Chương 121: 120: Things go awry

The training room hummed with the steady rhythm of impact. Punching bags swung from heavy chains, their worn leather scarred by years of punishment. The air smelled of sweat, rubber, and the faint metallic tang of blood that had long since been scrubbed from the mats. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting a harsh white glow across the rows of trainees spread throughout the room. Liora drove her fist into the heavy bag. THWACK. Sweat plastered her high ponytail to the back of her neck.

Chipped black nail polish caught the light as she reset her stance and struck again. THWACK. Beside her, Gideon worked another bag, his broad shoulders rolling with each punch. The scar cutting through his eyebrow was barely visible beneath the sheen of sweat across his face.

"I can't stop thinking about her," Liora muttered between strikes.

"The albino one?" Gideon asked.

"The blue-haired one." She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand before throwing another punch.

"The one in the corridor. The one who killed that stitched thing."

"Amalgation."

"Yeah." She shook her head.

"That thing regenerated from practically anything, and she just... beat it to death with a stick."

"With a weapon," Gideon corrected.

"Those nunchaku were different. They almost looked alive."

"Everything's alive these days." Nearby, another trainee hammered a speed bag with relentless precision. His heavy, muscular arms blurred with each strike, every impact sounding like a cannon shot. Milo had suggested they use the training room instead of the recreation wing after the chaos.

"I still don't understand how she survived," he said without breaking rhythm.

"Thornburgh had her head. I saw the body. Everyone saw the body."

"People don't just walk away from that," another trainee replied. Rhett was lean and wiry, with close-cropped dark hair and a permanent look of mild irritation. He worked a heavy bag with sharp, economical strikes.

"Unless they're not people."

"That's the thing," Liora said quietly.

"I don't think she is. Not anymore." A third trainee, Noel, lowered his fists. Tall and lanky, with a mop of messy brown hair hanging over his eyes, he frowned.

"You think she's one of the experiments? Like the ones we've heard about?"

"Maybe worse," Gideon said.

"The white-haired one - Butter. She survived having her head cut off. She survived being eaten. The blue-haired one was with her. They knew each other."

"They were close," Liora said.

"I saw the way she looked at Butter's body. It was..." She searched for the right word.

"... personal." Noel slowly shook his head.

"What kind of experiments make people like that?"

"The kind we're not supposed to know about," Rhett answered flatly.

"The kind they keep behind sealed doors on the lower levels."

"And the kind that just destroyed the recreation wing," Milo added, finally slowing his pace.

"That girl took down an entire squad of Steppers and two Operatives like they were nothing. She humiliated Pyramid in front of everyone."

"I heard someone say she fought Korhess and the Commander to a standstill," Kasina said. She was small, dark-haired, and sharp-eyed, with an intensity that made people instinctively listen.

"That can't be true... right?"

"The Commander?" another trainee scoffed.

"No chance. Get her past a Talon first."

"Korhess?" someone else snorted.

"Give me a break. Nobody's beating Korhess, dude, and the Commander on top of that? You did not hear that. Stop making things up, Kasina."

"Korhess and the Commander together?" another voice chimed in.

"I don't think she could beat either of them individually. Who even told you that?"

"Why not?" Rhett asked.

"After everything we've seen today?"

"Because Korhess is..." Kasina hesitated.

"... was one of the strongest experiments in the facility. And the Commander hasn't lost a fight in decades. If she really fought both of them..."

"Then she's something we don't even have a name for," Milo finished.

"And the blue-haired one probably is too." Liora leaned against her punching bag, drawing a slow breath.

"She had powers as well. She spoke words... and things just happened. It was almost like a chant. Or a spell."

"Magic?" Noel asked.

"Different." Liora frowned.

"I don't know how to explain it." Milo folded his arms.

"So where did she get something like that?"

"I don't know." Liora looked down for a moment.

"But she... let us go." The room fell silent. Gideon looked over.

"What do you mean?"

"She had all of us wrapped up with those chains. She could've killed us whenever she wanted." Liora met his eyes.

"She didn't."

"Because we didn't know about Apis," Gideon said quietly.

"She realised we had no idea where it came from, and she let us walk away." Liora nodded.

"She could've killed us without even trying, but she looked at us like we were victims. Like we were trapped here the same way she was." Rhett frowned.

"That doesn't make any sense. Why would someone like her care about us?"

"I don't know," Liora admitted.

"But she did." Silence settled over the room before Milo's eyes suddenly widened.

"Wait... where did you say you met her?"

"In one of the, um... corridors," Gideon answered carefully. He deliberately kept it vague. They weren't supposed to have been there in the first place, and although the training rooms usually escaped surveillance, he wasn't about to take chances.

"The Twin Chambers?" Milo's voice jumped.

