The First One didn't move like anything Josh had ever seen. It glided across the Antarctic ice without touching it, reality warping around its form like heat waves on asphalt. Up close, it was even more horrifying than from a distance—a massive construct of impossible geometry that hurt to look at directly, with appendages that existed in more dimensions than Josh's mind could process.
"Teams one through five, flank left!" Josh shouted into his comm, trying to keep his voice steady despite the primal terror clawing at his chest. "Six through ten, flank right! Everyone else, with me on center approach!"
The coalition forces split as practiced, Shard-users from different factions moving in coordinated formations. Josh's center group consisted of himself, Kyla, Azazel, Yuki, Emma, and five others—the strongest fighters they had.
"Remember the plan!" Dr. Walsh's voice crackled through the comms from the command post. "Hit it with synchronized attacks! Try to disrupt its dimensional anchoring!"
The First One noticed them and stopped moving. For a moment, nothing happened. Then it spoke—not in words, but in pure concept that burned directly into their minds:
FRAGMENTS. STOLEN WEAPONS. RETURN.
The mental pressure was enormous. Josh felt his nose start bleeding, his vision blurring. Several Shard-users collapsed immediately, overwhelmed by the psychic assault.
"Don't listen to it!" Azazel commanded, his voice cutting through the mental fog. "It's trying to break our will before we even engage! Remember why we're here!"
Josh shook his head, clearing it through sheer stubbornness. "All teams, attack pattern alpha! NOW!"
Sixty Shard-users unleashed their powers simultaneously. Fire, ice, lightning, earth, metal, light, shadow, wind, water—every element converging on the First One from multiple angles. The combined assault was spectacular, a light show that could be seen from orbit.
The First One didn't even flinch.
The attacks passed through it like it wasn't there, or bounced off invisible barriers, or simply ceased to exist when they got too close. Not one attack landed.
"It's not working!" Sarah Li shouted, her lightning dissipating harmlessly. "Our powers can't touch it!"
"Switch to pattern beta!" Josh ordered, thinking fast. "Indirect attacks! Reshape the battlefield!"
The earth-users responded immediately, Min-Ji and Marco working together to cause massive upheavals in the ice beneath the First One. The water-users flash-froze the shifting terrain, creating unstable footing. Wind-users generated hurricane-force gusts from multiple directions.
The First One tilted slightly, its impossible form adjusting to the changing environment. It was a tiny movement, but it was something.
"It felt that!" Josh realized. "We can't hurt it directly, but we can affect its environment! Keep the pressure on!"
The coalition adapted, abandoning direct attacks in favor of environmental manipulation. They created zones of extreme temperature, pockets of altered gravity, barriers of solid elements that forced the First One to navigate around them. It was like trying to herd a mountain, but slowly, impossibly, they were making it react to them rather than the other way around.
Then the First One struck back.
One of its impossible appendages swept out, and reality tore along its path. Three Shard-users—two from the Council and one of Azazel's lieutenants—simply stopped existing. Not killed. Erased. Gone as if they'd never been.
"Fall back!" Rodriguez screamed. "Maintain distance!"
But the First One was accelerating now, moving with sudden terrible speed. Another appendage lashed out, catching a strike team on the left flank. Four more fighters erased in an instant.
"We can't keep taking losses like this!" Yuki's voice was strained. "At this rate, we'll all be dead in minutes!"
Josh's mind raced. The environmental attacks slowed it down but weren't enough. They needed something more. Something that could actually hurt a being that existed partially outside reality.
Then he remembered what Dr. Walsh had said in the temple. The Prime Shard existed in all dimensions simultaneously. It was an anchor point between realities. And Josh had touched it—briefly, barely, but enough to feel what it was.
"I need everyone to channel their power through me!" Josh shouted. "Like we did to close the gateways, but more focused! Use me as a conduit!"
"That could kill you!" Kyla protested. "The amount of energy—"
"Do it anyway! It's our only shot!"
Josh planted his feet and opened himself up to the dimensional energy around him. Immediately, he felt the other Shard-users connecting through the resonance effect. Their powers flowing into him, through him, combining and amplifying.
