Josh didn't go back to the command center immediately. He sat on the rooftop for another thirty minutes, staring at the Tokyo skyline and trying to process what had just happened. The Council of Shards. Hundreds of Shard-users. An invasion in three days. And Azazel—his greatest enemy—offering to help stop it.
It was insane. All of it.
His earpiece crackled. "Josh? You still alive up there?" Kyla's voice was tight with worry.
"Yeah. I'm here. Azazel's gone. He just... talked and left."
"Talked? The interdimensional tyrant who tried to freeze the planet just wanted to chat?" Kyla didn't sound convinced. "What did he say?"
"Not over comms. I'll explain when I get back." Josh stood, his legs shaky. "Is Kenji okay?"
"Traumatized but physically fine. Dr. Walsh is checking him over. Josh, what the hell is the Council of Shards?"
"Something worse than Azazel. Which I didn't think was possible." Josh created an ice platform and began descending the building. "Get everyone together. We need a full debrief."
The command center was tense when Josh arrived. Kenji sat in a corner, wrapped in a blanket despite the warm day, looking shell-shocked. Dr. Walsh was reviewing readings that made her frown deeper with each passing second. Stevens was cleaning his disassembled weapon—the one Ezra had turned to dust had been a spare.
Admiral Russo's face filled the main screen, and she did not look happy. "Reeves. Report. Now."
Josh told them everything. The Council of Shards, their plan to invade Earth with hundreds of Shard-users, Yuki and Ezra's abilities, and most importantly—Azazel's warning and offer.
The room was dead silent when he finished.
Finally, Russo spoke. "He wants you to ally with him. Against this Council."
"Yes."
"And you're actually considering it."
"I don't know what I'm considering. But ma'am, if what Azazel said is true—if there really are hundreds of Shard-users preparing to invade—we can't fight that alone. We barely handle Azazel and a few dozen ice creatures. How do we stop hundreds of powered individuals?"
"We don't know that he's telling the truth," Kyla said. "This could be a trap. A way to get you isolated and vulnerable."
"To what end? He could have killed me on that rooftop. Could have killed all of you. But he didn't. He warned us and left." Josh ran his hand through his hair. "I'm not saying we should trust him. I'm saying we need to consider every option because right now, we're outgunned and running out of time."
Dr. Walsh looked up from her tablet. "I hate to say it, but Josh has a point. The energy signatures I detected today were powerful. If the Council really has hundreds of users at that level or higher, conventional warfare won't stop them. We'd need... something else."
"Something else like an interdimensional king with centuries of combat experience," Stevens said quietly. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe the enemy of our enemy is our friend? Temporarily?"
"Absolutely not," Russo said firmly. "I will not authorize an alliance with Azazel. The man—creature—whatever he is, has killed hundreds of people. Tried to enslave our entire planet. We don't work with terrorists."
"Even if the alternative is worse?" Josh asked.
"There's always another alternative. We find it." Russo's expression softened slightly. "Look, I understand the impossible position you're in, Reeves. But if we compromise our principles to win, what exactly are we winning?"
Kenji spoke up for the first time since the rooftop. "Excuse me. I don't mean to interrupt. But what if there's a middle path?"
Everyone turned to look at him.
"I'm new to all this," Kenji continued, his English accented but clear. "But from what I heard on the roof, the Council wants to recruit Shard-users. Build an army. What if we do the same? Find other users like me before the Council does. Bring them to your side instead."
"That's... actually not a terrible idea," Dr. Walsh said slowly. "If we can locate other Shard-users, offer them protection and training, we could build our own force. It wouldn't be hundreds, but it might be enough to make a difference."
"How do we find them?" Kyla asked. "We didn't even know Kenji existed until today."
"I can help with that," Kenji said. "I told you I heard voices, felt a pull to come to Tokyo. The Shard inside me—it can sense others. Not precisely, but I get feelings. Directions. I think all Shard-users can sense each other to some degree."
Josh nodded. "I felt you from blocks away. And I could feel Yuki and Ezra approaching before they arrived. Kenji's right. We can use this connection to track other users."
Russo considered this. "Alright. New plan. Reeves, you and Matsuda will work together to locate potential Shard-users. Dr. Walsh will provide technical support. Martinez, you'll coordinate with local authorities in each region. Stevens, you're on security detail. We bring in as many as we can find in the next seventy-two hours."
"And if we run into the Council?" Josh asked.
"You run. Fight only if you have no choice. Your priority is recruitment, not combat." Russo paused. "And Reeves? If Azazel contacts you again, you tell him no. We're not making deals with devils, even to fight demons. Clear?"
"Clear."
But Josh knew it wasn't that simple. If they couldn't find enough Shard-users in time, if the Council really did open their gateway in three days, he might have to make a choice Russo wouldn't approve of.
A choice between his principles and his planet.
