Josh slept for sixteen hours straight after the gateway battle. When he finally woke up, his body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder. Every muscle ached, his head pounded, and his dimensional senses were completely fried—he couldn't feel ice or fire, couldn't sense other Shard-users, couldn't even create a simple flame.
For the first time in weeks, he was just... normal.
It was terrifying and wonderful at the same time.
"Hey, you're awake," Kyla said from the chair beside his bed. She looked exhausted too, dark circles under her eyes, but she was smiling. "How do you feel?"
"Like I got hit by a truck and then the truck backed up and hit me again." Josh tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. "How long was I out?"
"Almost a full day. Dr. Walsh said you completely depleted your dimensional energy reserves. Your body basically shut down to recover." Kyla handed him a water bottle. "Drink this. You're severely dehydrated."
The water tasted like heaven. Josh drained the entire bottle in one go. "What did I miss? Are the others okay?"
"Everyone survived. Some injuries, lots of exhaustion, but no casualties on our side." Kyla pulled up her tablet, showing him reports. "The Council lost at least sixty members across all seven cities. They retreated and haven't been seen since. Dr. Walsh thinks they're regrouping, planning their next move."
"And Azazel?"
"Vanished after the battle. No sign of him or his forces." Kyla's expression turned serious. "But Josh, people are talking. About you working with him. Fighting alongside him. Some of the officials are not happy."
"Let me guess—they think I'm compromised. That Azazel's corrupting me."
"Something like that. Admiral Russo is defending you, but there's going to be a formal inquiry. They want to make sure you're still... you."
Josh laughed bitterly. "I'm not even sure I'm still me. Using that much power, coordinating with seven other Shard-users, fighting beside Azazel—Kyla, I felt more alive during that battle than I ever have. And that scares the hell out of me."
"Because feeling alive while using the powers means you're enjoying them. And enjoying them is the first step toward corruption." Kyla took his hand. "I know. But Josh, you used those powers to save thousands of lives. To protect people. That's not corruption. That's being a hero."
"Heroes don't work with tyrants."
"Heroes do whatever it takes to protect innocent people. Even if it means compromising their principles temporarily." Kyla squeezed his hand. "You made the right call. I would have done the same thing."
Josh wanted to believe her. But the memory of fighting alongside Azazel, of how natural it had felt, how right—that worried him more than he wanted to admit.
A knock on the door interrupted them. Dr. Walsh entered, carrying her tablet and looking excited in a way that usually meant she'd discovered something important.
"Good, you're awake. We need to talk about what happened during the battle. Specifically, about the collective resonance effect." Walsh pulled up data that looked like overlapping energy waves. "When you and the other recruits synchronized your powers to close the gateways, you created something I've never seen before. A dimensional harmonic. Your individual Shard energies weren't just working together—they were amplifying each other."
"Is that bad?" Josh asked.
"Bad? It's revolutionary. You eight created a power output equivalent to at least fifty individual Shard-users. Maybe more. The efficiency was off the charts." Walsh showed them calculations that Josh didn't understand but looked impressive. "If you can replicate this effect, train to use it deliberately, you could match the Council's numbers with a fraction of their forces."
"So we need to train together. All eight of us."
"Exactly. I've already discussed it with Admiral Russo. She's approved the creation of a dedicated training facility for Shard-users. A place where you can practice combining your powers without accidentally destroying a city." Walsh smiled. "Congratulations, Reeves. You're officially in charge of training the first team of heroic Shard-users in human history."
"I don't want to be in charge. I can barely control my own powers, let alone teach others."
"Which is exactly why you're perfect for it. You understand the struggle. The fear. The constant temptation to give in to the power." Walsh's expression turned serious. "The recruits trust you, Josh. You saved them from the Council. Showed them there's another way. They'll follow you."
After Walsh left, Josh managed to shower and change into clean clothes. His powers were slowly returning—he could feel the faint hum of ice and fire again, though creating anything more than a spark was beyond him right now.
He found the other recruits in the DDI cafeteria, all looking as rough as he felt. Kenji waved him over to a table where Min-Ji, Chen Wei, and Sarah Li were sitting.
"The hero awakens!" Kenji announced. "We were beginning to think you'd sleep through the entire debriefing."
"Debriefing?" Josh slid into a seat, accepting the plate of food that Min-Ji pushed toward him.
"Tomorrow morning. Admiral Russo wants a full report on the gateway battles, the collective resonance effect, and the Prime Shard situation." Sarah Li looked tired but alert, her lawyer instincts clearly still sharp. "We need to get our stories straight before then."