"That's where the False-Twin chambers are. She was near the False-Twin chambers?"

"I... don't know."

"She killed Amalgation and walked away like it was nothing." Milo exchanged a worried glance with Noel.

"So if she got out..."

"Those chambers might not even exist anymore," Noel finished quietly.

"Or at least not in one piece."

"We should tell someone," Kasina said.

"Tell who?" Rhett replied.

"The Commander? The Talons? They already know. They're probably hunting her."

"Or," Gideon muttered, "she's hunting them." The door slammed open. Everyone turned.... A young woman stood in the doorway, her shaved head gleaming beneath the harsh lights. Dark wooden plugs stretched her earlobes, while a silver septum piercing caught the fluorescent glare. Sweat still glistened across her lean frame, her workout clothes damp from training. Sera stood there grinning.

"Guys," she panted.

"Guys, you need to come see this."

"See what?" Milo asked.

"Follow me. It's in the equipment room." The trainees exchanged curious glances before filing out behind her. They wound through a maze of corridors, passing lockers and supply closets until Sera stopped before a heavy steel door. She pushed it open. The equipment room was enormous, its walls lined with racks of training armour. Dark suits stood in neat rows, their plated shells gleaming beneath the lights. None of them spared the racks a second glance.

Their attention settled on the lone suit standing upon a raised platform in the centre of the room. A complete Stepper suit. Helmet. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Visor. Everything. Its red-and-grey plating was scratched, scorched, and dented from years of combat, while the exposed joints of the exoskeleton showed the wear of countless missions. Yet it remained intact.

"My uncle finally got promoted to Operative," Sera said, unable to hide her excitement.

"He signed everything over yesterday and gave me his old suit as a souvenir."

"Oh really? Damn, congratulations," Rhett said.

"My mum's signing next year."

"My brother would've been there too if he'd gone the Stepper route instead of engineering," Kasina said with a sigh.

"He's been building some ridiculous device for almost five years and still can't get it working."

"Well, most gadgets take years," Milo replied.

"The gravity mines took an entire research team over a decade."

"And a few deaths," Gideon added dryly.

"First prototypes turned the testers into paste." Sera clapped her hands.

"Guys. Focus on the suit."

"Wait... what?" Milo stepped closer, staring.

"He just... gave you a suit?"

"He was a Stepper for twenty years," Sera replied.

"Said he wanted to retire with style. Figured this deserved a better fate than gathering dust."

"A souvenir?" Rhett snorted.

"That's not a souvenir. That's military hardware."

"I know, right?" Sera laughed.

"He said I could even use it for training."

"Is the Apis sphere still inside?" someone asked.

"Of course not," Milo answered immediately.

"That gets removed first. Raw Apis would evaporate a normal human the moment you touched it. Imagine grabbing a ball of plasma that spreads through your body instantly."

"What about someone with the Magpie serum?" Nina asked. Her round face and freckles made the question sound almost innocent.

"They'd survive brief contact," Liora said.

"Probably with severe burns, nerve damage, or permanent injuries. If it entered your bloodstream, though, Apis poisoning could kill you days later."

"Large exposure kills within hours," Kasina added.

"Usually after paralysing you first. That's why a cracked core is every Stepper's nightmare. If it leaks into the suit instead of staying contained... you're probably dead."

"So it's just armour now?" Gideon asked.

"Just armour," Sera confirmed with a grin.

"Go on." She gestured toward it.

"Hit it." Everyone stared.

"Hit it?" Noel repeated.

"That's Stepper armour. It's harder than steel. I'm pretty sure the only thing getting damaged is my hand."

"Only one way to find out." Milo stepped forward, drew back his fist, and punched the chest plate. THWACK! He immediately recoiled, hissing through his teeth as he shook his hand.

"OW! What the hell is this thing made of?"

"Something tougher than steel," Sera said.

"Yet somehow it flexes like rubber. It absorbs the impact without giving way."

"Move." Gideon stepped up and drove a heavier punch into the exact same spot. THWACK! He grunted, flexing his aching fingers.

"Yeah... that's ridiculous." One after another, the trainees tested it. Punches. Kicks. Elbows. Even a flying knee. Every strike landed with a dull, satisfying thud before disappearing harmlessly into the armour. The suit never shifted. Its surface remained almost perfectly unmarked.

"This is insane," Rhett muttered.

"And this is without Apis?"

"Without Apis," Sera confirmed.

"So a Stepper wearing this..."

"... could threaten an entire city block through physical ability alone," Liora finished.

"The armour multiplies what the serum already gives them." Noel whistled.

"The serum already boosts someone to around fifty times their normal physical capability." He looked back at the suit.

"So Steppers are basically walking around with something like five hundred times their original strength and speed before they even start using Apis."

