For almost a full minute, none of the nine Flag-Bearers spoke.
The conference room felt smaller than it had before.
Maybe it was the silence.
Maybe it was the giant screen on the wall showing a live satellite image of Ygros's path across North America.
Or maybe it was the fact that, for the first time since we'd been called the strongest generation of heroes, none of us knew what the hell we were supposed to do.
A red line stretched across the map.
Chile.
Peru.
Then north.
Every few seconds, another marker appeared along the projected path.
Destroyed infrastructure.
Evacuation zones.
Military losses.
Missing civilians.
The latest satellite estimate placed Ygros deep within the Northern Rockies, where its movement had finally slowed.
No one knew why.
That bothered Beth more than anything.
"It doesn't make sense."
Her voice cut through the silence.
Frank looked over from his place near the window. "What doesn't?"
Beth didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes remained locked on the map.
"It crossed thousands of miles in less than two days. It ignored three major population centers, destroyed two military installations without changing direction, then suddenly stopped here."
She pointed toward the blinking red marker.
"Why?"
Paul leaned back in his chair.
"Maybe giant apocalypse monsters get tired too."
No one laughed.
Paul looked around.
"Yeah. Okay. Bad time."
Benny rubbed both hands over his face.
"We made our decision already."
His voice sounded tired.
"We don't have enough information. Going in now would be suicide."
Frank nodded.
It was the logical choice.
Everyone in the room knew it.
The Hero Association knew it.
Their agencies knew it.
Their trainers knew it.
Hell, even the military had advised independent heroes to remain outside the designated exclusion zone.
And yet…
Nobody seemed comfortable.
Because heroes weren't supposed to say no.
Not publicly.
Not when cities were evacuating.
Not when people were dying.
And definitely not when you were one of the Flag-Bearers.
Nine survivors.
Nine young heroes whose faces had been plastered across advertisements, magazines, recruitment campaigns, charity events, and government propaganda for years.
The next generation.
America's future.
That was what they called us.
Until the future actually needed us.
Benny stared at the red dot.
He hated that thought.
Frank must've been thinking something similar because the steel around his forearm slowly disappeared back beneath his skin.
"We'd just get in the way," he said.
It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.
Toma scoffed.
"Speak for yourself."
Frank's eyes shifted toward him.
"You volunteering?"
Toma didn't answer.
That was enough.
Kenya sat sideways in her chair with her headphones resting around her neck. For once, no music played through them.
A faint shimmer moved beside her.
Something small and translucent formed near her shoulder.
A fox.
One of her weaker spiritual summons.
It appeared for only a moment before its ears flattened against its head.
Then it vanished.
Kenya frowned.
Beth noticed.
"What?"
Kenya hesitated.
"My summons have been acting weird since Ygros appeared."
That got everyone's attention.
"Define weird," Montiro said.
"They don't want to come out."
Paul blinked.
"Your animals can refuse?"
"They're spirits, Paul. Not vending machines."
"Could've fooled me."
Kenya ignored him.
"They sense things before I do sometimes. Monsters. Killing intent. Changes in magical density."
She looked toward the screen.
"Whatever Ygros is… they hate it."
A little more weight settled over the room.
That was the problem with Ygros.
Nothing fit.
The ranking system humanity had relied on for generations had been designed around measurable threats.
D-rank monsters could generally be handled by trained lower-level heroes.
C-ranks required experience.
B-ranks could wipe out inexperienced teams.
A-ranks were national emergencies if they reached populated areas.
S-ranks were disasters.
There were classifications beyond that, but most civilians didn't even know their names because there hadn't been enough confirmed cases to justify teaching them.
Ygros had broken the system completely.
Every attempt to measure its energy had produced a different result.
Some sensors overloaded.
Others returned zero.
Satellite thermal imaging showed temperatures changing around its body without explanation.
Mental scouts couldn't establish contact.
Long-range attacks had either failed to damage it or simply disappeared before reaching it.
So the government had given it a new classification.
APOCALYPSE.
Not a rank.
A category.
A warning that the normal rules no longer applied.
Benny hated that word.
Apocalypse.
It sounded less like something you fought and more like something you survived.
Threya hadn't spoken in several minutes.
She stood near the far side of the table, staring at the footage.
Ygros appeared only as a distorted shape between mountains.
Even from that distance, the scale was wrong.
Too large.
Too unnatural.
The camera zoomed in.
Threya's fingers tightened around the edge of the table.
For a second, the wood beneath her hand creaked.
Beth noticed that too.
