The SUV hummed softly as it glided through the darkened streets, its occupants tense but silent. Outside, the city gave way to quieter neighborhoods, the streetlights growing sparser until only the faint glow of the moon illuminated the road ahead.

Elias sat in the back seat, his fingers tracing the faintly glowing mark on his hand. The warmth of the pulse was steady, almost soothing, but it did little to calm the storm in his mind. Beside him, Kaida glanced out the window, her sharp eyes scanning the shadows.

In the front, Ronan’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel, his massive frame barely contained by the seat. Director Vasquez sat rigidly upright, his gaze fixed on the road ahead.

Elias exhaled sharply, breaking the silence. “You’re all way too calm for people who just told me I’ve turned into some kind of living artifact.”

Kaida smirked without looking at him. “Comes with the job.”

“What job?” Elias muttered. “Being cryptic and dragging me into this mess?”

Her grin widened, but before she could reply, Vasquez’s sharp voice cut through the air. “Quiet.”

The tension in the car thickened instantly. Ronan slowed the SUV, his head tilting slightly as if listening for something. The silence outside was oppressive, the faint hum of the engine the only sound.

Then, without warning, a rift tore open in the street ahead.

It was like reality itself had been sliced apart, the edges of the rift glowing with an otherworldly light. Five figures stepped through, their movements fluid and deliberate. They were dressed in sleek, dark suits, their faces obscured by featureless masks. The angular “A” insignia on their chests gleamed faintly in the dim light.

A second later, the SUV flipped.

The world turned upside down as the vehicle was lifted off the ground and hurled onto its side. Glass shattered, metal groaned, and Elias’s body slammed into Kaida’s as the impact threw him against her. The deafening crash was followed by a heavy silence, broken only by the groans of the SUV as it settled onto the pavement.

Elias’s ears rang as he struggled to orient himself. His body ached, his vision blurred, but he forced himself to move. He crawled toward the shattered windshield, his breath hitching as he saw Kaida already pulling herself out. Ronan was next, his massive frame bracing against the crushed door as he dragged Vasquez free.

“Move!” Kaida barked, her voice sharp. She reached down and yanked Elias out of the wreckage, her grip firm but steady.

As the four of them staggered to their feet, the Axiom agents moved in. Their precision was chilling, their movements in perfect sync as they surrounded the group. The air crackled with tension, and Elias could feel the oppressive weight of their presence pressing down on him.

Kaida didn’t hesitate. She lunged at the nearest agent, her movements impossibly fast, her demon mask now secured over her face. Ronan charged another, his fists colliding with a shockwave of force that sent both him and the agent skidding across the pavement. Vasquez pulled a sleek weapon from his coat, firing bolts of energy that illuminated the dark street.

But the agents were just as strong.

One agent dodged Kaida’s strikes with inhuman speed, their counterattack a blur of sharp, calculated movements. Another grappled with Ronan, their blows landing with sickening precision. Vasquez was forced to retreat as an agent unleashed a wave of distorted energy that rippled through the air like a shockwave.

Elias backed away, his heart racing. The mark on his hand pulsed faster, reacting to the chaos around him, but he had no idea what to do. He wasn’t a fighter, and the sheer power of the agents made it clear that even the others were struggling to hold their own.

Before he could act, two agents broke away from the fight and rushed toward him.

“Elias!” Kaida shouted, her voice edged with panic as she fought to break free of her opponent. But she was too far, and Ronan was pinned by another agent, his roars of frustration echoing through the night.

The two agents grabbed Elias, their grips like iron as they hauled him toward another rift opening behind them. He struggled, kicking and clawing, but it was useless. They were too strong.

The rift shimmered, its edges pulsating with the same otherworldly energy as before. As they neared it, Elias felt a sharp tug deep within his chest—a strange, instinctive resistance that made him recoil. He tried to dig his heels into the ground, but the agents dragged him forward with ease.

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As they reached the edge of the rift, the world around him slowed.

The air grew still, the distant sounds of the fight fading into silence. Elias blinked, confused, as everything around him seemed to freeze. The agents holding him were motionless, their featureless masks turned toward the rift as if waiting for an unseen command. Even the rift itself seemed suspended, its pulsating edges frozen in time.

Elias stumbled back, the agents’ grips inexplicably loosening. His breaths came in short, panicked gasps as he looked around, his eyes darting over the eerily still scene.

And then he saw it.

A shape emerged from the rift, its form twisting and shifting like a living sculpture. It was made entirely of crystalline geometric shapes, each facet glinting with an impossible light. Its edges were sharp and angular, its movements fluid despite its hard, crystalline structure. It floated toward Elias, its presence both mesmerizing and terrifying.

He couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, as the being circled him slowly. Its voice resonated in his mind, a sound that was both alien and familiar, like the echo of a dream.

"You are the vessel," it said, its voice layered and fractured, as though multiple beings spoke at once. "The key to the artifact’s will. They cannot wield you. Only you may unlock the truth of what you have become."

Elias trembled, his hand raising involuntarily. The mark glowed brighter, the crystalline veins spreading further up his arm. “What do you want from me?” he whispered, his voice shaking.

The being paused, its facets shifting subtly as it regarded him. "Not what I want. What you will choose. Power flows through you now, untamed and unshaped. Will you command it, or will it consume you?"

“I didn’t ask for this,” Elias said, his voice breaking. “I don’t want any of this.”

"Want is irrelevant," the being replied. "You are chosen. The rift calls to you, but so does the world you leave behind. Choose wisely, Elias Veran. The artifact has awakened."

The light of the being grew brighter, blinding him for a moment. When he opened his eyes, the world around him was moving again. The agents resumed their pull, dragging him closer to the rift.

But something had changed.

The mark on his hand burned with new intensity, and the crystalline patterns now extended up to his shoulder. He could feel the power within him shifting, coalescing, ready to burst.

And for the first time, he felt the faintest spark of control.

The rift loomed closer, its edges pulsating with an unnatural energy that seemed to twist reality itself. The two Axiom agents dragged Elias forward with relentless force, their featureless masks betraying no emotion. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat echoing like a drum in his ears as the crystalline patterns on his arm began to shimmer brighter.

"Let me go!" Elias shouted, his voice trembling with desperation. He twisted and thrashed against their iron grips, but it was like fighting against stone. The mark on his hand burned hotter, the intricate lines glowing with a searing intensity that sent jolts of pain shooting up his arm.

The words of the crystalline being still echoed in his mind. Power flows through you now, untamed and unshaped. Will you command it, or will it consume you?

Elias gritted his teeth, his vision blurring with a mix of anger and fear. "I said… LET ME GO!"

The air around him changed, a sudden shift that was impossible to ignore. A low hum reverberated through the street, growing louder and deeper as the mark on his hand flared with raw energy. The agents stopped abruptly, their masked faces tilting toward him in what might have been confusion.

The energy surged within him, wild and unrelenting. Elias clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms as the burning sensation spread throughout his entire body. The crystalline veins that had been confined to his arm now crawled across his chest and neck, glowing brighter with each passing second.

And then, with a guttural roar, the power erupted.

The shards of the shattered mirror—absorbed by the artifact and lying dormant within him—burst forth in a blinding explosion of light and sound. The crystalline fragments tore through the air like jagged spears, their sharp edges glinting in the dim light.

The five Axiom agents froze, their movements sluggish as if caught in the grasp of an unseen force. One by one, the shards struck, piercing through their bodies with unerring precision. The sound was sickening—a wet, metallic crunch as the shards drove deep into their forms, impaling them where they stood.

The agents convulsed, their masked faces tilted skyward as the crystalline shards pulsed with the same energy as Elias’s mark. Their bodies twitched violently, the angular "A" insignias on their suits flickering and fading as the life drained from them.

The rift behind them began to waver, its edges fracturing and collapsing in on themselves. The light dimmed, the unnatural hum fading into silence as the last of the agents fell.

Elias stood in the center of the destruction, his chest heaving as the mark on his hand burned like molten fire. The crystalline patterns glowed with a blinding intensity before dimming, the light receding back into his body. His vision swam, the world tilting around him as his knees buckled.

Kaida’s voice reached him through the haze, sharp and urgent. "Elias!"

He turned toward the sound, his legs giving out as he collapsed onto the pavement. His body felt like lead, every muscle screaming in protest as exhaustion washed over him. The mark on his hand flickered weakly, its glow fading into a faint pulse.

Ronan’s massive frame loomed over him, his hands on Elias’s shoulders as he shook him gently. "Stay with us, kid," he rumbled, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

Elias’s head lolled to the side, his gaze unfocused as he stared at the shattered remains of the rift and the still, impaled bodies of the agents. His breaths came in shallow gasps, the weight of what he had done pressing down on him like a physical force.

Kaida crouched beside him, her mask now pulled back to reveal her sharp, concerned features. "Elias, look at me," she said, her voice firm but not unkind. "You’re okay. Just breathe."

But Elias couldn’t answer. His eyelids grew heavy, his body trembling as the last remnants of energy drained from him. Darkness crept into the edges of his vision, and his head fell back against the pavement.

The last thing he heard before the world went black was Kaida’s voice, laced with urgency.

"We need to move. Now."