Fifty-three Shard-users—all that remained after the First One's attacks—channeling their collective might into one person.
The pain was indescribable. Josh felt like his body was being torn apart and rebuilt simultaneously, every cell screaming as dimensional energy far beyond what he was designed to handle flooded through him. His eyes blazed with impossible light—not just blue and red anymore, but every color and none at all.
"JOSH!" Kyla's voice seemed to come from very far away.
But Josh was beyond hearing now. He was the conduit. The bridge. The weapon. He raised both hands toward the First One and released everything.
The blast that erupted from his hands wasn't fire or ice or any single element. It was pure dimensional force—the combined will of fifty-three Shard-users focused into one devastating attack. It hit the First One like a meteor, and for the first time, the entity staggered.
Where the energy struck, the First One's form destabilized. Its impossible geometry flickered, revealing something underneath—something that looked almost organic, almost vulnerable.
PAIN. FRAGMENTS CAUSE PAIN. IMPOSSIBLE.
The First One's mental voice carried surprise and something that might have been fear. It pulled back, its form reconstituting, but the damage was visible. They'd hurt it. Actually hurt it.
Then Josh collapsed, smoke rising from his body. The last thing he saw before darkness took him was Kyla running toward him, screaming his name.
Josh woke up in the medical bay of the DDI Antarctic research station, his entire body feeling like one giant bruise. Dr. Walsh was hovering over him with scanners, her expression cycling between relief and scientific fascination.
"Welcome back," she said. "You've been unconscious for six hours. Also, you're probably the first human to survive channeling that much dimensional energy. Congratulations on not exploding."
"Did it work?" Josh croaked, his throat raw. "The First One?"
"Retreated after you hit it. Disappeared through a rift and hasn't been seen since." Walsh showed him data on her tablet. "But Josh, what you did—the energy readings were off every scale I have. You shouldn't have survived that."
"But I did." Josh tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. Everything hurt. "What about the others? The coalition?"
"Seven casualties total. Three from the Council, two from Azazel's forces, two rogues." Walsh's voice was somber. "But the rest survived. And more importantly, you proved something. You proved the First Ones can be hurt. That changes everything."
The door opened and Kyla rushed in, followed by Azazel, Yuki, and several Vanguard members. Kyla immediately hugged Josh so hard he felt his ribs protest, but he didn't care.
"Don't you ever do something that stupid again," she said fiercely. "I thought you were dead. Your heart stopped twice on the way here."
"Sorry. I'll try to only do medium-stupid things from now on." Josh looked at the assembled leaders. "What's the situation globally?"
Azazel stepped forward. "The First Ones have ceased their attacks. All twelve entities that manifested have withdrawn to stationary positions and haven't moved in four hours. They're waiting."
"For what?"
"For us to make the next move, I suspect." Yuki looked different—less hostile, more thoughtful. "You wounded one of them. Proved they're not invincible. They're reassessing."
"Which gives us time to prepare." Josh forced himself to sit up despite the pain. "We need to hit them again. Harder. While they're still off-balance."
"Josh, you can't," Dr. Walsh protested. "Your body has been through incredible trauma. The dimensional energy burned out half your neural pathways. You need weeks of recovery, minimum."
"We don't have weeks. We might not have days." Josh looked at each person in the room. "The coalition worked. We hurt something that nothing else could touch. But we lost seven people doing it. If we're going to win this war, we need to get better. Faster. Smarter."
"Agreed," Azazel said. "The attack was effective but costly. We need refinement. Better coordination. And more power." He looked at Josh intently. "Joshua, you channeled fifty-three Shard-users' energy. What if we could give you more? What if every Shard-user on Earth contributed?"
"He'd die," Walsh said immediately. "The human body can't handle that much dimensional energy."
"Then we make him stronger." Yuki moved closer, her expression calculating. "The Council has techniques for temporarily enhancing a Shard-user's capacity. Dangerous, with permanent side effects, but possible."