"You okay?"
Threya released her grip.
"Fine."
Beth stared at her.
Threya stared back.
Beth could've pushed.
She didn't.
That was one thing the others misunderstood about Beth's power.
Mental abilities didn't mean she spent every second digging through people's thoughts.
Minds resisted.
Strong emotions created noise.
Trained heroes could build defenses.
And forcing her way through those defenses came with consequences.
Migraines.
Bleeding.
Memory distortion.
Sometimes worse.
Beth had learned years ago that knowing when not to enter someone's mind was just as important as knowing how.
So she left Threya alone.
For now.
Threya looked back at Ygros.
Something about the creature bothered her.
Not because of its size.
Not because of its power.
Something else.
A feeling she couldn't explain.
Like she'd seen the beginning of this before.
Years ago.
In a nightmare she'd spent a long time trying to forget.
Then—
BANG!
The conference room doors flew open.
Every Flag-Bearer reacted.
Montiro had a handgun in his hand before the door hit the wall.
Toma's fingertips turned white with frost.
Steel crawled halfway across Frank's neck.
A thin crack split the tile beneath Threya's boot.
Paul's palm glowed.
Emi's lance lifted itself from where it rested against the wall and snapped into her hand.
The government official standing in the doorway froze.
He was breathing hard.
His tie hung crooked.
Sweat covered his forehead.
"…Good reflexes."
Montiro slowly lowered the gun.
"You wanna knock next time?"
The official ignored him.
"You all need to see this."
Beth stood.
"What happened?"
The man hurried toward the display.
"There's been a change in the operation."
Benny's stomach tightened.
"What kind of change?"
The official tapped his identification badge against the console.
The satellite map disappeared.
A black screen replaced it.
For half a second, nothing happened.
Then a government emergency broadcast appeared.
The seal of the United States flashed across the display.
"Wait."
Frank stepped forward.
"What's going on?"
The official turned toward them.
"The government is engaging Ygros."
Silence.
Benny stared at him.
"…With what?"
The official didn't answer.
Beth's expression changed.
Not fear.
Calculation.
"How many teams?"
The man swallowed.
"None."
Beth's eyes narrowed.
"Military?"
"No."
"International task force?"
"No."
Paul pushed himself out of his chair.
"Then who the hell is fighting it?"
The official looked toward the screen.
"One combatant."
Nobody moved.
Paul blinked.
"One?"
"Yes."
"Like…"
He held up a finger.
"One one?"
"Yes, Paul."
"They're sending one person against that?"
The broadcast came alive before the official could respond.
A news anchor appeared behind a desk, papers clutched tightly in both hands.
The composure expected from national broadcasters was there.
Barely.
"Breaking news. The United States government has officially begun its first direct offensive against the entity designated Ygros, the First Apocalypse."
Nobody in the conference room breathed.
"Approximately seven minutes ago, a specialized military transport entered the Northern Rockies exclusion zone. Government sources confirm that a single combatant is aboard and will attempt to intercept Ygros before the creature reaches another populated region."
Paul slowly sat back down.
"You've gotta be kidding me."
The anchor continued.
"Military forces have established a two-hundred-mile evacuation perimeter surrounding the projected engagement zone. Civilian aircraft have been grounded across the region, and all licensed heroes have been ordered to remain outside the perimeter unless directly authorized by federal command."
Frank looked toward the official.
"You've ordered heroes away?"
The official's jaw tightened.
"Apparently."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Frank stepped closer.
"You're government."
"I'm a liaison, Cenya. Nobody asked me before deciding to send someone into an Apocalypse zone alone."
That shut him up.
The broadcast switched feeds.
Storm clouds filled the screen.
A massive dark aircraft cut through them, its engines fighting against violent winds.
Lightning flashed behind it.
For a moment, the aircraft looked impossibly small against the mountains below.
Then coordinates appeared beside the feed.
Altitude.
Wind speed.
Distance to target.
06:41
A countdown.
Benny stared at it.
"Six minutes."
Nobody answered.
The aircraft shook violently.
Even through the broadcast, they could hear warning alarms inside the cargo bay.
Beth looked toward the government official.
"Who authorized this?"
He hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
Beth's eyes sharpened.
"President Cross?"
"I don't know."
"You do."
"I'm not cleared to discuss operational command."
"So yes."
The man said nothing.
Beth turned back toward the screen.
That made things worse.
Evelyn Cross wasn't reckless.
Whatever the public thought about politicians, the Flag-Bearers had worked around the president enough to know one thing.
