The door shook again.
Harder.
Metal groaned as boots lined the hall outside.
"BREACH TEAM—READY!""NON-LETHALS—FIRST WAVE!""TARGET IS UNSTABLE—DO NOT GET WITHIN THREE METERS!"
Alex's grip tightened around Kayden's hand.Phineas raised the stun baton with both hands, knuckles white.
Kayden inhaled—
And the air around him rippled.
Not visibly.Not like the earlier violent tremors.
This ripple was thin,controlled at the edges,but building like a storm under a glass floor.
APEX whispered in the back of his skull:
"Operator—regulate—regulate—REG—"
Kayden flinched.
Something inside him flared—hot, bright, instinctive—like a reflex he didn't know he had.
His breath caught.
"I… I can't—Alex—"
Alex leaned closer, panic rising.
"Kayden—look at me. Stay with me. Stay—"
BOOM.
The steel door dented inward a full inch.
A thick dent.Fist-shaped.
The soldiers hit the door again.And again.
Kayden's heartbeat synced with each impact.
BOOM.BOOM.BOOM.
Something inside him answered the rhythm—like matching force for force,pressure for pressure.
APEX's warnings spiraled:
"Instability rising—Combat reflex triggering—Resonance threshold—WARNING—"
Kayden screamed through clenched teeth.
"I DON'T WANT TO HURT ANYONE—"
Alex grabbed his face.
"Then don't. Just hold on—"
But it was already too late.
A soldier barked an order:
"BREACH! BREACH! BREACH!"
CRASH—!
The door exploded inward as the breach charge blew—
And the moment boots crossed the threshold—
Kayden's resonance lashed.
Not outward.
Everywhere.
A shockwave detonated from his chest—silent, bright, invisible—a pulse of raw intent with no aimand no mercy.
Alex was thrown backward into the wall, arm shielding Phineas.Equipment flew.Lights burst.Gun barrels bent like soft metal.
The soldiers hit the floor instantly—not injured—neutralized.
Their limbs jerked as if strings had been cut.
None of them could move.
Phineas stared from the floor, eyes huge.
"A-Alex—he—he just—DID YOU SEE THAT?!"
Alex coughed, pulling himself upright.
His ears rang.His chest burned.
But his eyes shot immediately to Kayden.
"Kayden…?!"
Kayden wasn't standing.
He wasn't moving.
He was glowing.
A faint ring of blue-white resonance hovered around his body,like a halo made of static.Hair drifting with unseen gravity.Eyes unfocused.
And he whispered:
"…no… no… no no no—what did I—what did I just do—"
He looked horrified.Like something had burst out of him without permission.
Alex crawled to him despite the shockwave still vibrating in the floor.
"Kayden—hey—HEY—look at me—"
"I didn't mean—I didn't want—Alex I didn't MEAN TO—!"
He was breathing too fast.Hands trembling uncontrollably.A resonance flicker stuttering across his face like lightning trapped under his skin.
The soldiers groaned on the ground, unable to stand.
Kayden looked around wildly.
"I hurt them—I HURT THEM—"
Alex caught his shoulders.
"Kayden, STOP. They're alive. Look—LOOK—"
Kayden forced his eyes downward.
The soldiers weren't dead.They were stunned—knocked unconscious or temporarily disabled.None bleeding.None broken.
His breath shook violently.
"I didn't kill them…?"
"No," Alex said firmly."You didn't."
Kayden exhaled a sob of relief—
But the resonance around him pulsed again,reacting to the emotion.
Alex felt it like warm static brushing his skin.
Phineas whispered, horrified and awed:
"That wasn't an attack…That was a defense mechanism. Instinct.He reacted to danger before he even processed it."
Kayden curled inward, hands in his hair.
"I'm scared, Alex—I'm so scared—what if I can't control it—what if it happens again—?"
APEX cut through the panic—not gentle,not cruel,just factual:
"Operator.This was a reflexive suppression wave.Not lethal.Not intentional."
Kayden gasped.
"You're saying I didn't attack…?"
"You reacted to aggression.A protective lash.Triggered by fear."
Kayden crumbled.
"I didn't want to—I never want to—I'm not a weapon—"
Alex pulled him into an embrace,hands gripping the back of his head.
"You are NOT a weapon," he whispered fiercely."You hear me?You're Kayden.You're just Kayden."
Kayden sobbed into his shoulder.
The resonance dimmed around him—slowly,hesitantly,like a frightened animal calming down.
Phineas looked at the unconscious soldiers.
"You know what this means, right?" he said quietly.
Alex nodded.
"Yeah."
Phineas swallowed.
"SRD just learned they can't touch him."
Alex looked at Kayden.
"No," he corrected softly."SRD just learned they SHOULDN'T."
Kayden wiped his eyes with shaking hands.
But the worst wasn't the soldiers.Or SRD.Or the surge.
It was the realization in his voice when he whispered:
"…I could've hurt you."
Alex held him tighter.
"You didn't. And you won't."
"I don't know that," Kayden whispered.
"I do," Alex said.
A long silence.
Finally, APEX spoke again:
"Operator:Lash potential decreasing.Emotional anchor stabilizing."
Kayden let out a broken laugh.
"Emotional anchor," he murmured."That's you, Alex."
Alex smiled weakly.
"I figured."
Kayden leaned into him, trembling but calmer.
The resonance fully faded.His glow dimmed.His heartbeat steadied.
But the doorframe was bent.The soldiers unconscious.The room cracked.
Kayden Voss had awakened.
And the world wasn't ready.