"Pretty terrifying when you think about it," Gideon said. The group fell quiet, continuing to inspect the battered armour from every angle. Then Sera's grin widened.

"Wait..."

"I've got an idea." Sera disappeared into the back room and returned moments later, dragging a large metal crate behind her. She dropped it in front of the suit, unclipped the latches, and threw open the lid. Inside was an assortment of weapons. Pistols. Rifles. Swords. And an RPG launcher.

"Where did you get those?" Gideon demanded.

"I asked one of the guards." Sera grinned.

"He has a crush on me, so he let me borrow them for 'research.'""You flirted your way into acquiring military-grade weapons?"

"I prefer to call it diplomacy."

"We are absolutely not firing an RPG in here," Liora said flatly.

"That's insane."

"I'm not firing it in here." Sera slung the launcher over her shoulder.

"We're taking it to the training field." Fifteen minutes later, they stood on the outdoor training grounds behind the dormitory. The empty suit had been positioned at the far end of the range, standing silently beneath the morning sky like an unmoving sentinel. They started with firearms. Each trainee took a turn, firing controlled shots into the armour. Ping. Ping. Ping. Every bullet flattened against the plating or ricocheted harmlessly away. Next came the swords. Steel rang against steel. CLANG! CLANG!

The blades failed to leave so much as a scratch.

"Well..." Gideon sighed, lowering his sword.

"That was a waste of time." Sera stepped forward with the RPG resting on her shoulder.

"You sure about this?" Milo asked.

"Absolutely." She squeezed the trigger. BOOOOOOM! The rocket screamed across the field before slamming squarely into the suit's chest. Fire blossomed outward, a violent shockwave rippling across the training grounds as dirt and debris blasted into the air. Everyone instinctively shielded their faces. When the smoke finally cleared, the suit was still standing. Its chest plate had blackened beneath the blast. Paint blistered and peeled away from the armour, exposing scorched metal beneath.

The visor remained untouched.

"Damn..." Gideon breathed.

"The helmet didn't even crack."

"These things are ridiculous," Liora muttered, shaking her head.

"Without Apis, the armour alone is almost indestructible."

"And with Apis," Noel added, "it's practically a god." Still talking excitedly, the group headed back inside, debating what it would be like to wear one of the suits. Only Sera had fallen silent. She stared at her phone, the colour slowly draining from her face.

"Guys..." Everyone looked over.

"You need to see this." She turned the screen toward them. A shaky phone recording filled the display. The footage had been slowed dramatically, yet the two figures still moved so quickly they blurred from frame to frame. One surfed through the air on a guitar. The other wore a cobalt-and-white suit. The trainees crowded around.

"Is that..." Liora narrowed her eyes.

"Is that Ankou?"

"Ankou Verloren?" Gideon whispered, fear creeping into his voice.

"The experiment from the Deep Levels?"

"I thought he was confined."

"Apparently not." Uneasy glances spread through the room. Everyone had heard stories about Ankou.

"If they deployed Ankou..." Milo muttered, "how dangerous is the other guy?" The video continued. The white-haired man carved arcs of violet light through the air with his guitar while Ankou answered with writhing tendrils of darkness. Buildings collapsed. Cars overturned. Shockwaves rolled through entire streets.

"Is that Queensworth?" Milo asked.

"It is."

"Why are they fighting there?"

"Who knows?"

"Wait." Kasina pointed at the screen.

"Pause it." Sera froze the video. Everyone leaned closer. The white-haired fighter had been caught for a single frame. White hair. Violet eyes. Chess-piece earrings. A translucent cast around one arm.

"He looks like..." Kasina murmured.

"The pretty albino girl," Liora finished.

"From the recreation wing."

"I thought she looked like him," Sera said slowly.

"Same hair," Gideon replied.

"Same face," Noel finished.

"They have to be related."

"Brother and sister," Gideon said quietly.

"There's no way they aren't."

"But what is he?" Noel wondered.

"Well, duh." Rhett folded his arms.

"If he's keeping up with Ankou, he's obviously an experiment." A beat of silence passed before Milo looked around the room.

"Quick question." Everyone looked at him.

"If you had the chance... which experiment would you sleep with?"

"Dude."

"It's a harmless question."

"In a facility full of surveillance?" Gideon snorted.

"I can't even sleep with my girlfriend. I'm counting the days until I become a Stepper so someone finally stops monitoring my life."

"It's hypothetical." Liora rolled her eyes.

"I honestly don't think it'd be safe," Rhett said.

"A Magpie Serum-enhanced human could probably crush your pecker." The room erupted into laughter.

"I can't imagine what an actual experiment would do. Every part of them's enhanced. Strength. Durability. Even their height."

"I can imagine the backshots," Milo said with a grin.

"You'd wake up sore for a week."