She calculated everything.
Every speech.
Every deployment.
Every hero assignment.
Every acceptable loss.
If Evelyn Cross had approved this…
Then either she knew something they didn't.
Or the situation was far worse than anyone had admitted.
The camera feed changed.
Inside the aircraft.
Red emergency lights washed over a huge loading bay.
Soldiers lined both sides.
Some checked weapons.
Others secured equipment.
Every single one of them looked tense.
Except one.
A young man sat alone near the rear deployment door.
Black-and-blue hair.
Dark combat clothing.
Gloves.
No visible armor.
No military insignia.
No agency emblem.
No sponsor markings.
Nothing.
He looked young.
Too young.
Benny leaned forward.
"What the hell?"
The young man sat with his elbows resting on his knees.
His head was slightly lowered.
Calm.
Almost bored.
The aircraft dropped suddenly.
Several soldiers grabbed nearby restraints.
The camera shook.
The young man barely moved.
Montiro narrowed his eyes.
"Okay."
"What?" Emi asked.
"That's weird."
"What is?"
Montiro pointed.
"Watch his legs."
Another burst of turbulence slammed through the aircraft.
The soldiers moved with it.
The camera moved with it.
The young man's boots stayed planted.
"He adjusted before the plane moved," Montiro said.
Frank frowned.
"So?"
"So you don't do that unless you feel the shift before it happens."
Toma crossed his arms.
"Or he's used to flying."
"No."
Emi had moved closer to the screen.
Her eyes were fixed on the stranger.
"He knew."
As one of the fastest Flag-Bearers, Emi understood movement differently from the others.
Combat wasn't just speed.
It was preparation.
Weight distribution.
Muscle tension.
Reading shoulders.
Reading hips.
Knowing where something would move before it moved.
The stranger wasn't relaxed.
He was ready.
Every muscle was exactly where it needed to be.
Beth noticed something else.
His hands.
The stranger slowly opened and closed his fingers.
Once.
Twice.
Testing them.
Like a swordsman checking his grip before drawing a blade.
Something tugged at Benny's memory.
He frowned.
For half a second—
No.
Nothing.
Gone.
The anchor spoke again.
"We are currently unable to confirm the identity of the combatant. No matching profile has been found within the public Hero Registry."
Frank laughed once.
There wasn't any humor in it.
"That's impossible."
Benny looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because everyone is registered."
"Not everyone."
"Anyone strong enough to be sent against Ygros is."
Frank looked toward the official.
"Right?"
No answer.
That bothered Benny more than anything.
The camera zoomed closer.
The stranger lifted his head.
Blue eyes.
Cold.
Focused.
For one second, he looked directly into the camera.
Threya stopped breathing.
Her heart skipped.
Something inside her chest pulled painfully.
She didn't know why.
She'd never seen this person before.
She was sure of it.
And yet…
Those eyes.
A memory flashed.
A riverbank.
Moonlight.
A stupid smile.
Promise me you won't do anything reckless.
Then it disappeared.
Threya blinked hard.
No.
Different person.
Different face.
Different hair.
Different eyes.
Different everything.
Still…
Her stomach twisted.
Benny glanced toward her.
"You good?"
Threya didn't look away from the screen.
"Yeah."
"You don't look good."
"I said I'm fine."
Benny raised both hands.
"Okay."
Beth watched the exchange.
She said nothing.
On-screen, text suddenly appeared beneath the stranger.
The room went still.
KAI SKYLINE
AGE: 17
AFFILIATION: CLASSIFIED
HERO RANK: UNASSIGNED
Paul stared.
"Unassigned?"
Toma laughed.
Actually laughed.
"This is a joke."
No one joined him.
"They're sending an unranked seventeen-year-old against Ygros?"
The government official looked equally confused.
"I've never heard of him."
Frank turned.
"You work with hero deployments."
"I know."
"Then how have you never heard of him?"
"I said I don't know."
Beth had already pulled out her tablet.
Her fingers moved quickly.
Hero Registry.
Nothing.
Academy databases.
Nothing.
Professional licenses.
Nothing.
Public tournament records.
Nothing.
Known military hero programs.
Nothing.
Juvenile ability registries.
Nothing.
She changed search parameters.
Kai Skyline.
No result.
Skyline, Kai.
No result.
Image recognition.
No verified match.
Beth stared at the screen.
That was impossible.
In the modern hero system, powered children were tested young.
Schools recorded abilities.
Academies tracked prospects.
Sponsors tracked academy students.
