pronounced with his frustration. "Check every shadow, every crevice! He couldn't have vanished!" His men scrambled to obey, fanning out across the battlefield with weapons drawn.

  Minutes later, scouts returned, shaking their heads. "Nothing, Commander," reported a lieutenant, nervously adjusting his helmet. "We've checked the perimeter. No sign of him."

  Johnson's eyes narrowed dangerously, the veins in his neck standing out. "Search again. Wider radius. Check for tunnels, hidden passages, anything unusual. That bastard's dangerous to be running loose." He slammed his baton into his palm for emphasis. "I want him found before sundown!"

  Carl looked over to Kevin and felt his breath catch in his throat. A deep reddish aura pulsed around his friend's body, rippling like heat waves above hot pavement. He'd noticed the faint glow earlier but hadn't paid it much mind, weird stuff happened in this place all the time.

  Now though, the tempo of the pulses was increasing, beating like a visible heartbeat. Carl blinked hard and rubbed his eyes, thinking exhaustion was making him see things. But when he focused again, the crimson energy was there and growing stronger with each throb.

  The air around Kevin warped, and tiny motes of light danced where the aura was most intense. Something was happening to his friend, and Carl's gut told him it wasn't good.

  Paz ran over with several of the Elders approaching slowly. She pulled her staff and tapped Kevin's head. "The Resonance has him."

  Carl could not intervene when one of the Elders spoke as they came. "The Power Sword of Fire found the Sword Master, but the sword is corrupted as is the spirit."

  "Elder. Containment is necessary at this point. The Soul is too weak to fight the corruption building," Paz warned.

  Another Elder nodded gravely. "The Power Sword without control from the Sword Master is an unruly child. One who continues its tantrum until properly disciplined."

  Carl's eyes darted between them and Kevin. "How do we get the Sword to connect with Kevin. Where is the reset button?"

  "Perhaps if you force such a bond," the third Elder replied with a slight shake of his head. "We believe that the Sword Master himself must accept and cleanse the corruption. This situation... it is unprecedented. We have no established protocol."

  "Wait," Carl said, his voice rising. "You're telling me we stand here and watch whatever this happens to my friend? What kind of established protocol is this?"

  "A vessel will be required," another Elder explained, "It will absorb the excess energy and release it back to nature."

  "The Carl Jackson possesses such an artifact," one of the older Elders announced, pointing a gnarled finger toward Carl's pocket. "A Ronfaure Penance"

  Carl glanced, startled by an unexpected warmth against his thigh. A strange crimson glow penetrated the fabric of his pants, With cautious fingers, he reached into his pocket and extracted the pendant the Empress had given him before they departed. The object seemed transformed from the simple trinket he remembered, now it vibrated in his palm, its metallic surface covered in intricate symbols that shifted and changed as the light within it danced and swirled.

  "You mean this thing?" Carl asked, holding it by its chain. The pendant spun slowly, casting eerie red patterns across his face and the dusty ground around them.

  The Elder's weathered face grew solemn as ancient eyes fixed on the glowing artifact. "Yes. The Empress foresaw this moment. Place the pendant around the Sword Master and the corrupted energy will flow into the pendant." The Elder raised a gnarled finger in warning, voice dropping to a whisper. "But be warned, young one, this is only a temporary solution. The vessel can contain the corruption briefly, nothing more. He must purify the sword embedded within him, learn to master its chaos, or it will surely destroy him. The pendant merely buys one time."

  Carl nodded. He approached Kevin carefully, the pendant dangling from his fingers. Kevin's eyes, unfocused and rimmed with crimson light, barely registered Carl's presence as he slipped the chain on his friend's head.

  The moment the pendant touched Kevin's chest, the reaction was immediate and dramatic. The red aura surrounding Kevin shuddered, then began flowing like water toward the pendant. Tendrils of crimson energy twisted and writhed as they were pulled inexorably into the small object. Kevin gasped, his back arching as the glow dissipated from around his body, channeling into the pendant, which now pulsed with light.

  "That's it," Carl whispered, backing away slowly as the transfer completed. "Hang in there, Kev. We will get this sorted."

  Commander Johnson was conversing with the other Captains giving him an after-action report. “No, that would be too easy. He will be back.” Johnson replied. He looked at Kevin, and then to Bryson.

  "Lieutenant, can you walk?" Johnson asked, his New Jersey accent thickening with concern as he surveyed the battlefield debris scattered around them. His commander's uniform was singed at the edges, testament to the ferocity of the recent clash.

  Bryson nodded, wincing as he tested his weight on his injured leg. "Yes sir," he managed through gritted teeth, straightening his posture with military discipline despite the pain. "Might not win any races, but I'll keep up."

  "Look here. I'm givin' you temporary Captain rank while Kevin's out of commission. Take the squad back to Guild HQ. Have Baylor run a complete diagnostic. If the kid starts glowing again, throw a containment field and evacuate the building immediately. Something about that boy's setting off every alarm bell."

  He then turned around and looked at the destroyed gate. “Corporal Pizer, go fetch Matron Devine and get these refugees back to the assigned building."

  Paz nodded respectfully to the Elders, her staff gripped tightly in one hand as Bryson barked orders to his men. The newly-appointed Captain's voice carried an edge of authority that belied his injured state.

  "Get him to the medical ward, now!" Bryson commanded, gesturing toward Kevin's unconscious form.

  The Advent Guard soldiers exchanged uneasy glances, their eyes fixed on the crimson pendant pulsing against Kevin's chest. None moved forward at once. The eerie, heartbeat-like rhythm of the glowing artifact made them visibly uncomfortable, hands hovering near weapons as if expecting some new danger to erupt from Kevin's prone body.

  Carl saw their hesitation and scowled. Without a word, he knelt beside his friend, slipping one arm under Kevin's shoulders. The pendant's light cast strange patterns across his face.

  "He's not contagious," Carl muttered, his voice tight with concern. "He needs help, not an audience."

  Seeing Carl's loyalty breaks the tension, two guards finally stepped forward, their movements cautious but purposeful. Together, they lifted Kevin with the pendant, swinging gently between them.

  Carl glanced at the scene around him as he walked, his throat tightening as he surveyed the aftermath of what happened. Debris lay scattered across the ground, fragments of stone, splintered wood, and items he couldn't at once identify. The acrid smell of burnt beast-kin lingered, making his nose wrinkle.

  The chaos of moments before replaced an unsettling stillness that made the hair on the back of his neck stand. Carl's fingers flexed instinctively at his sides, ready to summon his power again if needed, as his eyes darted around looking for any sign of movement among the destruction.

  Johnson spoke out loud his final commands before heading back to the Guard Center. Matron joined him when he walked past the tavern. "Advent Guard, everyone is on full alert. Shifts around the hour. Bar that gate and get the wounded inside…

  This is far from over."