Over the next twenty-four hours, Josh and Kenji worked together to track dimensional energy signatures across Asia. It was exhausting work—reaching out with their senses, following faint pulls and whispers, traveling from city to city.
They found their first recruit in Seoul—a teenage girl named Min-Ji who could manipulate earth and stone. She'd been hiding in an abandoned subway tunnel, terrified of what she'd become. When Josh found her, she nearly brought the tunnel down in panic.
"Please don't hurt me," she begged in Korean, which Josh's earpiece translated in real-time. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone. It just happened."
"We're not here to hurt you," Josh said gently, hands raised and clearly showing no active powers. "We're like you. We have Shards too. And we want to help."
It took an hour to convince her to come with them. But eventually, Min-Ji agreed, and they had their first new recruit.
The second was in Shanghai—a man in his fifties named Chen Wei who could control metal. He'd been a factory worker before the Shard bonded with him, and he'd been using his powers secretly to improve his work. When the Council's energy signatures started appearing, he'd felt the pull too and gone into hiding.
"I knew others would come," Chen said through a translator. "I dreamed of them. Saw visions of a great war. I didn't want any part of it."
"None of us did," Josh agreed. "But we don't get to choose. We can only choose how we respond."
Chen joined them, bringing the count to four Shard-users on their side.
The third recruit was harder. A woman in Hong Kong named Sarah Li, who wielded lightning. She'd been a corporate lawyer before the Shard, successful and confident. Now she was angry—at the Shard for changing her life, at the Council for hunting her, at the world for not making sense anymore.
"Why should I help you?" she demanded when Josh found her in a high-rise apartment. "I didn't ask for this power. Didn't ask to be part of some cosmic war. Maybe I should just let the Council take Earth. At least then it's someone else's problem."
"Because we're all humans," Kyla said—she'd insisted on coming to this recruitment. "The Council doesn't care about us. About our families, our dreams, our lives. To them, we're resources. Pawns. But we can choose to be more than that."
Sarah studied them both for a long moment. Then she sighed. "Fine. But I'm doing this for humanity, not for you. And if this turns out to be a mistake, I'm out."
"Fair enough," Josh said.
Five Shard-users. Not hundreds, but it was something.
By the end of day two, they'd recruited three more—a water manipulator from Vietnam named Duc, a sound controller from Manila named Rosa, and a Brazilian man named Paulo who could phase through solid matter.
Eight total, counting Josh and Kenji. Against hundreds.
The mathematics still didn't look good.
On the evening of day two, Josh sat in the hotel room that served as their temporary base, reviewing files on their new recruits. Each one had a story. Each one had been changed against their will. Each one was struggling with the same fears Josh felt every day—that they'd lose themselves to the power.
A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. He opened it to find Kenji holding two bottles of beer.
"I thought you might want company," Kenji said. "And alcohol. After the two days we've had, we've earned it."
Josh accepted a bottle. They sat on the small balcony, looking out at the Seoul skyline. The city lights were beautiful at night, a reminder of what they were fighting to protect.
"Can I ask you something?" Kenji said after a while. "How do you manage it? The power inside you. The constant pull to use more, to become more. How do you stay human?"
"Honestly? I don't know if I do. Every day it gets harder. Every time I use my powers, they want to be used more." Josh took a drink. "But I have people who keep me grounded. My partner, Kyla. My friends. They remind me who I am when I start to forget."
"I don't have that anymore. Pushed everyone away before the Shard found me." Kenji's voice was sad. "Maybe that's why it chose me. Because I was already isolated. Already vulnerable."
"Then we'll be your grounding," Josh said. "The team, the other recruits. We're all in this together now. Nobody has to face it alone."
"You really believe that? That we can fight this corruption?"
"I have to. Because the alternative is giving up. Becoming monsters. And I refuse to let that happen." Josh created a small flame in his palm, watching it dance. "We're stronger than the Shards. We have to be."
They sat in silence after that, two men trying to hold onto their humanity while wielding powers designed to strip it away.
Day three arrived with still no word from the Council. No attacks, no threats, just an ominous silence that made everyone nervous.
Josh was in the command center with the team when Admiral Russo called with an update. "We've detected massive dimensional energy buildups in seven locations worldwide. London, Paris, New York, Beijing, Mumbai, São Paulo, and Cairo. The Council is preparing their gateways."
"How long until they open?" Dr. Walsh asked.
"Best estimate? Twelve hours. They're coordinating a simultaneous activation across all seven cities. When those gateways open, hundreds of Shard-users will pour through."
"We've only got eight recruits," Josh said. "We need more time."
"Time we don't have. The best we can do is position our tactical teams at each gateway location and hope we can hold them off long enough to figure out how to close the portals." Russo looked tired. "Reeves, I'm splitting your Shard-users across the seven cities. You'll take command in New York. Choose which recruits go where based on their abilities."
