With a single look at the new arrivals, I could immediately tell why they were referred to as the elite squad.
Pouring energy, no, àse into my eyes, I sharpened my perception. The world thinned slightly, colors deepening, and then I saw it: the faint distortion around each of them. Their auras were all contained.
They were attempting to hide it.
The technique they used was something easily discernible to me, an external suppression yer that functioned almost exactly like my masking technique.
They have not formed a core yet… I wonder why that is.
That was the first thing that stood out to me. Their àse was dense, but they still cked a core.
I had a few guesses as to why that was, but that mattered little right now.
What confused me more was the use of numbering as their names.
Was it based on power level? From my perspective, they were not drastically different from one another in raw output. Skill then? Experience?
Or…
Were they the first subjects, hence the numbers?
I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind.
“Ms Destiny would be carrying on from here, Ms Destiny!”
Mr. Adeyemi stepped back as Ms. Destiny nodded and moved forward. He turned to leave, but he did not even take two full steps before stopping.
Slowly, he turned back.
His eyes locked onto mine.
“Oh, and one more important note. I know you are all accustomed to being resurrected after each death… I would heavily advise you not to do that. There will be no respawning if you lose your life on this mission.”
For some reason unknown to me, a cold chill washed over me.
It crawled up my spine, leaving behind an unsettling sensation.
No.
I knew exactly why that affected me.
I just did not want to accept it.
Because none of this could be real. It had to be another simution. Another psychological stress test. He was saying that to push us. To make us fight harder.
This was not real.
It could not be.
“Kamcy!”
The sharp call snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts.
I looked up. Everyone was staring at me once more.
I sighed and turned toward the one who had called me.
“Wow, you really do like getting lost in your thoughts, don’t you?”
It was none other than Subject 070.
No.
Ijeoma.
“Sorry, were you saying something?” I asked, clearing both my throat and my mind.
“We’re on the same team, so let’s do our best.”
She casually wrapped her arms around my shoulders again.
I looked upward at the new holographic dispy floating above us. It contained team names, and I quickly found mine.
[Team 2]
Members:
Chigozie (Captain)
Ijeoma (Assistant Captain)
Ms 1 (Team Guardian)
Kamcy
Orezi
Khadija
Seeing my teammates finalized, I turned back to her.
“Mm, but could you please take your arm off me?”
I kept my tone polite. I did not like unfamiliar people breaking my personal space.
“Wow, that hurts a little,” she replied, smiling as she dramatically grabbed her chest like an overdramatic cartoon character.
I ignored her theatrics and simply turned away.
She eventually removed her arm.
“Alright, since we do not have time to dally around, let’s get suited,” announced Chigozie, our team captain.
“Yes please, we do not have time to be trying to get into each other’s pants,” Orezi added, arms folded across his chest.
I gnced at him and was surprised. His earlier injury had nearly healed completely. More importantly, he was not avoiding me.
After what I had done to him, I had expected distance and resentment. Instead, he looked at me directly, with no hesitation in his eyes.
I almost chuckled.
He was someone who bounced back fast.
Still, I would watch my back around him.
“Let’s get going then.”
We approached the weapons rack as it parted down the middle. The floor behind it rose into four cylindrical ptforms with a hydraulic hum.
Steam hissed from their sides.
Rectangur compartments opened, revealing identical suitcases.
Everyone grabbed one.
I walked to the ptform beled Team 2 and picked mine up.
It was lighter than I expected.
Suitcase in hand, I entered one of the stalls arranged to the side at random. Inside was a compact room with a mirror and a metallic table.
I pced the case down and clicked the locks open.
Inside y the contents:
The bodysuit and armor were folded neatly in the center. Boots on one side. Gloves above them. At the bottom, a Z30.
I picked up the suit.
Smooth.
Pitch bck, with faint luminous seams tracing its contours like dormant circuitry.
I undressed quickly and stepped into it. Pulling the zipper up the front, I expected discomfort.
Instead, the material adjusted instantly, tightening and sealing against my skin without restricting my movement.
Then I felt it.
A cool ripple swept across my body.
The suit was synchronizing.
It tuned my senses to the àse within me and around me.
My perception sharpened again.
I realized that if I had this during my punishment simution, I would not have died so many times just to learn how to sense àse properly.
Shaking the thought away, I put on the body armor.
It locked into pce magnetically.
I looked at myself in the mirror.
The armor fit perfectly, but despite looking good, the suit beneath left little to the imagination.
Remembering I still had my combat pants from earlier, I quickly pulled them on.
Better.
Next came the boots.
Then I grabbed the Z30. Its H-shaped design was reminiscent of some impractical weapon you would see in a sci-fi space opera. Shaking my head, I clipped it to my side and pulled on the gloves.
The moment the full set was complete, another cooling surge washed over me, like the suit acknowledging readiness.