"Absolutely not," Kyla said firmly. "We're not experimenting on Josh like he's some kind of weapon."
"I am a weapon," Josh said quietly. "We all are. The Shards made us into weapons whether we wanted it or not. The question is whether we're weapons that save people or weapons that destroy them."
"Josh—"
"I'm not saying I'll do whatever crazy enhancement Yuki's talking about. But we need to consider every option. Because that First One we fought? That was probably the weakest one. The others have been destroying entire cities. If we face those, we'll need everything we have and more."
The room fell silent. Everyone knew he was right, but nobody wanted to admit it.
Finally, Azazel spoke. "There is another option. The Prime Shard."
"No," multiple voices said at once.
"Hear me out," Azazel continued. "I'm not suggesting anyone claim it. We saw what happened to your fire-user. But the Prime is the source of all Shard energy. If we could harness a portion of its power without fully bonding to it, use it as a battery rather than a master—"
"That's insane," Dr. Walsh interrupted. "The Prime is conscious. It actively seeks to dominate whoever touches it. There's no way to use it as a simple power source."
"Unless someone acts as a filter," Azazel said, looking at Josh. "Someone who's already touched it and resisted. Someone with a dual nature that can balance opposing forces. Someone who has just proven he can channel the power of dozens of Shard-users without being consumed."
Josh felt everyone's eyes on him. They were actually considering this. Actually thinking about using the most dangerous artifact in human history as a weapon against the First Ones.
"I need to think about it," Josh said. "And I need to talk to Kenji. He's the only person who's actually bonded with the Prime and survived. He might have insights we don't."
"Fair enough." Azazel turned to leave, then paused. "Joshua, what you did today—leading us, coordinating our powers, standing as the focal point for our attack—that was remarkable. You gave us hope. Something I haven't felt in longer than I care to remember. Thank you."
After the others left, Kyla sat on the edge of Josh's bed, holding his hand. "You know they're going to push you toward this Prime Shard idea. Azazel, the Council, even Russo. They'll see it as the logical solution."
"I know."
"And you're considering it."
"I'm considering everything. Because Kyla, I've seen what the First Ones can do. I've felt their power. If we fight them conventionally, even with the coalition, we'll lose. We need an edge. Something unexpected."
"And if using the Prime Shard turns you into what Kenji almost became? If it consumes you?"
"Then you pull me back. Like you always do." Josh squeezed her hand. "I trust you to keep me human, Kyla. Even if I stop trusting myself."
"That's not fair. Putting that responsibility on me."
"I know. But it's the truth." Josh met her eyes. "You're my anchor. The reason I keep fighting to stay myself. Without you, I probably would have given in to the Shard's corruption weeks ago."
Kyla leaned down and kissed him gently. "I hate this. I hate that you have to make these impossible choices. I hate that the weight of the world is on your shoulders."
"Yeah. Me too. But someone has to carry it, and apparently, I'm the one who can." Josh smiled weakly. "At least I've got good company for the apocalypse."
"The best company. Definitely better than Stevens' jokes."
"Hey, his jokes are growing on me."
"That's the brain damage talking."
They sat together in comfortable silence, both knowing that the respite was temporary. Outside, the First Ones waited. The coalition of former enemies held together by necessity. And somewhere in the Amazon jungle, the Prime Shard pulsed with dark promise, offering power that could save or doom them all.
Stevens appeared in the doorway with food. "Heard you were awake. Brought you something from the cafeteria that's either meat loaf or a war crime. Hard to tell."
"I'll take my chances." Josh accepted the tray. "Stevens, be honest with me. Do you think I'm making the right calls?"
Stevens sat down, his usual humor fading. "I think you're making the only calls available. Are they right? Don't know. But Josh, I've been with you since day one in Tides. I've watched you grow from a rookie who could barely handle a routine patrol to someone who commands armies and faces down literal gods. And through it all, you've stayed fundamentally good. That's rare. That's special. So yeah, I trust your judgment."
"Even if it gets me killed?"
