The lab was cold. Not in temperature, but in purpose. The walls were sterile white, reinforced with materials stronger than steel. The air reeked of chemicals, sharp and metallic on my tongue. No windows. No exits.
I had heard of the Apex Program. A desperate project designed to counter the Titans—an attempt to create weapons capable of fighting them. One monster against another. Most who entered never came out.
I didn't care.
There is no point in living if I can't avenge my family.
A man in a white lab coat regarded me with disinterest, adjusting his glasses. A soldier in black military gear stood beside him, arms crossed—a silent reminder that I was no longer free.
"Do you understand what this entails?" the scientist asked.
I nodded.
"You will experience suffering beyond what the human body can endure."
I didn't blink.
"There is a high probability of death."
"I don't fear death," I said. "I fear weakness."
The soldier smirked. "Good."
A signal was given. Soldiers standing behind me moved. Hands gripped me, forcing me onto the cold metal table. Restraints locked around my wrists, ankles, and neck. Machines hummed to life.
The procedure began.
----
The first injection burned like liquid fire in my veins. My muscles seized. My vision blurred. Every nerve screamed in agony.
I had been beaten before, bons broken, burned before. But nothing compared to this.
Voices murmured above me, distorted through the pain and blood seaping for my ears.
"Cell structure degrading at an accelerated rate."
"Heart rate surging—250 and climbing."
"He's not going to survive."
I clenched my jaw. I refused to scream. Pain was nothing. Not compared to lossing my family, watching them due helplessly.
After who knows how long the pain dulled.
" Prepare for second phase"
The second phase began. Electrodes pressed against my skin. Energy surged through me, twisting my muscles, fracturing my bones. My body was tearing itself apart—and rebuilding stronger. Suddenly something shifted inside me, power, raw power.
The restraints snapped.
Alarms blared. Chaos erupted. The scientist shouted for containment. My body moved before my mind could process it, instinct guiding me. Time slowed. I saw everything—the fear in their eyes, their hands trembling on weapons that wouldn't save them.
The first guard fired. The bullet stung but did not stop me.
I read his movements like an open book. Before he could fire again I was already upon him.
One strike sent the man crashing into the reinforced wall, his body crumpling. Another man scared, tried to run. I was faster. My hand closed around his throat, lifting him off the ground.
The scientist stepped back, pale. "This… this is beyond expectations."
The soldier beside him remained still, unreadable. Then he nodded. "We succeeded."
I dropped the lifeless body. My heartbeat was slow, steady. The pain was gone.
Raw power flowing in my veins.
The soldier stepped forward. "Ethan Kael," he said. "Welcome to the Apex Program."
---
Sometimes a have dreams of my family. Me and my sister laying on bed and our mother singing lulabery in her love filled voice rubbing our head gently.
Haunting me.
Months blurred together—endless tests, brutal drills, and missions designed to push me beyond my limits. They learned what I could endure. They learned it was more than they ever imagined.
I was faster than their machines, stronger than their engineered warriors. My reflexes were nearly precognitive, my body adapting to any form of combat. Weapons felt like an extension of me—my sword, my preferred tool, cut with a precision no machine could match.
But it wasn't enough.
Power alone was meaningless.
I needed to be feared.
The world had taken everything from me. Now, I would take everything in return.
I would start with the Titans.
With the one who had stolen my family.
Marek Vallis.
He was the first on my list. A Prime Titan. Not the strongest, but feared. His name was whispered in war zones, spoken with reverence by those who valued power.
I would carve his name into my sword before I erased it from existence.
----
Marek was not easy to find.
Titans did not live like ordinary men. They thrived in conflict, selling their strength to the highest bidder. Governments, crime syndicates—some fought for money, others for chaos.
Marek was the latter.
For months, I followed the trail of destruction he left behind. Towns reduced to rubble. Survivors too terrified to speak. The same description, every time.
Red eyes. A black giant. A monster who never lost.
Then, finally, I found him.
The Confrontation
A ruined city. Buildings reduced to skeletal remains. The air was thick with the scent of blood and smoke.
And in the center of it all stood Marek Vallis.
He hadn't changed. Broad-shouldered, clad in black Titan-grade armor. His presence was suffocating. But it was his eyes—crimson red, glowing in the dim light—that I would never forget.
He saw me and grinned.
"Another fool come to die?" His voice was like gravel, laced with amusement.
I said nothing. His words meant nothing.
I drew my sword.
He didn't remember me.
To him, my family had been nothing. Just another casualty in an endless war.
It made me hate him even more.
I advanced.
Marek reacted instantly, shifting into a defensive stance. But he was a second too slow.
Before, I wouldn't have been able to touch him.
Now, I was faster.
My blade sliced through the air, aiming for his throat. He barely managed to dodge, but steel met flesh. My sword bit into his shoulder, cutting through armor and muscle.
He stumbled back, eyes wide in shock.
He bled.
He hadn't expected that.
Because I wasn't here to lose.
I was here to kill.
TO BE CONTINUE...