Chapter 168: The War of One

Chapter 168: The War of One
The moment I stepped out of the warehouse, the entire street froze.

Hundreds of soldiers.

Rows of armored vehicles.

The massive experimental creatures Victor had released earlier.

Every single one of them turned their weapons toward me.

Red targeting lights flickered across my chest.

Callum leaned slightly toward Dominic.

“…just to confirm.”

“Yes?” Dominic muttered.

“We’re dramatically outnumbered.”

Dominic didn’t look away from the army.

“Yes.”

Callum sighed.

“Good.”

“Just making sure we’re all on the same page.”

Victor stood calmly at the center of the formation, his long coat moving slightly in the cold night wind.

His expression looked almost… satisfied.

Like he had been waiting for this moment.

“Roxanne.”

His voice carried clearly across the ruined street.

“You made the correct choice.”

I stopped about twenty feet away from the first line of soldiers.

Dominic stood on my right.

Selene on my left.

Behind us, Callum, Elena, and Aidan stepped out of the warehouse as well.

Victor’s eyes flickered briefly toward them.

Then back to me.

“I appreciate your cooperation.”

Callum whispered behind me,

“She literally walked out to fight you.”

Victor ignored him.

“You have exceeded every expectation I had.”

He slowly stepped forward.

The soldiers parted around him instantly.

“But unfortunately…”

His eyes hardened slightly.

“…the world is not ready for something like you.”

The silver energy inside my chest pulsed harder.

I could feel it now.

Clear.

Controlled.

Like a storm waiting for permission to break.

“You’re not protecting the world,” I said quietly.

“You’re trying to control it.”

Victor smiled faintly.

“Control is simply another word for stability.”

Callum groaned.

“Oh my God he’s doing the villain speech.”

Dominic’s voice rumbled low.

“Be quiet.”

Victor gestured toward the large metal towers being assembled across the street.

The machines hummed loudly now.

Their metal frames glowing faintly with strange blue symbols.

“The containment array is nearly complete.”

Selene’s eyes narrowed.

“They’re forming a suppression grid.”

Victor nodded.

“Correct.”

He looked at me again.

“Once activated, those towers will absorb supernatural energy within a one mile radius.”

My stomach tightened.

“You built a cage.”

Victor shrugged lightly.

“I built a precaution.”

Callum whispered,

“…pretty sure that’s still a cage.”

Aidan stepped forward slightly.

“How long until it activates?”

Victor glanced at his watch.

“Three minutes.”

Dominic’s claws extended again.

“You’re not taking her.”

Victor tilted his head slightly.

“I admire your loyalty, Alpha.”

His eyes gleamed.

“But loyalty will not save you tonight.”

He lifted his hand slowly.

Instantly—

Hundreds of weapons clicked into firing position.

Elena’s voice dropped.

“…that’s a lot of guns.”

Callum nodded.

“Extremely a lot.”

Victor’s gaze never left me.

“Last chance, Roxanne.”

His voice softened slightly.

“Surrender.”

The energy inside my chest burned hotter.

But something else stirred now too.

The voice.

Quiet.

Patient.

You know what to do.

I took a step forward.

Dominic immediately moved with me.

Victor watched carefully.

“Interesting.”

I raised my hands slowly.

The soldiers tightened their grip on their weapons.

Selene whispered beside me,

“Careful.”

But I wasn’t afraid anymore.

Because now…

I could feel it clearly.

The energy wasn’t just power.

It was connection.

Every enhanced soldier in front of me carried a faint glow of the same energy Victor had placed inside me.

Not the same strength.

But the same origin.

And somehow…

I could feel all of it.

Like distant sparks across a dark field.

Victor noticed the silver light beginning to glow around my hands.

His smile widened slightly.

“Yes.”

“Show me.”

Callum whispered behind me,

“…this feels like the part where everything explodes.”

The silver energy spread across my arms.

Brighter.

Stronger.

But this time it didn’t surge wildly.

It moved exactly where I wanted it.

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You’ve learned control already.”

I took another step forward.

“Not exactly.”

The energy pulsed outward.

Soft.

Invisible.

But powerful.

It moved through the air like a wave.

And the moment it touched the first line of soldiers—

They froze.

Every single one of them.

Weapons still raised.

Bodies locked in place.

Callum blinked.

“…uh.”

He waved his hand in front of one soldier’s face.

The man didn’t move.

“…did she just pause them?”

Aidan looked stunned.

“She shut down their enhancements.”

Selene’s eyes widened slightly.

“Incredible.”

Victor’s expression changed for the first time that night.

Not fear.

But surprise.

“Impossible.”

The silver energy spread further.

Across the second line of soldiers.

Then the third.

Within seconds—

Nearly half of Victor’s army stood completely frozen.

Callum slowly turned toward me.

“…okay that’s awesome.”

Victor’s smile slowly returned.

“Fascinating.”

He lifted his hand again.

“Release the shock units.”

The massive armored creatures behind the army roared as they moved forward.

Their heavy footsteps shook the ground.

These ones weren’t controlled by enhancement energy.

They were something else entirely.

Dominic shifted instantly.

His body expanded into the massive black wolf.

Fur rippling with power.

His golden eyes locked onto the approaching monsters.

Selene raised her blade.

“Elena, with me.”

Callum grabbed his metal pipe again.

“…this suddenly feels less awesome.”

Aidan cracked his knuckles.

“We hold the line.”

Victor watched everything calmly.

“You see, Roxanne…”

His voice carried easily over the chaos.

“I always prepare for variables.”

The shock units charged.

Huge.

Armored.

Violent.

Dominic lunged forward to meet them.

The clash shook the street like an earthquake.

Selene and Elena moved beside him, striking with precise, deadly speed.

Callum ducked behind a car as one of the creatures smashed through it.

“THIS WAS A TERRIBLE PLAN!”

But Victor still wasn’t worried.

Because the towers behind him were still powering up.

Two minutes.

The silver energy inside me surged again.

I could feel the soldiers.

I could feel the machines.

And suddenly…

I could feel something else.

Something deeper.

Something ancient beneath the city.

The Umbra stepped out of the warehouse doorway behind us.

Its white eyes glowing faintly.

“Yes.”

It whispered quietly.

“You feel it now.”

I didn’t look back.

“What is it?”

The Umbra’s voice carried through the battlefield.

“The same power that created the first Ascended.”

Victor heard it.

His eyes widened slightly.

“What?”

The ground beneath the street began to tremble.

Everyone felt it.

Even the shock units paused.

Callum shouted,

“WHY IS THE GROUND SHAKING?!”

The silver energy inside my chest exploded outward again.

But this time—

It wasn’t just mine.

Something answered it.

Deep beneath the city.

Victor’s calm expression finally cracked.

“…what did you do?”

I looked at him.

“I didn’t create anything.”

The ground split open across the street.

Cracks racing through the asphalt.

Light poured from the earth itself.

Blinding.

Ancient.

Victor took a step back.

“That energy…”

The Umbra’s voice whispered with quiet awe.

“The old world wakes.”

From the glowing crack in the ground—

Something began to rise.

Not a creature.

Not a weapon.

Something far stranger.

Something ancient.

Something that had been buried for thousands of years.

Victor’s voice dropped into a whisper.

“…that’s impossible.”

But it wasn’t.

Because whatever was rising from beneath the city…

Had been waiting for the last Ascended to return.

And tonight—

It had finally awakened.