The flight to Tokyo took fourteen hours, with Josh managing maybe three hours of actual sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw visions—the ancient civilization falling, Azazel's transformation, the sealed Shard pulsing with warning. And now, the possibility of others like him out there. People bonded to Shards, wielding powers they might not understand.
People who might be walking the same corrupted path he feared for himself.
Kyla sat beside him, reviewing mission briefings on her tablet. "Dr. Walsh sent updated readings. She's identified at least four distinct Shard signatures in the Asia region. One in Tokyo—that's where we're heading. Another in Seoul, one in Shanghai, and the fourth moving between locations."
"Four," Josh repeated. "Four people with Shard powers. How did we not know about this before?"
"Walsh thinks they've been dormant. Using their powers minimally, staying under the radar. But something's changed. They're all active now, all moving with purpose." Kyla pulled up energy graphs. "And Josh, these signatures—they're not like yours. They're pure. Single-element users."
"What do you mean?"
"You've got ice and fire, a dual nature. These signatures show only one element each. One's pure ice, like Azazel. One's pure fire. The third reads as... wind? Air manipulation maybe? And the fourth is weird—Dr. Walsh labeled it 'void' because it seems to absorb dimensional energy rather than emit it."
Josh processed this information. Four Shard-users, four different elements. "It's like the ancient war Dr. El-Sayed described. Different factions, different powers, all fighting for dominance."
"Exactly what we're afraid of." Admiral Russo's voice came through the plane's speaker system. She was coordinating from a command center in Seoul. "Our mission is simple—locate the Shard-user in Tokyo, determine if they're hostile, and if possible, bring them in for questioning. We need to know what they're after and why they've chosen to reveal themselves now."
"And if they're hostile?" Stevens asked from across the cabin.
"You've got authorization to engage. But Reeves, I want you taking the lead on initial contact. You're the only one who really understands what they're going through. Maybe you can reach them in a way the rest of us can't."
The plane landed at a secure military facility outside Tokyo just after dawn local time. Japanese Self-Defense Force personnel met them immediately, looking tense.
"The dimensional entity was spotted two hours ago in Shinjuku," the commanding officer explained through a translator. "Eyewitnesses reported a person floating above buildings, surrounded by flames. They seemed to be searching for something."
"Did they attack anyone?" Kyla asked.
"No. Just observed. Then disappeared when our helicopters approached." The commander pulled up surveillance footage on a tablet. "This was captured by a civilian."
The video was shaky but clear enough. A figure suspended in midair, wreathed in orange and red flames that didn't seem to burn them. Male, probably in his thirties, Asian features, dressed in ordinary street clothes. His eyes glowed with the same inner light Josh's did when he used his powers.
But what caught Josh's attention was the expression on the man's face. Not rage or malice. Confusion. Fear. Like someone who'd just woken up from a long sleep and didn't know where they were.
"He doesn't look hostile," Josh observed. "He looks lost."
"Lost and powerful is still dangerous," Russo said through the comms. "Your team will deploy to Shinjuku. Try to make contact. But stay ready for anything."
Shinjuku was one of Tokyo's busiest districts—massive skyscrapers, endless crowds, neon lights even during the day. The area where the fire user had been spotted was near the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, one of the city's tallest structures.
They set up a mobile command post in a commandeered office building with a view of the government tower. Dr. Walsh had come along, bringing portable scanning equipment to track dimensional energy.
"I'm getting readings," she announced, adjusting her instruments. "Weak but consistent. The fire user is still in the area, probably within a few blocks."
"Can you pinpoint it?" Josh asked.
"Working on it. The signature keeps moving, like they're walking around. Or searching." Walsh frowned at her screen. "Wait. The energy just spiked. They're using their powers again."
Josh felt it too—a surge of heat in his dimensional sense, like a candle flaring to life. "I can feel them. They're... two blocks north. On top of a building."
"How can you possibly know that?" Walsh demanded.
"I don't know. I just do." Josh was already moving toward the door. "Come on. We need to get there before they disappear again."
They took the stairs—faster than waiting for elevators—and emerged onto the street. The crowds were thick, people going about their morning routines oblivious to the dimensional crisis brewing above their heads.
Josh led them through the maze of streets, following that heat signature in his mind. It was like a beacon, calling to him. Shard to Shard, power to power.
They reached the building—a modern office complex about thirty stories tall. Josh didn't hesitate. He created platforms of ice beneath his feet, launching himself upward, scaling the building in jumps. Behind him, he heard Kyla shouting something, but the pull was too strong. He had to reach the other Shard-user. Had to understand.
The rooftop was empty except for air conditioning units and maintenance equipment. And one person.
The man from the video stood at the roof's edge, looking out over Tokyo. Up close, Josh could see he was probably mid-thirties, with tired eyes and burn scars on his hands that looked recent. His clothes were rumpled, like he'd been wearing them for days.
"I knew someone would come," the man said in English, not turning around. "I could feel you approaching. Another one like me."
"Like you," Josh agreed, landing on the roof. "Bonded to a Shard."
