The outskirts of Onyx City were a graveyard of industrial ambition, where the neon glow of the skyscrapers faded into the rusted skeleton of the old world. It was here, buried beneath three hundred meters of reinforced concrete and lead-lined shielding, that Research Site Zero existed. Shin stood on a nearby ridge, his black coat fluttering in the acid rain that hissed as it touched the invisible Void barrier surrounding his body.
The facility didn't have guards in the traditional sense. Instead, it was surrounded by 'Pulse-Turrets'—automated cannons designed to incinerate anything with a biological signature. But Shin wasn't just biological anymore.
[The Tactical Analysis]
Shin tapped his temple, activating the mental map he had extracted from the data drive. In his mind's eye, the facility's security grid appeared in vibrant purple lines. He wasn't looking for a door; he was looking for a flaw in the vibration frequency of the thermal shields.
"The energy here... it smells like us, Shin," the Monarch's voice rasped within his consciousness, more excited than usual. "But it is tainted. Rotting. They are trying to cage the Void in machines of glass and wire."
"Let them try," Shin whispered, his grey eyes narrowing. "They created the hunger. Now they get to meet the predator."
[The Infiltration]
Shin didn't run. He walked. Every time a pulse-turret swept over his position, he flickered—a momentary lapse in reality where his body occupied the 'Void Fold'. To the automated sensors, he was nothing more than a glitch in the rainy atmosphere.
He reached the primary ventilation shaft, a massive intake valve that sucked in the freezing mountain air to cool the laboratory's reactors. With a single movement, he summoned The Fractured Monarch. The blade didn't shine; it seemed to drink the light around it, leaving a trail of distorted air in its wake.
He swung once. There was no sound of metal clashing, only the silent erosion of the six-inch thick steel bars as they turned to fine grey dust. He dropped into the shaft, falling into the darkness.
[The Heart of the Lab]
Inside, the aesthetic of Onyx City was replaced by the clinical, terrifying cleanliness of the Sovereign Labs. Scientists in white hazmat suits moved frantically between giant glass canisters filled with a swirling, unstable purple liquid—artificial Void energy.
Shin landed silently on a catwalk high above the main floor. His #HIGHIQ immediately processed the scene. This wasn't just a research center; it was a factory. They were trying to manufacture the Dual Core—a weaponized version of the power that had almost killed him in the Fortress.
"Status Report!" a booming voice echoed. It was a man Shin recognized from the Organization's top-tier files: Dr. Vane, the man who had authored the 'Erasing Van Croft' protocol.
"The energy is unstable, Doctor! If we don't find a compatible biological host, the Site Zero reactor will collapse within the hour!" a scientist shouted.
[The Sovereign's Presence]
"You don't need a host," Shin's voice resonated through the entire chamber, amplified by the Void. "You need a funeral."
The entire room went silent. Dr. Vane looked up, his face turning a ghostly white as he saw the man who was supposed to be dead standing on the catwalk.
"Shin Van Croft?" Vane stammered, backing away toward the emergency console. "How... how are you alive? Your cells should have been atomized!"
Shin stepped off the catwalk, descending through the air as if gravity were merely a suggestion. As he landed, a shockwave of Black Lightning surged outward, shattering every monitor and glass display in a ten-meter radius.
"I am the atomization," Shin said, his sword's tip tracing a line of purple fire on the laboratory floor. "And I've come to take back what you stole from the Void."
[The Duel Begins]
Vane's eyes filled with a desperate madness. He slammed his hand onto a red button. "If I can't study you, I'll use the prototype to erase you! Release the Mk-II Sovereign Unit!"
From a massive tank at the center of the room, a humanoid figure emerged. It was covered in cybernetic implants, its skin glowing with a sick, flickering green energy—the Dual Core prototype. It let out a roar that vibrated the very foundation of the mountain.
Shin didn't even raise his sword. He just smiled—a cold, predatory expression that promised nothing but destruction.
"A puppet with a battery," Shin whispered, his own purple aura flaring to life, dwarfing the prototype's energy. "Let me show you the difference between a copy and the King."