Hero organizations tracked sponsors.
Governments tracked everyone.
Someone with enough power to even be considered for this mission shouldn't have been able to disappear.
Yet Kai Skyline apparently hadn't disappeared.
According to every database Beth could access…
He had never existed.
"Nothing," she said.
Benny looked over.
"What?"
"There's nothing."
"Maybe it's a fake name."
Beth slowly raised her eyes toward the broadcast.
"Then the question isn't who Kai Skyline is."
She paused.
"It's who he's hiding from."
On the aircraft, Kai stared at his hands.
I hated cameras.
That was the thought going through my head while apparently half the world stared at me.
Not Ygros.
Not dying.
Not the fact that the plane sounded like it was being ripped apart around me.
Cameras.
I could feel one pointed straight at my face.
Evelyn hadn't mentioned that part.
We'll document the operation.
That's what she'd said.
Document.
Apparently that meant broadcast my face to millions of people while I flew toward a monster capable of ending civilization.
Awesome.
I flexed my fingers again.
They were shaking.
Barely.
Probably invisible on camera.
But I noticed.
I always noticed.
I curled them into fists.
Stop.
I wasn't scared.
Okay.
That was bullshit.
I was terrified.
There was a difference between fighting monsters during training and flying directly toward something people had literally named an Apocalypse.
Ygros.
First of ten.
If Evelyn was right, this thing wasn't even the strongest.
That thought wasn't helping.
I looked toward the deployment door.
Beyond it were mountains.
Beyond those mountains was Ygros.
And somewhere far behind me was the life I'd spent three years wanting back.
Benny.
Threya.
Mom.
My old name.
Akio Kita.
I pushed the thought away.
Akio couldn't be on this plane.
Akio Kita was frozen in a museum.
Akio Kita was a dead hero.
Akio Kita was a memory.
The person sitting here was Kai Skyline.
At least that was what everyone needed to believe.
A soldier approached me.
He was older. Maybe forty.
A scar ran from beneath his left ear to his jaw.
Unlike the others, he wasn't staring at me like I was already dead.
"Three minutes."
I nodded.
He looked at the weapon case beside me.
"You sure that's all you're taking?"
My eyes followed his.
The case was long.
Black.
Unmarked.
I smiled slightly.
"It'll be enough."
He didn't look convinced.
"Ygros destroyed two strike teams."
"I know."
"Three A-rank heroes are missing."
"I know."
"Satellite estimates put its physical output beyond every recorded S-rank terrestrial monster."
I looked up.
"You're really good at pep talks."
For the first time, he smiled.
Barely.
"Just making sure you understand."
"I understand."
He studied me.
Then his eyes shifted toward the camera.
"World's watching."
I followed his gaze.
The red light blinked.
Recording.
Broadcasting.
Watching.
For some reason, that made me calmer.
Because if the world was watching…
Maybe they would finally understand what was coming.
Maybe the Apocalypses couldn't be hidden anymore.
Maybe heroes would stop treating monsters like rankings on a scoreboard.
And maybe—
Just maybe—
someone from my old life was watching too.
I wondered if Benny would recognize me.
Probably not.
Threya?
I stopped that thought immediately.
Didn't matter.
Couldn't matter.
Not now.
The aircraft shook again.
Harder.
A warning light flashed.
The pilot's voice crackled over the speakers.
"Entering final approach."
The soldiers around me started securing themselves.
The older soldier grabbed an overhead strap.
I stood.
His eyebrows rose.
"Kid."
"I'm good."
"You should stay seated until we stabilize."
I rolled my shoulders.
My heartbeat was getting faster.
Not from the turbulence.
From something else.
Something ahead.
I could feel it.
A pressure.
Dark.
Heavy.
Wrong.
Every instinct in my body screamed at once.
Run.
For the first time since waking from the ice, I felt something that reminded me of that beetle.
Only stronger.
So much stronger.
I looked toward the deployment door.
Ygros.
A strange excitement mixed with the fear.
I hated that.
Maybe there was something wrong with me.
The soldier saw my expression.
"What?"
I shook my head.
"Nothing."
The countdown above the door changed.
02:58
I reached for the black weapon case.
Back in the conference room, the Flag-Bearers watched Kai rise.
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Frank stepped closer to the screen.
"He's standing?"
Emi narrowed her eyes.
"He feels it."
"Feels what?" Paul asked.
"Ygros."
Paul stared at her.
"You can tell that from a screen?"
"No."
Emi watched Kai's posture.
"But look at him."
