The sound of clashing metal and the rhythmic thud of heavy weights echoed through the training facility as Dmitri pushed himself to his limits. His body was drenched in sweat, his muscles burning from the intense workout he had been putting himself through. Steam rolled off his skin, a testament to the raw energy surging through him as he relentlessly trained, determined to surpass his current limits.
Each movement was precise, powerful, weighted punches, heavy squats, and strikes against the combat dummies. His bio-mechanical enhancements were humming softly beneath his skin, enhancing his strength as he pushed harder with every rep. Dmitri's mind was entirely focused on his goal: to become stronger, faster, and more dangerous than he had ever been.
As he swung a heavy mace toward one of the dummies, the door to the training facility burst open. An operator rushed inside, breathless and wide-eyed, clearly panicked. Dmitri's sharp senses immediately picked up the intrusion, and he spun around, his eyes flashing with anger. His towering form was a fearsome sight, drenched in sweat, his muscles flexing beneath the weight of his fury.
The operator hesitated, clearly nervous under Dmitri's fierce gaze, but they had no choice. They approached cautiously, their breath coming in quick bursts from the rush to find him.
"What the hell do you want?" Dmitri growled, his voice low and dangerous. He set down the mace with a loud thud, his eyes locking onto the operator with barely restrained fury. "You better have a damn good reason for interrupting my training."
The operator froze under Dmitri's intense gaze, clearly rattled by the warrior's towering presence. Their eyes darted nervously around the room, struggling to form coherent words as they stood there, drenched in panic.
"I-I… there was… it was… an explosion… Eshe…," the operator stammered, their voice trembling and disjointed. "It… happened in the sixth ring…"
Dmitri's eyes narrowed, his patience wearing thin as the operator continued to stammer incoherently. His rage simmered just beneath the surface, but he recognized that his demeanor wasn't helping. Taking a deep breath, Dmitri forced himself to calm down, realizing that the fear he instilled was making it impossible for the operator to explain what had happened.
With a heavy sigh, Dmitri stepped back, rolling his shoulders as he tried to relax his imposing posture. He wasn't used to having to reassure anyone, but clearly, this situation required a different approach.
"Listen," Dmitri said, his voice softer but still carrying the weight of command. "Take a few deep breaths. You're not making any sense right now."
The operator blinked rapidly, clearly overwhelmed, but they nodded, following Dmitri's instructions. Their breathing slowed, and they managed to gather themselves enough to focus.
"That's better," Dmitri said, folding his arms across his chest. "Now, calm down and tell me what happened. Start from the beginning."
The operator, still shaky but more composed, took a deep breath and prepared to explain the situation, their eyes now locked on Dmitri's, knowing the gravity of what they were about to reveal.
The operator, still catching their breath, began recounting the events as Dmitri listened closely, his focus sharpening with each word.
"It started with the evolution procedure on Eshe," the operator explained, their voice steadier now. "Everything was going well at first, but then… her readings started spiking. Way beyond anything we predicted. We tried to shut it down, but before we could, there was…"
The operator hesitated, their face pale as they recalled the moment. "There was an explosion, an enormous blast. The entire operating room was destroyed. We were all displaced somehow, transported miles away. The whole sixth ring…"
Before the operator could finish, Dmitri's eyes darkened. He didn't need to hear more. The gravity of the situation was clear. Eshe, one of the Core Seven, was involved, and a massive explosion had rocked the sixth ring. There was no time for further explanations.
"Enough," Dmitri growled, cutting the operator off mid-sentence. His instincts as a warrior took over, and in one swift motion, he grabbed the operator by the arm and hoisted them over his shoulder. "We don't have time for more details."
Without waiting for a response, Dmitri surged forward, his powerful legs propelling him into a full sprint. The operator barely had time to react as they were swept up, clinging to Dmitri as he charged toward the sixth ring with incredible speed. The wind howled in their ears as Dmitri moved like a force of nature, his determination unshakable.
Dmitri's powerful strides carried him at an incredible speed, the landscape of Corintopia blurring beneath him as he sprinted toward the 6th ring. His body, now honed to inhuman levels through relentless training, moved with an ease that defied belief. As he approached the edge of the city's central district, he leapt onto the rooftops of the buildings, clearing the gaps between them effortlessly. The sheer force of his legs propelled him higher and farther with each leap, his bio-mechanical enhancements humming with power.
As he soared through the air, Dmitri's sharp eyes locked onto the distant remains of the mushroom cloud. It was slowly dissipating, carried away by the wind, but its presence still hung ominously in the sky, a stark reminder of the disaster that had occurred. Something had gone terribly wrong with Eshe's procedure, and the scale of the destruction was far worse than anything they could have imagined.
