“Stand your ground, my Justice.” Dyllan shifted his bat into a guarding position - gripping the handle with his right hand, and bracing the other end up against his left.

Just as he’d hoped, a burning red forcefield shimmered into existence before him. The shade was a little less “fiery” and a little more “smoldering,” but it was unmistakably still the same wall that his Loyalty had projected. The same wall that had stood between his friends and countless dangers.

Good. He had no need for power that couldn’t protect anyone.

More importantly, this cleared away any doubt left in Dyllan’s mind. No matter how much change he was going through right now, he was still the same him that had fought by Andie and Cedric’s side. The forcefield proved it. This was not new power, but his old power evolving.

His newfound confidence was well timed, too, as it came right before an assault of bullets from his Nightmare. Confidence let Dyllan stand unwavering, and his shield was an emotional construct built from his determination. It would not waver before he did.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Still, no one could stand unflinching forever - and slowly but surely, cracks were starting to form on Dyllan’s forcefield. Though these cracks felt… different from the ones that used to show in the forcefield made using his Virtue. Before, the cracks had been like ordinary, physical cracks. Tiny seams in the forcefield that spread with each impact, slowly forming weak points in the wall of light his Loyalty had projected. They had made the forcefield fragile. These new cracks, though, glowed and crackled with crimson energy - straining his shield with a constant tension. They made his shield stronger - but destabilized it in the process.

It wouldn’t just shatter harmlessly like the forcefield made by his shield… not when it had been supercharged with the same destructive energy that had once made up his Rage. No, if his new forcefield broke, it would almost certainly explode.

But Dyllan had known his new power was dangerous before he’d called upon it, and he wasn’t going to let that danger stop him from helping people ever again.