Sara could only stare wide-eyed as Max danced around the giant machine like a storm—dodging, striking, overwhelming.
Piece by piece, the unstoppable Titan-Class Sentinel was being torn apart.
Until, finally, Max leapt high into the air—dark wings of force briefly flaring behind him—and brought his spear down right into the Titan's core.
BOOM!!
The Sentinel collapsed, smoke rising from its shattered body.
Max landed smoothly, spinning his spear once before it dissolved into particles.
He turned back to Sara, grinning like he had just finished a warm-up.
"Alright. Shelter's clear.
Let's go say hi."
Sara just stood there for a moment, stunned.
Max casually brushed the dust off his jacket like taking down a Titan-Class Sentinel was a daily chore.
"Come on," he said over his shoulder. "You're gonna catch flies if you keep your mouth open like that."
Sara snapped her jaw shut, flushed, and hurried after him.
They moved quickly toward the battered entrance of the underground shelter. As they approached, survivors began peeking out—first cautiously, then with growing excitement.
A few armed lookouts came forward, weapons trembling in their hands, unsure if Max was another threat.
Sara stepped up, waving her arms.
"It's okay! He's with me! He took down the Titan!"
Murmurs spread through the small crowd.
"Did she say... the Titan?"
"Impossible..."
"By himself??"
An old man limped forward, using a scrap metal rod as a cane. His eyes, sharp and calculating despite his worn appearance, locked onto Max.
"You... you're not normal," he said, voice gravelly.
Max just shrugged.
"Never claimed to be."
Another voice, younger this time—a teenage boy with a missing arm—chimed in.
"I heard stories... rumors of someone the Ultrons feared. A Shadow Beast. Someone who can kill the machines."
Sara glanced at Max suspiciously.
"You didn't tell me you already had a nickname."
Max grinned.
"I didn't. Guess my reputation travels faster than me."
"or most likely he is somone else" Max added thoughtfully, its impossible fro his deed to spread so fast, the most likley scenario is there is one more guy or probabaly a resistance team somewhere out there fighting agaisnt the Ultron army.
The old man coughed roughly, then gave a tired but genuine smile.
"You're welcome here, stranger.
But… be warned. You do something that reckless again, and you'll paint a giant target on all of us."
Max nodded seriously.
"Understood."
As they led him deeper into the shelter, Max finally got a good look at how these people lived.
Cramped spaces lined with salvaged metal. Children huddled together, wrapped in tattered blankets. Fires burned low in improvised barrels for warmth. There were gardens too—small hydroponic systems crafted from scavenged tech, barely growing vegetables in the poisoned air.
It wasn't much.
But it was survival.
Sara tugged at his sleeve.
"Max… you saw it out there. We're barely holding on. Even with shelters like this, Ultron's drones find us eventually.
We need a real place.
A place where they can't reach us."
Max's eyes gleamed slightly.
He had already been thinking the same thing.
A private dimensional shelter, hidden from Ultron's sensors.
Protected. Safe.
Something... only he could build.
Max placed a hand on Sara's shoulder.
"Don't worry," he said quietly, voice filled with calm certainty.
"I'll build you a real home."
Max stood in the center of the ruined shelter, eyes closed, focusing.
He summoned his system screen with a simple thought.
[Inventory ➔ Special Items ➔ Base Creation Tools]
[Select: "Genesis Seed" – A mythical item capable of creating an indestructible refuge.]
Max smirked.
"Good thing I always hoarded rare drops."
He threw the Genesis Seed into the ground. Instantly, the earth shook—not violently, but like something deep beneath was awakening. From where the seed landed, light spread outward in delicate golden lines, carving glowing patterns into the ground like ancient runes.
The survivors gasped, stepping back as a pillar of pure blue energy erupted upward, piercing the sky like a lance.
Sara grabbed Max's sleeve, shouting over the rising hum.
"W-What are you doing?!"
Max only smiled.
"Building you a future."
A massive dome of translucent energy started expanding from the pillar's base. It grew, and grew, until it easily covered several kilometers—large enough to fit an entire city.
The walls of the dome shimmered with swirling symbols and layers of energy so dense, even a planet-buster cannon couldn't hope to break through.
It was an absolute fortress.
System Messages flashed:
[You have created: "Sanctuary: Eden Dome"]
[Properties: Absolute Defense | Self-Sustaining Ecosystem | Anti-Detection Field | Automated Regeneration]
[Special Effect: Shields will resist up to 10,000x planetary-buster-class attacks.]
Sara could only stare as inside the dome, the ruins of the old shelter reformed. Metal twisted and bent itself into futuristic structures: homes, towers, hydro-farms, power stations. Pure, breathable air flooded the inside. Artificial rivers shimmered under artificial sunlight.
It wasn't just a shelter anymore.
It was a city.
Children and adults emerged from hiding, blinking in awe as green fields grew around them, as clean water flowed in crystal streams. For many, it was the first time they had seen real grass... real light... in years.
Sara's hands trembled as she looked around, tears welling up in her eyes.
"This… this is…"
Max chuckled, scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah, yeah, it's awesome. I know."
He turned to her, serious now.
"But this is just the start."
Max pointed upward where drones were already buzzing around the outside of the dome, trying and failing to find a way in.
"I'm going to wipe those metal bastards off this planet.
One... by... one."
Sara wiped her eyes, then grinned fiercely.
"I'm with you."
And so, beneath the protection of the unbreakable Eden Dome, the first seeds of humanity's comeback were sown—led by a chaotic, unpredictable, and unstoppable new hero: Max.
Later that day, under the artificial sunset inside the Eden Dome, Max sat with Sara atop a new building's rooftop. The gentle breeze from the self-contained environment made it almost feel like a real world — a real home.
Sara, still in awe, hugged her knees and glanced sideways at Max.
"You really aren't normal, are you?"
Max smirked, his eyes glinting with mischief.
"Normal's boring. I'm allergic to it."
He stood up, stretching lazily, then turned serious.
"But if we're going to survive... no, if we're going to win—it's not enough to just hide here."
***
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It's 22 chaps ahead