I nodded at my reflection and stepped out.
Several others were already suited up.
Most of the dies had also opted to wear combat pants over the suit.
I released a quiet chuckle.
The room buzzed with activity. Soldiers prepared vehicles. Weapons clicked. Arms pulsed softly.
Turning, I headed back toward the weapons rack, specifically the section beled “àse Tools.”
As suggested, I grabbed a T17, then a Maestro B13. Extra clips. A combat knife.
Then I turned to the àse tools, twenty three weapons in total on the rack.
All cold weapons.
Each one radiated contained power.
I reached for a spear.
The moment my hand closed around it, a HUD dispy fred into existence.
[Name: Voidpiercer]
[Grade: 9]
Attributes:
A spear that amplifies its user’s physical parameters and rends space to strike a designated target regardless of conventional distance.
Shredder: When activated, unches a barrage of concentrated àse beams at the target.
Note: Stat boost and distance are determined by the strength of the user.]
I nodded.
That was a dangerous weapon.
But not the one I was aiming for.
My gaze shifted to the far end of the rack.
There it was.
I picked it up.
[Name: None]
[Grade: 9]
Attributes:
Homeboy: Will levitate by its user’s side so long as it feeds on the user’s energy.
Homing Signal: Will immediately track and return to its user’s hands by locking onto their àse signature once summoned.
Damage Boost: Any damage dealt through this weapon is doubled at the point of impact, meaning the force, penetration, or destructive output of the user’s attack is amplified to twice its original effect before resistance is calcuted.
Knife Mode: When activated, shrinks into a makeshift handheld dagger.
Note: This weapon drains energy at an accelerated rate even in Knife Mode. The wielder is advised to be cautious.]
The give was magnificent.
Its shaft was forged from a deep crimson alloy that seemed to pulse faintly, as if alive. It did not feel entirely metallic. There was warmth beneath my fingers, almost organic in texture. Veins of bck traced along its length and fed into the bde like frozen lightning.
The bde itself curved outward in a lethal arc, polished to a mirror sheen that reflected light like liquid gss. Along the ft spine of the bde were four dark metallic rings etched with unfamiliar symbols. They were embedded seamlessly, as though binding something votile within. The edge emitted a faint vibration that hummed through my palm.
Nodding, I activated Knife Mode.
The massive give compressed smoothly, folding inward until it became a compact dagger in my hand.
Immediately, it began draining me.
My àse reserves, already limited without a core, dipped sharply.
It was intense but manageable.
“This will have to do for now,” I muttered.
“I will have to give you a proper name soon.”
I strapped it behind my waist.
“Woah!! This is amazing, hahaha omo!”
I turned.
Orezi was hovering a few inches off the ground, filing his arms wildly in an attempt to bance himself while ughing.
Some people chuckled.
Others ignored him.
“Please, this is not the time, young man,” Chigozie said firmly.
He emerged from behind a divider, fully suited. He looked good, but unlike me, he did not wear extra pants over the suit.
Behind him came Khadija and Ijeoma.
Khadija wore combat pants.
Ijeoma did not.
“Like what you see?” she teased.
I chuckled. I could not deny it.
She grinned and walked straight to the rack.
Then she grabbed the one weapon everyone had unconsciously avoided.
A massive axe about 2.2 meters tall.
Its bde was wide and brutal in appearance, with hollow vents lining the back edge.
She lifted it effortlessly.
We all stared as she spun it once.
Twice.
Then she flowed through stances with frightening precision, her skill evident as she adjusted smoothly with each swing.
Silence fell briefly.
Then Ms. Destiny approached.
“Alright, first of all, team captains, you and your team will be moving out based on the directions dispyed in the system tab on your HUD. For the others, information will be passed to you. If there are questions your captains cannot answer, use the help tab. If there is nothing else, move out.”
Chigozie nodded and grabbed a European sword.
Khadija picked up the Voidpiercer after a brief observation.
“Alright, let’s get moving.”
He led us as we joined twenty soldiers dressed in bck tactical gear.
They saluted as we approached, and we nodded in return.
The ground trembled.
The ptform beneath us began rising.
<
<
<
The roof parted open above us.
As we rose through the opening, cold air hit my face.
It felt fresh.
We emerged into a vast expanse of sand stretching endlessly into the distance. Sparse skeletal trees stood scattered across the ndscape.
The evening sky burned with fading orange.
The moon was rising.
I inhaled deeply.
The air was crisp.
It felt liberating.
For a moment, I accepted it was real.
Then came sudden pain.
A sharp spike behind my eyes.
My vision flickered as the world around me glitched.
Static crawled across my sight like corrupted code.
I dropped to my knees.
My head throbbed violently.
<
My breath hitched.
<
<
That voice.
No.
No.
This was not right.
That was all I could feel before I embraced darkness.