"Our stories are the truth. We fought, we won, we need to find the Prime Shard before the Council does." Josh started eating, realizing he was starving. "What's there to get straight?"
"The part where you fought alongside Azazel," Chen Wei said quietly. "Some people are saying you've turned. That the King has corrupted you."
"That's ridiculous," Min-Ji said immediately. "Josh saved us. Led us. Without him, we would have lost."
"I know that. You know that. But politicians and bureaucrats?" Sarah shook her head. "They see a potential threat. A Shard-user who's powerful enough to hurt Azazel but also willing to work with him. That makes them nervous."
"Let them be nervous," Kenji said. "Josh made the right call. Without Azazel's forces, the Council would have overrun our positions. Simple as that."
"Exactly," Sarah agreed. "But we need to present it correctly. Emphasize the tactical necessity, the immediate threat, the fact that it was temporary and specific to that situation. Make them understand that it was strategy, not sympathy."
Josh appreciated what they were trying to do, but he was tired of justifying himself. "I'll tell them the truth. I worked with Azazel because we had no choice. I'd do it again if I had to. And if they don't like it, they can find someone else to fight their interdimensional war."
"That's the spirit," Sarah said dryly. "Very diplomatic. You'll do great in politics."
Despite everything, Josh found himself laughing. "Okay, okay. I'll be diplomatic. Promise."
They spent the rest of the meal discussing lighter topics. Min-Ji talked about missing school—she was only seventeen, should have been finishing high school instead of fighting dimensional invaders. Chen Wei shared stories about his grandchildren, who thought his metal-bending abilities were the coolest thing ever. Sarah complained about her law firm, which had fired her after she accidentally electrocuted a copier during a stressful deposition.
It was normal. Human. Exactly what they all needed.
Later that evening, Josh found himself on the roof of the DDI building, looking out over Washington DC. The city lights were beautiful at night, a reminder of everything worth protecting.
"Mind if I join you?" a voice asked.
Josh turned to find Paulo, the Brazilian phasing user, approaching. He was in his late twenties, with an easy smile and relaxed demeanor that hadn't changed even after the gateway battle.
"Sure. How are you holding up?"
"Better than expected. Worse than hoped." Paulo leaned against the railing. "In São Paulo, we had thirty Council members come through our gateway. Thirty against me, four tactical teams, and whatever local police hadn't evacuated. It was... intense."
"But you survived."
"Because of you. When you coordinated that collective resonance, when I felt all of you connecting through the Shards—it was like I wasn't alone anymore. Like I had backup even though you were thousands of miles away." Paulo created a small phase effect, his hand becoming translucent. "I've been alone with this power for six months. Hiding, afraid. But yesterday, fighting alongside others like me? That changed everything."
"We're building something here," Josh said. "A team. A family, maybe. People who understand what it's like to carry these powers without being consumed by them."
"You really think we can do it? Resist the corruption long-term?"
"I have to believe it. Because the alternative is giving up. Becoming what we're fighting against." Josh created a small flame, watching it dance in his palm. "We're stronger together than apart. That's our advantage. The Council uses fear and isolation. We'll use trust and community."
"Very inspiring. You should give speeches." Paulo smiled. "But seriously, thank you. For everything. For showing us there's hope."
After Paulo left, Josh stayed on the roof for another hour, thinking about responsibility and leadership and the weight of other people's trust. He'd never asked to be anyone's hero. Never wanted the responsibility of training and leading other Shard-users.
But here he was anyway.
"Thought I'd find you up here," Stevens said, appearing with two beers. "You have a habit of brooding on rooftops when you're stressed."
"I don't brood. I contemplate."
"Sure. And I don't tell bad jokes, I share sophisticated humor." Stevens handed him a beer. "How you really doing? And don't give me the tough guy act. It's just us."
Josh took a long drink before answering. "I'm scared, Stevens. Really scared. Not of the Council, not of the battles. I'm scared that I'm becoming addicted to the power. That every time I use it, it gets easier to justify using more. And I look at people like Min-Ji and Kenji, who are looking to me for guidance, and I think—how can I teach them to resist something I'm barely resisting myself?"
"Because you're aware of it. Because you're fighting it every day. That's what makes you qualified." Stevens was unusually serious. "Look, I'm not a Shard-user. I'll never understand what it feels like to have that power inside you. But I know people. And I know you, Josh. You're one of the good ones. Yeah, you're struggling. Yeah, you're tempted. But you keep choosing to do the right thing anyway. That's what makes you a leader."
"What if I choose wrong one day? What if I make a decision that gets people killed?"