"Sore?" Gideon laughed.

"Try permanently disabled." Kasina folded her arms.

"Wait... becoming an experiment makes you taller?"

"That's your takeaway?"

"I'm just saying... maybe I should sign up."

"You wouldn't survive the procedure."

"Don't underestimate me."

"I absolutely will." Sera sighed loudly.

"Can you idiots focus?" She tapped the screen.

"Let's get back to the video." The recording resumed.... The trainees watched in stunned silence as the two figures tore through the city. Blasts of violet light. Waves of darkness. Buildings collapsing. The ferris wheel reduced to a tiny sphere of twisted steel. An entire street emptied by impossible mind control. Then the video ended. Silence settled over the room.

"That's insane," Milo said at last.

"That's not... that's not supposed to happen."

"Experiments aren't supposed to fight in public," Sera agreed.

"They're supposed to stay contained. Controlled. That's the whole point of the facility."

"Clearly someone forgot to tell them."

"This is why we have the Magpie serum," Liora said slowly.

"This is why we need it. To become strong enough to fight things like that."

"Or strong enough to survive them." A trainee snorted.

"That won't help against an experiment, dude. Those two could destroy entire nations without even breaking a sweat." No one argued. After watching streets collapse beneath their blows, it no longer sounded like an exaggeration.

"We don't have anything like that," Gideon admitted.

"Our training's basic. We're nothing compared to..." He gestured at the frozen image of the white-haired fighter.

"... that."

"Not yet," Sera replied quietly.

"That's what we're working towards."

"If I could do even half of what she did..."

"You mean him."

"I meant the albino girl."

"Oh. Right."

"Both of them are insane," Santi said, folding his arms.

"Honestly, though? I'd rather have them on my side than against me."

"Are you kidding?" Rhett asked.

"They're rival experiments. They could kill us without thinking."

"They haven't killed us yet," Milo pointed out.

"The albino girl had every chance. She let us walk away."

"Because we weren't a threat."

"And Ankou?" another trainee added.

"The black hole guy literally absorbs human misery."

"Well... he's part of our faction." Gideon scratched the back of his neck.

"He wouldn't hurt us." He paused.

"I think." Liora had already opened the comment section beneath the video.

"The whole world's arguing about whether it's real."

"Obviously it's real."

"They're saying it's CGI."

"Or AI."

"Some people think it's a prank."

"A few reckon it's the Apocalypse." The comments streamed past faster than anyone could read.

the cgi looks so realistic ai is getting way too good this is really scary my man pulled a guitar straight out of an anime this is just the new Gunt Orbers gameplay bro fell off a surfboard into reality i thought i was going to die if there was a god in queensworth he would've fixed my electricity bill everyone's an angel until an actual angel shows up why they fine as hell though- Man STFU bro's mad noone wants him my sister was there the dark one looks cool as hell The trainees scrolled through the chaos, some laughing, others shaking their heads.

"They think it's a game."

"A really expensive one."

"At least some people believe it."

"I'm terrified of both of them."

"We should find out who they are."

"Good luck," Rhett said.

"They don't exactly wear name tags."

"I'll ask the Commander." A few trainees burst into laughter.

"Nice joke."

"You'll get yourself killed."

"Or have your skin peeled off."

"Worth it." Naomi kept scrolling, her expression gradually changing. She looked up at Sera.

"The platform's removing the footage."

"What?"

"It says the video's being taken down. They're deleting every upload." The room grew quiet again.

"I saw a school get blown up," someone murmured.

"That was a school."

"I still can't comprehend schools up there," another trainee said, shaking his head.

"Imagine spending years learning everything one lesson at a time. Sounds like hell."

"Right? Sometimes I forget how lucky we are. They can sign us up for a session down here and download an entire year's worth of knowledge straight into our heads."

"That's one school year finished in a few minutes."

"But if you have to study every day for years..." Noel frowned.

"Wouldn't you just forget half of it?"

"Of course they do," Milo replied.

"I heard the average IQ up there's around one hundred and ten."

"Lower than that," Gideon corrected.

"Lower?" Noel blinked.

"That's insane. I thought my one-thirty was bad. My mum used to call me stupid for it."

"Well..." Rhett smirked.

"Considering our average is around one-fifty..."

"Shut up, dude." A faint tremor rolled through the floor. The laughter stopped.

"What was that?"

"I don't know." Another tremor followed, stronger this time. The walls shivered, and a fine layer of dust drifted from the ceiling. Gideon slowly lowered his phone.

"I don't think that's Ankou." The room fell silent.

"I think..." Another distant impact echoed through the facility.

"... that's something else." No one spoke. The realisation settled over them like a stone. Something had escaped. It was fighting the Enforcers. And they were standing right in the middle of it.