Kai's shoulders had changed.
His hands weren't loose anymore.
His body wasn't relaxed.
He was staring toward the deployment door like something on the other side was staring back.
Threya felt another chill.
Toma shook his head.
"No way this dude's stronger than all of us."
Frank didn't respond.
Toma looked around.
"What?"
Still nothing.
"They picked some random guy. That's what this is. Government needs information, so they're throwing him in there and watching what happens."
Benny's expression hardened.
"If that's true, it's disgusting."
"It's realistic."
"Sending someone to die isn't strategy."
Toma shrugged.
"If he agreed, that's his problem."
Threya finally looked away from the screen.
"Shut up, Toma."
Everyone looked at her.
Toma blinked.
"What?"
"You don't know him."
"Neither do you."
Threya froze.
For some reason, that sentence hurt.
She looked back at Kai.
"No," she said quietly.
"I don't."
Beth heard it.
So did Benny.
Neither commented.
On-screen, the news anchor returned.
"We have now received confirmation that the unidentified combatant is operating under the name Kai Skyline. Government officials have declined to provide information regarding his ability classification, training history, or previous missions."
A second anchor spoke.
"To clarify, are you saying this individual has no publicly recognized hero rank?"
"That is correct."
"And he is being deployed alone?"
"That is also correct."
"Against the First Apocalypse?"
A pause.
"Yes."
The broadcast switched back to the aircraft.
The countdown continued.
02:11
Across the bottom of the screen, a warning appeared.
LIVE COMBAT FOOTAGE MAY CONTAIN DISTURBING IMAGES. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED.
Paul stared at it.
"That's comforting."
Montiro checked one of his guns out of habit.
"If he dies, they're really gonna show it?"
"No," Beth said.
Everyone looked toward her.
She pointed toward a tiny symbol in the corner of the broadcast.
"Seven-second delay."
Frank frowned.
"So?"
"So the government can cut the feed before anything they don't want shown reaches the public."
Benny looked toward the official.
"Anything?"
The official's face tightened.
Beth continued.
"His death."
The room became quiet.
"Ygros displaying an unknown ability."
Another pause.
"Or Kai displaying one."
Frank's eyes returned to the screen.
Now he understood.
This wasn't just a broadcast.
It was controlled information.
A military operation disguised as public transparency.
The government wanted the world watching.
But only on its terms.
That made Kai Skyline even more interesting.
Whoever he was, President Cross had decided that introducing him to the world was worth the risk.
And governments didn't reveal secret weapons without a reason.
The aircraft shook.
Hard.
Warning sirens erupted through the broadcast.
A soldier shouted something they couldn't hear.
Kai didn't sit down.
Instead, he reached toward the long black case beside him.
His fingers wrapped around the handle.
Threya leaned closer.
Benny did too.
For some reason, neither realized they'd moved.
The camera zoomed.
Kai lifted his head.
Those icy blue eyes filled the screen.
No smile.
No fear.
Just focus.
The anchor's voice returned one final time.
"The aircraft is now approaching the designated deployment zone. Current estimated arrival…"
The countdown appeared.
01:00
"…one minute."
Nobody in the conference room spoke.
00:49
Toma stopped pretending he wasn't interested.
00:41
Montiro holstered his gun.
00:36
Kenya's headphones slipped completely from her hands.
00:31
Frank folded his arms.
00:25
Emi's lance lowered beside her.
00:20
Paul stopped tapping his fingers.
00:16
Beth closed her tablet.
There was nothing else to research.
Not yet.
00:12
Benny stared at Kai Skyline.
Something about him bothered Benny.
Not his face.
Not his name.
Not even his movements.
Something deeper.
Something he couldn't put into words.
A feeling.
Like hearing a song you hadn't heard since childhood and somehow knowing the next note.
00:08
Threya's heart pounded.
She didn't understand why.
00:05
The rear deployment door began to open.
Wind exploded through the aircraft.
Kai stood against it.
00:04
The soldiers braced themselves.
Kai didn't move.
00:03
Beyond him, storm-covered mountains appeared.
00:02
Something enormous moved between them.
Even through the screen, the Flag-Bearers felt it.
00:01
Kai picked up the weapon case.
The screen cut to black.
For half a second, nobody moved.
Then the broadcast displayed a new message.
LIVE FIELD FEED CONNECTING…
Beth slowly leaned back in her chair.
Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.
"I guess we're about to find out."
And somewhere beyond the storm…
Kai Skyline stepped toward the First Apocalypse.