"Then you'll live with it, learn from it, and do better next time. That's all any of us can do." Stevens clinked his beer against Josh's. "Stop expecting yourself to be perfect. You're twenty-three years old, fighting an interdimensional war, and somehow keeping your humanity intact. That's pretty damn impressive."
They sat in comfortable silence after that, two friends sharing a drink and pretending the world wasn't ending. It was exactly what Josh needed.
The next morning, the debriefing was as uncomfortable as Josh expected. Politicians and military officials grilled him about every decision he'd made during the gateway battle. Why he'd worked with Azazel. Why he hadn't consulted with command first. Whether his judgment was compromised by the Shard inside him.
Josh answered honestly, keeping his temper in check despite the hostile questioning. Beside him, Admiral Russo provided support, defending his tactical decisions and pointing out that they'd won against overwhelming odds.
Finally, after three hours of interrogation, the committee chair—a senator named Williams—leaned back in his chair. "Officer Reeves, let me be direct. You're the most powerful asset we have against the Council. But you're also potentially the most dangerous. How do we know you won't turn on us? Follow Azazel's path?"
Josh met the senator's eyes steadily. "You don't know. You can't know. All I can give you is my word that I'll fight for humanity until the day I die. If that's not enough, if you need guarantees I can't provide, then find someone else. But good luck finding another Shard-user willing to fight the Council and resist corruption at the same time."
The room went quiet. Then Admiral Russo smiled slightly. "I think we have our answer, Senator. Officer Reeves is committed to the mission. We need to trust that commitment and give him the resources to succeed."
After some deliberation, the committee approved continued funding for the Shard-user training program. Josh was officially designated as team leader, with authority to recruit additional members and coordinate defensive operations against Council threats.
It was more responsibility than he wanted, but he accepted it anyway. Because someone had to do it, and right now, he was the only one who could.
That afternoon, Dr. Walsh gathered all eight recruits in a specialized training facility deep underground. The room was enormous—easily the size of a football field—with reinforced walls designed to withstand dimensional energy fluctuations.
"Welcome to your new home away from home," Walsh announced. "This is Training Room Alpha, built specifically for Shard-user practice. The walls can absorb dimensional energy up to a certain threshold, which means you can use your powers without destroying the building. Probably."
"Probably?" Min-Ji asked nervously.
"We've never actually tested it with eight Shard-users at once, so... don't go too crazy the first few sessions." Walsh pulled up holographic displays showing training scenarios. "Josh, I'll let you take it from here."
Josh stepped forward, looking at the seven other people who'd chosen to fight alongside him. Different ages, different backgrounds, different powers. But all of them struggling with the same fears and temptations.
"Okay," he said. "Here's how this is going to work. We're not just training to fight. We're training to support each other. To resist corruption together. To remind each other why we're doing this." He created a flame in one hand, ice in the other. "Our powers are tools. Dangerous tools. But tools nonetheless. We control them. They don't control us. And when one of us feels like giving in, like letting the power take over, the rest of us pull them back. Agreed?"
"Agreed," they said in unison.
"Good. Now let's see what we can do when we work together."
The training session was chaotic at first. Different powers interacted in unexpected ways—Sarah's lightning energized Duc's water, creating devastating combinations. Rosa's sound waves disrupted Min-Ji's earth control. Paulo kept accidentally phasing through Chen Wei's metal constructs.
But slowly, they found their rhythm. Josh coordinated from the center, using his dual nature to balance and stabilize the group's collective energy. When they synchronized properly, the effect was incredible—their individual powers amplifying each other, creating effects none of them could achieve alone.
"That's it!" Dr. Walsh shouted from the observation deck. "You're doing it! Keep that resonance pattern!"
By the end of the session, everyone was exhausted but exhilarated. They'd proven the collective resonance effect wasn't a fluke. With training, they could replicate it. Master it. Turn it into their greatest weapon against the Council.
As the team filed out, chattering excitedly about the possibilities, Kenji hung back with Josh.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "For giving me a purpose again. For showing me I'm not a monster."
"You were never a monster," Josh said. "Just a person dealing with impossible circumstances. Like all of us."
"Still. I was ready to give up before you found me. Ready to let the Shard consume me. You gave me hope." Kenji smiled. "We're going to do great things together. I can feel it."
Josh hoped he was right. Because somewhere out there, the Council was planning their next move. The Prime Shard waited to be found. And Azazel lurked in the shadows, watching, waiting, plotting his own schemes.
The war was far from over.
But for the first time since this all began, Josh felt like they might actually have a chance.
Not because they were strong.
But because they were together.
End of Chapter 38