Waking up in the morning felt like the night had passed in the blink of an eye. The gang was up quickly, already preparing to move out. Wei handed Ace what looked like a coffin—a specialized case designed to hold his twin blades. Strapping it securely to his back, Ace felt its weight settle, a constant reminder of the battles ahead.
Dressed in their sleek tuxedos, the group looked prepared for war, yet Ace still lacked a proper helmet. Xavier, noticing this, turned to Wei. "Give him the original prototype mask. It should do for now until we craft something better."
With that settled, they set off by road, avoiding air travel to minimize the risk of government detection. As they sped along the highway, Xavier briefed Ace on their situation. "We're in Montana now. It'll take approximately sixteen hours to reach our destination by road. We started our journey by 6 AM so we would arrive by 4 PM."
The journey was long, but midway through, Xavier shifted the conversation to combat strategies. He emphasized teamwork, cautioning them against reckless moves. "Before we go any further, Ace, we need to see what you can do."
Ace nodded, gripping the hilt of one of his blades. As he focused, he felt something—an underlying energy pulsing beneath the steel. Experimenting, he realized he could control the input of his life energy into the weapons. Though his control was shaky, there was potential. Sam, observing closely, offered advice. "If you keep meditating and focusing, you'll learn to minimize the energy drain while maximizing output."
Finally, the group arrived in Oakland. Activating their frequency tracker, Wei scanned the area. "He's close. Shouldn't be far now."
Xavier turned to Ace. "I think you should go one-on-one with this guy first. We need to measure your strength. But don't underestimate him. Our kind often falls into that trap, believing we're the strongest. This guy has been on a killing spree. Repeated kills give him exponential growth. Considering what he did in San Francisco, we have an idea of how strong he is."
Ace smirked, adjusting the coffin on his back. "I won't underestimate him. You taught me that."
Before Sam could finish his complaint about wanting a day to relax, a massive explosion shattered the air. A shockwave rippled through the city. "Well, I guess we can't do that anymore," he muttered.
Racing towards the source of destruction, they arrived just in time to witness a gruesome sight—a man, seemingly in his early thirties, plunging his hand through a woman's skull. Blood splattered across the pavement as her lifeless body crumpled. He turned, reaching for her terrified child—
But never made it.
A devastating impact sent him hurtling through multiple buildings. The gang barely processed what had happened. Ace was gone. The coffin lay discarded on the ground. He had moved too fast for even them to see.
Following the destruction, they found him at the end of a path of obliterated structures. The enemy, stunned but recovering, glared at Ace. Dust and debris swirled around them. The air crackled with tension. A figure dropped from above—
The moment his feet touched the ground, everything slowed. The sheer force of his landing sent shockwaves rippling outward. Cars lifted from the pavement. Glass shattered. The impact sent Ace airborne, and before he could react, a monstrous punch slammed into his ribs.
The pain was instant, sharp, but Ace had no time to process it. The force of the blow should have sent him crashing through more buildings, but before he could be launched, his attacker grabbed him mid-air.
"Tell me your name so I can remember it when I kill you," Ace growled.
The man chuckled, amused. "You think you can kill me? Fine. Remember this name in the afterlife—Kael. And this—" His fist drew back, brimming with overwhelming power. "—is your end."
As the punch came down, a flash of steel intercepted it. Kael barely managed to twist away as a blade whistled past his face. The attack wasn't meant to kill him—it was meant to reach Ace.
The moment Ace's fingers closed around the hilt, an eruption of energy surged through his body. The power was intoxicating, raw. His instincts sharpened, his movements became precise. Without hesitation, he swung.
Kael barely evaded, but the air pressure alone carved deep cuts into his flesh. His eyes widened in disbelief. Ace didn't give him time to process.
Ace moved like a ghost, his blade singing as it sliced through the air. He wasn't just attacking—he was predicting. It felt as though he had lived this battle countless times before. His movements were perfect, fluid, and devastating.
Kael's evasions grew desperate. Every swing of the blade sent shockwaves through the battlefield, carving through buildings like they were made of paper. He tried to counterattack, but Ace was faster—too fast. Cuts accumulated across his body, blood splattering with each strike. He was losing.
Ace felt it too. He was stronger, faster. The tide had shifted. The weapon in his hands was more than a tool—it was an extension of himself. His teammates watched in awe. He was about to deliver the final blow—
But then he hesitated.
"Give up. Join us," Ace offered, blade hovering inches from Kael's throat. "We have a way to suppress our killing nature."
Kael's laughter was cruel, mocking. "Suppress it? You fool. You think you can escape it? That wasn't you back there—it was your killer instinct. The same one I have. The same one that made you attack me the second you saw me about to kill that girl. You don't control it. It controls you."
Ace's grip tightened. His teammates averted their eyes. None of them wanted to meet his gaze. The truth in Kael's words gnawed at him. He could feel it—his instincts running wild, pushing him, whispering to him.
And then he realized something.
During the fight, his helmet had cracked. The pieces fell away, revealing his face—a face both handsome and unnervingly calm. Too calm. Then, he smiled.
It wasn't the smile of a man in control.
It was the smile of someone about to enjoy what came next.
Ace lifted his blade. He was about to strike—
But a force unlike anything he had felt before stopped him mid-motion. A monstrous presence filled the air. His body was sent flying before he could react, crashing back toward his teammates.
As he stumbled to his feet, his vision adjusted, and his heart pounded in recognition.
The man standing before them wasn't just powerful. He was something beyond them all.
The air around him twisted with raw energy. He exuded strength, dominance. There were only a handful of people in the world capable of this level of power.
He was an Original.
And he had just entered the battlefield.