Chapter 10: The Resonance of Blood
"Amara, move!"
Stanley focused every ounce of his will. He didn't just use his muscles; he reached deep into the "Roots" the old man had helped him heal. He remembered the feeling of the Void Relic—the way it hummed. He began to vibrate his own muscles at that same frequency.
His skin turned a deep, glowing bronze, almost golden. The air around him began to warp from the heat of his internal energy.
He didn't run; he launched himself.
He hit the kinetic shield like a meteorite. The violet energy roared in protest, pushing back against him with the weight of a mountain. Stanley felt his bones groan. He felt the skin on his shoulders begin to crack. But he didn't stop.
"I am the Vanguard!" he roared.
With a sound like a lightning strike, the shield shattered. Stanley's fist slammed into the core of the metallic spider. A massive shockwave of blue and violet light erupted, throwing Amara back and collapsing the roof of the treatment plant.
Silence fell.
The violet light faded, replaced by the flickering orange of small fires. Stanley stood in the center of the wreckage, his suit shredded, his bronze skin smoking. The machine was a heap of scrap metal.
Amara stood up, coughing, and ran to him. For the first time in five years, she didn't give him the cold shoulder. She grabbed his arm, her eyes wide with terror and relief.
"You idiot! You could have disintegrated yourself!"
"But I didn't," Stanley said, his voice raspy.
He looked at the sky through the hole in the roof. The stars looked cold, but for the first time, he felt like he was looking back at the enemies in the heavens as an equal.
Just then, his phone—remarkably still functional—vibrated. It was a call from the Sentinel Tower security desk.
"Sir," the guard's voice came through. "There's a woman here. A Sarah McCain. She's claiming to be your wife and is demanding to be let up to the penthouse. She says she won't leave until you 'come to your senses'."
Stanley looked at Amara, then at the wreckage of the alien machine.
"Tell her to wait," Stanley said, a cold smile touching his lips. "I'm on my way. I have a few more things to settle before the real war starts."