Josh spent the next hour making impossible decisions. Min-Ji and Chen Wei to London—their earth and metal powers would work well in tandem. Sarah Li to Paris—her lightning could cover a wide area. Duc and Rosa to Mumbai—water and sound, versatile and defensive. Paulo to São Paulo—his phasing ability could help with evacuations. And Kenji would stay with Josh in New York.
"What about me?" Kyla asked. "Where am I going?"
"With me. Always with me." Josh took her hand. "I need you there. For grounding. For backup. For everything."
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
Stevens approached with their equipment. "All geared up. Weapons that hopefully won't dissolve this time, medical supplies, and enough rations to last a few days if this goes long. Oh, and I made you something."
He handed Josh a small metal pin—the DDI logo with a flame and ice crystal intertwined. "Figured you needed a proper symbol. For what you're building. A team of Shard-users fighting to protect humanity instead of conquer it."
"Thanks, Stevens. That means a lot." Josh pinned it to his tactical vest. "You sure you want to come? This is going to be dangerous. Possibly suicidal."
"Which is why I'm coming. Someone needs to keep you from doing something heroic and stupid." Stevens grinned. "Plus, I've got a new joke about dimensional gateways I've been dying to try out."
"Please don't."
"Too late. Why did the dimensional gateway go to school?"
Josh sighed. "Why?"
"To improve its portal attendance!" Stevens laughed at his own joke while Josh and Kyla groaned. "Come on, that was good! Portal attendance! It's wordplay!"
"It's painful," Kyla corrected, but she was smiling.
The flight to New York took sixteen hours, with a refueling stop in Alaska. Josh tried to sleep but couldn't. His powers were agitated, responding to the approaching confrontation. Ice and fire danced beneath his skin, eager to be released.
Kenji sat across from him, equally restless. "I'm scared," the fire user admitted. "Not of dying. Of becoming something worse than death."
"Me too," Josh said. "But that's why we have each other. Why we have the team. We'll keep each other human."
"And if we can't?"
"Then we deal with that when it happens. One crisis at a time."
They landed in New York six hours before the gateways were scheduled to open. The city was already on high alert, evacuation orders issued for a ten-block radius around the gateway's predicted location—Times Square. Again.
"Why is it always Times Square?" Stevens complained as they set up. "Can't dimensional invaders pick somewhere less iconic?"
"High population density, cultural significance, maximum impact," Dr. Walsh explained, setting up her scanning equipment. "It's strategic."
The DDI tactical teams established defensive positions. Military support was in place but held back—Russo had been clear that conventional forces would be ineffective against Shard-users. This was going to come down to Josh, Kenji, and their abilities against however many Council members came through.
Two hours before the gateway opening, Josh felt it—a familiar cold presence at the edge of his dimensional senses.
Azazel was here.
Josh found him standing on a rooftop overlooking Times Square, watching the preparations below.
"Twenty-four hours," Azazel said without turning. "I gave you twenty-four hours to decide. The time is up."
"I don't need an alliance," Josh said. "We've recruited our own Shard-users. We'll handle the Council ourselves."
"Eight users against hundreds. Bold." Azazel turned to face him. "And foolish. You'll all die. But I suppose that's your choice to make."
"It is. We don't need you, Azazel. We'll find our own way."
"Will you?" Azazel moved closer. "Let me make you an offer. Not an alliance. Information. Tell me—do you know why the Council is really invading now? After centuries of waiting?"
"To conquer Earth. To add it to their collection of enslaved worlds."
"Partially. But the real reason?" Azazel's eyes glowed brighter. "They're searching for something. A Shard more powerful than all others. The Prime Shard—the first one, the source from which all others were made. And they believe it's here. On Earth."
Josh's blood ran cold. "The sealed Shard in Egypt."
"Perhaps. Or perhaps something older. Something buried so deep that even the ancient civilizations didn't know about it." Azazel stepped back. "Find the Prime Shard before the Council does, Joshua. Because whoever controls it controls all dimensional power. All Shards. All Shard-users."
"Including you?"
"Including me." Azazel began to fade. "Two hours, Joshua. The Council comes. And when they do, you'll wish you'd accepted my help."
He vanished, leaving Josh alone with knowledge he didn't want and fears he couldn't shake.
A Prime Shard. The source of all dimensional power.
If the Council found it, the war was over before it began.
Josh pulled out his radio. "Kyla, get Dr. Walsh. We have a problem. A big one."
"Bigger than the interdimensional invasion happening in two hours?"
"Yeah. A lot bigger."
And as Josh looked out over New York City, at all the people going about their final moments of normalcy before the gateways opened, he realized that everything—every battle, every choice, every sacrifice—had been leading to this.
The real war was just beginning.
End of Chapter 36