Leaping from building to building, Dmitri's heart raced, not just from the physical exertion but from the growing fear that Eshe might not have survived. He had trained to become a force of nature, capable of standing against Tel-Nu, but none of that would matter if the Core Seven were falling apart from within.
As he neared the blast radius, the devastation became more apparent. The once orderly streets were now filled with rubble, and the charred remains of buildings stood as hollow shells, ravaged by the explosion. The air was thick with dust and smoke, and the acrid smell of destruction filled his lungs.
Reaching the edge of the blast zone, Dmitri landed with a thud, the ground cracking slightly beneath his feet from the force of his landing. Gently, he set the operator down beside him. The operator, now visibly shaken, stared wide-eyed at Dmitri, the sheer power he had witnessed leaving him in a state of shock.
"Our… calculations…" the operator stammered, their voice barely above a whisper, "they were wrong… so very wrong."
Dmitri's chest rose and fell with deep breaths as he scanned the area, the stark realization settling in. The destruction was immense, and there were no immediate signs of Eshe. His hopes of finding her alive were quickly fading, but he couldn't give up, he wouldn't give up until he had searched every corner of the blast site.
Dmitri looked down at the operator, who was still trembling from shock. The sheer magnitude of what they had witnessed was overwhelming, but Dmitri's mind was already shifting gears. He wasn't one to be swayed by fear or doubt. He knelt slightly to meet the operator's wide-eyed gaze.
"Have more faith," Dmitri said, his voice steady and filled with an intensity that cut through the operator's panic. "Eshe… she's stronger than you think. She might be the reason any of us are still alive. If she had the power to move the citizens out of the blast radius, then it's possible, no, it's likely, that she survived."
The operator blinked, absorbing Dmitri's words, though the shock still gripped them. Dmitri straightened up, casting one last glance at the operator before turning his attention to the epicenter of the explosion.
He began walking toward it, his heavy footsteps deliberate and purposeful. His elite warriors, the Inner Rings Gauntlet, were already stationed around the blast site, their imposing figures standing guard as they awaited further orders. Their armor gleamed, even in the fading light, and they parted to let Dmitri pass as he strode forward, his focus unwavering.
As Dmitri approached the heart of the devastation, the landscape became even more grim. The once pristine operating room had been reduced to a massive crater, a blackened hole in the earth that still smoldered with residual heat. The ground around the epicenter was scorched, and fragments of debris littered the area, the remains of the advanced technology that had once been housed in the facility.
The hole itself was deep, dark, and foreboding, evidence of the catastrophic force that had been unleashed. Dmitri stood at the edge of it, his eyes narrowing as he peered into the abyss. If Eshe had survived, she would be somewhere down there, possibly hidden beneath the rubble or transformed by the very procedure that had nearly destroyed everything.
With his heart steady, Dmitri took a step closer to the edge of the crater. The next steps would determine everything.
As Dmitri stepped to the edge of the crater, his sharp eyes scanned the wreckage below. At first, all he saw was the devastation—the smoldering debris, the charred remains of the operating room, the deep gouges in the earth from the blast. But then his gaze fell upon something that made no sense at all.
Amidst the ruin, lying untouched by the explosion, was Eshe.
The destruction that had ravaged the sixth ring had left no trace on her. Not a single scratch marred her body. The rubble around her was scorched and twisted, but she lay there as if the explosion had never happened. For a moment, Dmitri simply stared, his mind trying to process the sight before him.
Without hesitation, he leapt into the crater, his powerful legs propelling him effortlessly downward. He landed beside Eshe in a crouch, the ground cracking slightly beneath the force of his arrival. Kneeling next to her, Dmitri carefully scooped Eshe up in his arms. Her body felt light, and as he lifted her, she began to stir.
Her eyes fluttered open, glowing with a strange, ethereal light. It wasn't just the soft radiance of energy—it was something more. Her eyes were now filled with swirling shades of both light and darkness, a mix of opposing forces that seemed to dance within her gaze. The power that radiated from her was palpable, and Dmitri could feel the shift in the air around them.
"Eshe," Dmitri whispered, his voice low, filled with a mix of relief and awe. "You're alive."
Eshe's glowing eyes locked onto his, and for a moment, she seemed to struggle with the overwhelming energy coursing through her. She didn't speak, but the raw power in her gaze told Dmitri all he needed to know—she had survived the evolution process. But what had she become?