"Is that what it's called?" The man finally turned. "I've been calling it the curse. The gift. The thing that won't let me sleep." He held up his hands, and flames danced across them. "My name is Kenji Matsuda. And I think I'm going crazy."
"You're not crazy," Josh said, keeping his distance but trying to sound calm. "You're connected to a dimensional artifact. A Shard. It gives you power but it also... changes you."
"Changes." Kenji laughed bitterly. "That's one word for it. I've been having dreams. Visions of places that don't exist. Hearing voices that tell me to burn things, to destroy, to consume. And the worst part? Sometimes I want to listen."
Josh's heart sank. He knew exactly what Kenji was describing. "How long have you had the powers?"
"Three months. They just appeared one day. I was angry—my company had just fired me, my wife had left me, my father died. I was standing in my apartment, screaming at nothing, and suddenly I was on fire. But it didn't hurt. It felt... right." Kenji's hands shook. "I've been hiding ever since. Trying to control it. But it keeps getting stronger. And today, something called to me. Told me to come here. To search for something."
"What were you searching for?"
"I don't know. The voice in my head just said 'find them.' Find the others like me. Find the source." Kenji looked at Josh desperately. "Please tell me you understand what's happening. Tell me I'm not the only one."
"You're not alone," Josh said. "I have similar powers. Ice and fire. And yes, I hear things too. Feel the pull of the Shard, the urge to use more power, to give in to it."
"But you haven't. I can see it in your eyes. You're still fighting it." Kenji took a step forward. "How? How do you resist?"
"I have people I care about. People who remind me who I am when I forget. And I'm scared—terrified, actually—of what I might become if I stop fighting." Josh created a small flame in his palm, matching Kenji's power. "But it's hard. Every day it gets harder."
"I don't have anyone," Kenji said quietly. "My wife left because I was always angry. My friends stopped calling because I pushed them away. My father died thinking I was a failure. And now I have this power, this curse, and no one to help me control it."
Before Josh could respond, his earpiece crackled. "Josh, we've got a problem," Kyla's voice was urgent. "Two more Shard signatures just appeared. They're converging on your location. Fast."
"Kenji, we need to leave," Josh said. "Now. Other Shard-users are coming and we don't know if they're friendly."
"I can feel them too," Kenji said, looking to the sky. "They're strong. Much stronger than me. And they're angry."
Two figures landed on the rooftop with enough force to crack the concrete. Josh's dimensional senses screamed warnings.
The first was a woman, probably in her forties, with silver hair despite her relatively young age. She was surrounded by swirling winds that made her clothes and hair whip around dramatically. Her eyes glowed white, and when she spoke, her voice carried multiple tones, like several people speaking in harmony.
"So. The rumors are true. The dual-natured one exists." She studied Josh with unsettling intensity. "How fascinating. And how wrong. The Shards were never meant to combine elements. You're an aberration."
The second figure was younger, maybe late twenties, with dark skin and eyes that seemed to swallow light. No visible aura surrounded him, but Josh could feel the dimensional energy being pulled toward him, absorbed, consumed. This must be the "void" user Walsh had mentioned.
"An aberration who hurt the King," the void user said, his voice deeper than Josh expected. "Wounded him enough to force retreat. That takes either skill or luck."
"Who are you?" Josh demanded, ice and fire ready in his hands.
"I am Yuki," the wind woman said. "And this is Ezra. We serve the Council of Shards—the true masters of dimensional power. And you, aberration, you and your little fire friend here, you're coming with us."
"Council of Shards?" Josh tried to process this new information. "I've never heard of—"
"Of course you haven't. The Council operates in shadow, has for centuries. We gather Shard-users, train them, teach them to embrace their power rather than fear it." Yuki's winds intensified. "The King—Azazel, as you call him—he was one of us once. Until he went rogue, tried to conquer dimensions on his own. The Council has been hunting him for decades."
"If you're hunting Azazel, then we're on the same side," Josh said, though something felt wrong about this. "We're trying to stop him too."
"No." Ezra stepped forward, and the dimensional energy around Josh dimmed, absorbed by the void user's presence. "You're trying to save your pathetic human world. We're trying to maintain the balance of dimensional power. There's a difference."
"The Council believes Earth should be conquered," Yuki explained. "But properly, cleanly, by those who understand dimensional forces. Not by a rogue King with delusions of grandeur. When we take Azazel down, we'll rule this dimension ourselves. Correctly."
Josh's blood ran cold. "You want to enslave humanity just like he does."
"Enslave is such an ugly word. We prefer 'guide.' Humans are children playing with forces they don't understand. They need structure. Leadership. Power." Yuki's eyes glowed brighter. "And you, dual-natured one, you could be part of that leadership. Join us. Learn to properly wield your gifts. Together we could reshape reality itself."
"I've heard this pitch before," Josh said, backing toward Kenji. "From Azazel. The answer's still no."
"We're not asking." Ezra raised his hand, and Josh felt his powers being pulled from him, absorbed into the void user's presence. "You're too valuable to leave running around unsupervised. The Council will have you. Willingly or not."
