Mars held its breath. No Bickering or Chatter. Everyone was indoors.
The only sounds were the distant, overlapping hum of military choppers. A silence lay beneath them, a planet-wide hush.
Then, a shriek of turbines tore the sky. Five military jets shot past, flying low and fast. They carried the seal of the Five Generals stationed on Mars. A signal. The generals themselves were deploying.
They were heading for Barrack Fifty-Nine.
Inside the barracks, every surviving micro-camera activated. The General had learned from Meera. He fed their live streams to a public channel.
The world was watching.
Across Mars, people stood still, eyes locked on their B-Wax screens, watching unfolding drama.
Then, the planet erupted in a unified, deafening gasp.
The General's silver dagger was descending toward Bryce's throat. The frail, aged man had summoned impossible strength to lift it.
Bryce did not wait for the bite of steel.
His palm shot up, knocking the General's wrist. The blade veered, slicing a shallow graze along the General's own forearm.
The General snarled, retaliating with a blow that channeled the remnants of his power into Bryce's already broken arm. A sickening crack echoed.
He swung the dagger again, aiming to cut off the limb entirely.
"Arrggggh!" Bryce screamed, dragging his shattered arm across the permacrete.
The dagger fell. It missed the arm, shearing through fingers instead.
"I never wanted to use this," Bryce spat, blood bubbling on his lips. "But I have too much left to do. I am not dying today."
He spat a glob of blood and saliva directly into the General's eyes.
The General made a fatal mistake.
He instinctively raised his free hand—the grazed one—to wipe his face.
"Athena." Bryce's voice was a raw command. "Activate Vampire Mode."
He pressed his bleeding, severed fingers against the graze on the General's arm.
Holographic text flooded his vision.
VAMPIRE MODE ACTIVATED.
RIVAL VAMPIRE MODE AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATED.
ACTIVATOR:
USER: BRYCE ONYX
MODEL: 96.45
HDC: 69.00
<3/100 EXP>
STRENGTH: 4.3
STAMINA: 3.3
HEALTH: 1.34
RIVAL:
USER: SANGIUS DAVE (AKA THE GENERAL)
MODEL: 75.98
HDC: 53.68
<7/100 EXP>
STRENGTH: 5.1
STAMINA: 2.9
HEALTH: 2.89
BRYCE ONYX HDC: 69.00 vs SANGIUS DAVE HDC: 53.68
DENOMINATOR: BRYCE ONYX
TRANSFER INITIATED.
The General's scream was not of pain, but of pure, existential horror.
His body was coming apart. His skin peeled back from his flesh, dissolving like wind. His tissues vaporized. His skeleton disintegrated into dust.
In seconds, only his empty uniform remained, collapsed on Bryce's chest. A pair of boots sat neatly beside Bryce.
TRANSFER COMPLETED.
USER: BRYCE ONYX
MODEL: 96.45
HDC: 100.00….. REMNANT 22.68….
ALLOCATE REMNANT TO YOUR ATTRIBUTES:
<100/100 EXP>
STRENGTH: 4.3
STAMINA: 3.3
HEALTH: 1.34
ALLOCATION TO STRENGTH AND HEALTH: SUCCESSFUL.
STRENGTH: 14.3
HEALTH: 14.02
Power flooded Bryce's broken body. His bones knit. His flesh regenerated. He blinked, his one good eye clearing, burning with cold fire.
"Kill him!" The captains' shout was a unison of terror.
The Noids stopped. Turned.
And began to walk toward Bryce.