Dust exploded into the air as the ground trembled violently.
Zion stumbled and crashed to the ground, pain instantly shooting through his ribs.
He gasped for air, only to realize none came in.
His chest refused to expand, each breath growing shorter and more desperate than the last.
Panic hit him as he clutched his side, the pain making it hard to think.
At the same time, the earth in front of him cracked open. The tear expanded rapidly, heading straight for him.
Before he could even react, the tear had caught up to the ground under his feet.
Zion's hands searched for anything he could hold on to, barely managing to grip a metal beam from the fence behind him.
But it was of little use.
The ground cracked open even further, dangling him over a deep, dark void.
'Is this it?' he wondered, holding on for dear life.
The next second, the ground shook once more.
The fence rattled beneath his hands, vibrations running up his arms.
His fingers slipped one by one until nothing was left to hold onto.
For a heartbeat, he hung weightless in the air—then the world tilted, and he was falling into the darkness below.
He wanted to scream, but… he couldn't even breathe, let alone make any sound.
The world blurred as he closed his eyes, rage boiling through his chest at the thought of dying before getting his revenge.
Then—
He hit something hard.
Pain exploded across his body as he rolled, finally coming to a stop on a smooth, cold surface.
Zion lay there, unable to see anything around him as his breathing stalled.
'No…' His body refused to move, pain still buzzing through every nerve.
Suddenly, a low hum filled the air.
Faint blue lines flickered to life across the ceiling, spreading until the whole room glowed.
[Host contact confirmed. Neural sync initializing.]
Zion flinched at the cold, mechanical voice.
But he couldn't even move his head, let alone run away.
The floor trembled beneath him before something began to lift his body off the ground.
[Host in critical condition. Preparing injection.]
A bright light flared above his head. Metal restraints locked around his limbs, pinning him down.
Finally, something cold pushed into his arms, spreading a numb chill through his body.
[Injection phase one: proceed.]
Zion screamed… or tried to.
He gasped sharply as something cold flooded into his veins.
The liquid rushed through his body, the chill quickly turning into a burning heat that spread from his arms across his chest, down his spine, and into his skull.
His body convulsed violently, muscles tightening as the pain hit him all at once.
[Vital signs unstable. Neural sync threshold: 99.7%. Starting phase two injections.]
A grinding sound echoed from beneath his back as the restraints around his body tightened.
'No...'
Unimaginable pain shot through him as a drill tore into his spine.
His mouth opened in a silent scream as burning pain shot down his back like a lightning bolt.
Zion's thoughts blurred together. Rage, pain, and regret twisting as old memories rushed through his mind.
'Mom…' he thought.
He could almost feel the warmth of her arms around him again.
Don't worry, my little Zi, his mother's voice echoed in his mind. We'll all be alright.
Then, darkness.
Total darkness.
After what felt like forever, he snapped awake with a loud gasp, immediately jerking up.
The cold restraints on his arms stopped him, slamming him back against the sleek metal surface.
"Ugh," Zion groaned, opening his eyes.
Everything ached—though his spine was by far the worst.
"Where… am I?" he mumbled, staring up at the blue lights embedded in the ceiling.
[Host is currently within the command system of the Seraphael lifeboat.]
The voice came from nowhere, echoing directly inside his head with a flat, mechanical tone.
"Who… who are you?" Zion asked, his voice barely a whisper.
[I am Uriel, the sentient system bonded with the Seraph-X nanosuit.]
Zion blinked, struggling to process what he'd just heard.
"What?" he asked, his throat dry and his mind still hazy.
[You are currently within the Seraphael lifeboat's control chamber,] the mechanical voice said. [Emergency bonding was initiated to ensure your survival after confirming compatibility with the Seraph-X.]
Zion stared at the lights above him, trying to process it all.
The restraints on his arms and legs released, the pressure fading instantly.
For a moment, he just lay there, staring in disbelief. None of this felt real—not the voice, the pain, nor the fact that he was even breathing right now.
"A nanosuit?" he repeated slowly. "Impossible."
"I have an NST score of zero because of some rare disorder."
He'd suffered for years, powerless because no nanosuit could ever merge with him.
[Correction: Host's condition is not a disorder. It is a rare neural structure—uniquely compatible with high-level nanosuits like the Seraph-X.]
"Seraph-X nanosuit…" he repeated in disbelief.
A transparent screen popped up inside Zion's eye, showing the suit's data.
[Seraph-X Nanosuit]Type: Unique Inheritance ModelClassification: SSS-rank
Zion's mouth went dry.
'SSS-rank?'
Those weren't just rare—they were the stuff of myths. People said the strongest of them could erase black holes, though no one knew if it was true.
And now… he, a so-called failure with a 0% compatibility score, was bonded with one?
He pushed himself up, wincing as pain shot through his spine. Every movement felt stiff, like his nerves and muscles were only just waking up.
Zion's fingers trembled as he felt his ribs. "This doesn't make any sense," he muttered, no longer feeling the pain near them.
[Your body was healed from critical condition, Host,] Uriel's voice echoed in his mind.
Zion gave a faint nod and pushed himself up.
Finally getting a good look around him, his mouth fell open in disbelief. The room was colossal, easily larger than any combat stadium he'd ever seen.
His gaze followed the dim blue lines pulsing across the walls and floors like veins before settling on the light-blue holographic rings rotating in the air, projecting the surrounding star systems, nearby ships, and planets.
Finally, his eyes fell on a throne-like command chair, far too large for any human to sit in. Several floating nodes hovered above its armrests, their purpose completely unknown to him.
But even without knowing what most of it was, he was well aware that this wasn't something ordinary.
[Welcome to the lifeboat from the Universal-class battleship, Seraphael,] Uriel's voice echoed through his head.