"Even then. Because I'd rather die following someone who's trying to save everyone than live serving someone who only wants power." Stevens grinned. "Plus, if you die, who's going to appreciate my jokes?"
"Literally anyone else would appreciate them more than I do."
"See? That's the kind of honest friendship that makes this apocalypse bearable."
Over the next twelve hours, Josh recovered enough to walk around. He found Kenji in a private room, staring out the window at the Antarctic wasteland. The former fire-user looked diminished without his powers—smaller, older, tired.
"How are you holding up?" Josh asked.
"Empty," Kenji said simply. "You can't understand what it's like to have that power and then lose it. It's like losing a limb. Worse, because the limb was part of your soul."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You saved me. If you hadn't forced the Prime back into dormancy, I'd be... whatever that thing was. Not Kenji anymore." He turned to face Josh. "I heard what they're proposing. Using the Prime as a power source."
"What do you think? You're the only one who's experienced what it's capable of."
Kenji was quiet for a long moment. "The Prime isn't like the fragments. It's alive. Conscious. Ancient. When it consumed me, I felt its mind—if you can call it that. It's been trapped for thousands of years, and it's angry. Hungry. It wants freedom, and it'll say anything, promise anything, to get it."
"So using it is a trap."
"Probably. But..." Kenji hesitated. "When I was connected to it, I also felt its power. Josh, it's beyond anything we can imagine. The fragments we use are like drops of water compared to an ocean. If you could tap into even a fraction of that power without being consumed, you could do anything. Move mountains. Reshape reality. Destroy the First Ones with a thought."
"But that's a big if."
"The biggest. The Prime will try to dominate you the moment you open yourself to it. It'll show you visions of what you could be, what you could do. It'll find your deepest desires and promise to fulfill them. And it'll feel so right, so natural, that you won't realize you're being consumed until it's too late."
Josh processed this. "If I try this—and I'm not saying I will—what would give me the best chance of resisting?"
"Honestly? Nothing. The Prime is designed to corrupt. That's its purpose." Kenji smiled sadly. "But if anyone has a chance, it's you. Your dual nature, your support system, your stubborn refusal to give in—those are your only defenses. Plus, you've touched it before and pulled back. That might have created a... resistance. Like your mind knows what to expect."
"Might."
"It's the best I can offer."
Josh left Kenji's room with more questions than answers. He found himself wandering the facility, eventually ending up in the command center where Dr. Walsh and Dr. El-Sayed were analyzing the First Ones' behavior patterns.
"They're communicating," El-Sayed said, showing Josh energy readings. "The twelve entities—they're exchanging information through dimensional frequencies. Coordinating. Planning."
"Planning what?"
"We don't know. But Josh, these beings are intelligent. Probably far more intelligent than we are. They're studying us, learning our capabilities. The next attack won't be like the first. They'll adapt."
"Then we need to adapt faster." Josh looked at the screens showing First One locations. "How long until our coalition forces are ready for another coordinated strike?"
"Eighteen hours minimum," Dr. Walsh said. "We need time to train new formations, account for the casualties we took, integrate any new recruits. And Josh, you need more recovery time. You're in no condition to serve as a conduit again."
"I'll recover. I always do." Josh studied the tactical displays. "What if we don't wait for them to attack? What if we hit them first, hit them hard, before they finish adapting to our tactics?"
"That's aggressive. Risky."
"Everything about this situation is risky. At least this way we control the timing." Josh pulled up communication channels. "Get me Azazel and Yuki. We're planning an offensive."
As he coordinated with the coalition leaders, Josh felt the weight of command settling more heavily on his shoulders. Seven people had died in their first engagement with a First One. How many more would die in the battles to come?
But he couldn't think about that now. Couldn't let the fear and doubt paralyze him. People were counting on him—the Vanguard, the coalition, humanity itself.
So he'd plan. He'd fight. He'd do whatever it took.
Even if it meant dancing with the most dangerous power source in existence.
Even if it meant risking becoming the very thing he'd sworn to stop.
Because someone had to stand between Earth and extinction.
And somehow, impossibly, that someone was him.