The giant black tentacle smashed down from the sky. It was as thick as a skyscraper. It was covered in burning red eyes. The Overlord’s physical body was entering the cavern, tearing the world apart. Commander Oliver stood alone on the tiny, floating rock. The rest of his squad was safe on the other side of the broken bridge. They were running away into the dark tunnels. Oliver watched them go. He knew they were safe. His objective was complete. Now, he had to survive. He looked up. The massive black tentacle blocked out the entire sky. It was falling directly toward him. The sheer weight of the monster pushed the air down, creating a wind so strong it made Oliver’s black military uniform snap loudly. Oliver did not freeze. He did not show fear. His mind moved faster than the falling monster. He watched the shadow of the tentacle grow larger on the stone under his boots. He measured the speed of the falling shadow. He understood the exact timing of the impact. He knew that if h

Oliver moved faster than humanly possible. Oliver did not try to run away. He did not pull his knife. Oliver launched his body straight upward. He leaped directly at the giant monster's face. Before the monster could scream, Oliver jammed his black metal right hand straight into the monster's open mouth. Oliver’s dark metal fingers grabbed the monster’s tongue and crushed it instantly. He grabbed the beast's lower jaw with his impossible, mechanical strength. He pulled down violently, snapping the monster’s jawbone cleanly in half. The monster choked on its own blood. It could not scream. It could not make a sound. The beast swung its massive circular saw at Oliver’s side, trying to cut him in half. Oliver used his human left hand. He pulled his sharp titanium combat knife from his belt. He did not block the saw blade. He aimed perfectly for the thick, greasy rubber tube that powered the saw motor on the monster's back. SLASH. The knife cut the tube. Black oil sprayed everywh

"They will charge," Oliver agreed cleanly. "And they will step directly onto the fragile crystal floor that I see on my map. The crystal cannot hold the weight of fifty Armored Goliaths at the same time."Gorrok did not argue anymore. He roared to his fighters. "Center line! Fall back twenty paces! Flanks, hold the line!"The giant rebel mutants stepped backward. They opened a wide gap in the middle of the cavern. The loyalist Goliaths saw the gap. Their animal brains thought the rebels were retreating. The Goliaths roared in victory and charged straight ahead into the middle of the U-shape. They ran directly onto the glowing purple crystal floor. The heavy weight of fifty massive monsters hit the fragile ground all at once. CRACK! KABOOOOOM! The crystal floor shattered completely. A massive sinkhole opened up in the center of the cavern. The fifty heavy Goliaths screamed as they fell straight down into the deep, dark pit, disappearing into the shadows forever. "The center is c

The dark, ruined factory was completely cold. Thick white mist rolled across the dirty stone floor. Commander Oliver dragged the struggling woman through the mist. His black, alien metal right hand gripped the collar of her old, faded uniform. He did not pull her gently. He pulled her with the steady, unbreakable force of a machine. "Let me go!" the woman cried. She tried to hit his metal arm with her fists. She kicked her feet. "Who are you?! Where are you taking me?!"Oliver did not stop walking. He did not look back. His single gray human eye stared straight ahead into the dark tunnel. His burning red Wraithborn eye glowed like a bloody star in the shadows. "Your struggles burn useless energy," Oliver stated smoothly. His voice was a deep, cold, metallic hum. "You will need that energy to run. Save your breath."Lira, the pale-eyed ghost woman, floated beside Oliver. Her silver dress rippled in the quiet air. She looked at the terrified woman, and then she looked at Oliver. Tear

Iris shook her head. "No. That's impossible. Oliver, she looks exactly like the picture you keep in your footlocker. The picture of your mother."The soldiers stared at the woman. Then they stared at Oliver. The resemblance was undeniable. They had the same pale skin. The same cold gray eyes. "My personal history is not relevant to this operation," Oliver stated flatly. His metallic voice carried no emotion. "We must continue. The bridge energy is fading."Oliver pointed his black metal hand at the glowing blue bridge. He closed his fist. The magic snapped. The blue light instantly vanished. The three silver drones fell helplessly into the bottomless pit. The bridge was gone. Nothing could follow them across the gap now. "We are entering the extraction tunnels," Oliver ordered. "Formation remains the same. Move."They walked into a new, wide tunnel. The air here was moving fast. It blew past their faces like a strong wind. "The air is fresh," Billy noted happily, looking at his cr