Josh tried to summon his ice and fire, but nothing happened. The void user was literally draining his powers, pulling the dimensional energy right out of him.
Kenji stepped forward, flames blazing around him. "Leave him alone!"
"Ah yes, the fire user. You'll come too." Yuki gestured, and wind slammed into Kenji, lifting him off his feet and pinning him against an air conditioning unit. "The Council is always recruiting."
That's when the rest of Josh's team arrived, bursting onto the rooftop from the stairwell access. Kyla, Stevens, Dr. Walsh, and six DDI tactical operators, all armed and ready.
"Let them go!" Kyla ordered, her weapon trained on Yuki.
Yuki laughed. "Humans with guns. How adorable. Ezra, if you would?"
The void user gestured, and every weapon in the tactical team's hands crumbled to dust. Not broken—dissolved, as if the very matter holding them together had been absorbed.
"Your weapons are useless against true Shard-users," Yuki said. "This doesn't have to be violent. Surrender the dual-natured one and the fire user. The Council will—"
A massive spike of ice erupted from the rooftop, separating Yuki from the team. Then another, and another. Josh looked up to see ice forming into barriers, into weapons, into protective structures around his team.
But he wasn't doing it.
A new voice spoke, cold and familiar. "The Council will do nothing. This one is mine."
Azazel stepped out of a portal that had formed in the air, looking fully recovered from his wound in Tokyo. His ice body was perfect again, crystalline and terrifying. But he looked different somehow. More focused. More dangerous.
"My King," Yuki said, bowing. "We didn't expect—"
"Obviously." Azazel's eyes fixed on Josh. "Leave. Now. Before I remind you why even the Council fears me."
Yuki and Ezra exchanged glances. Then, without another word, they both dissolved into dimensional energy and vanished.
The rooftop fell silent except for the wind and the city sounds far below.
Azazel stood between Josh's team and freedom. Between Kenji and escape. Between everything and catastrophe.
"Well, Joshua," Azazel said, his voice carrying that same tired sadness from the dreams. "It seems we need to talk. And this time, you'll listen."
He raised his hand, and ice began spreading across the entire rooftop.
Josh felt his powers return as Ezra's influence faded. But he was exhausted, confused, and facing a being he'd barely survived fighting before.
Behind him, his team was preparing for battle. In front of him, an interdimensional tyrant who might be the only thing standing between them and something worse.
And somewhere in the middle of it all was Kenji, an innocent man who'd just been dragged into a war he didn't understand.
Josh made a split-second decision.
He created a barrier of ice and fire between his team and Azazel. "Everyone fall back. Get to the extraction point. Now."
"Josh, we're not leaving you!" Kyla shouted.
"That's an order! Go!" Josh's eyes blazed with power. "I'll handle this. Trust me."
He saw the conflict on Kyla's face. The desire to stay, to fight beside him. But also the knowledge that if Azazel wanted, he could kill them all in seconds. Their only chance was for Josh to buy them time.
"Go," Josh said again, softer. "Please."
Kyla grabbed Kenji, who was too shocked to resist. Stevens helped Dr. Walsh. The tactical team formed a protective escort. And they ran, disappearing into the stairwell.
Leaving Josh alone with Azazel.
The King of the Frozen Realm dismissed his ice, the spreading cold stopping instantly. He looked at Josh with an expression that might have been respect. Or pity.
"You sent them away," Azazel observed. "Brave. Or foolish. I haven't decided which."
"What do you want?" Josh demanded, powers ready but not attacking. Not yet.
"What I've always wanted. For you to understand. The Council you just met? They're far worse than I am. At least I offer transformation willingly. They would turn your entire species into puppets." Azazel moved closer. "I didn't come here to fight, Joshua. I came to warn you."
"Warn me?"
"The Council is making its move. They're gathering all Shard-users, building an army. They believe Earth is ready to be conquered. And they're right." Azazel's eyes glowed brighter. "In three days, they will open a permanent gateway between dimensions. Hundreds of Shard-users will pour through. And your world will fall in hours."
Josh felt ice run through his veins. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I am many things, but I am not them. When I conquer, it will be my choice. My victory. I will not let the Council steal what should be mine." Azazel extended his hand. "Help me stop them. Three days, Joshua. Together we can prevent an invasion that will make my attempts look like gentle suggestions. Together we can save your world—on my terms, not theirs."
"You're asking me to ally with you. To fight alongside you."
"I'm offering you the only chance your species has. The Council has hundreds of Shard-users. You have one. The mathematics are simple."
Josh's mind raced. This could be a trap. A manipulation. Another attempt to corrupt him. But Yuki and Ezra had been real. Their threat had been real. And if Azazel was telling the truth about the Council's invasion...
"I need to think about it," Josh said.
"You have twenty-four hours. After that, the offer expires and you're on your own." Azazel began to fade back into his portal. "Choose wisely, Joshua Reeves. The future of your world depends on it."
The portal closed, leaving Josh alone on the rooftop with a choice that could doom or save everyone he'd ever cared about.
End of Chapter 35