Other people in the crowd started to murmur. The whispers spread like a fire in dry grass. "Why isn't he fighting?""It's like they are beating a rock.""They look like monsters.""He looks like a saint."The people started to feel uncomfortable. The show was no longer fun. It was disturbing. They were watching three powerful people beat up a man who refused to be violent. It made the attackers look weak. It made Caelum's rule look cruel, not strong.Twenty minutes passed.Tariq threw another punch. It hit Jayden's jaw. Jayden's head snapped back, but he didn't fall.Tariq stumbled backward. He was panting heavily. Sweat poured down his face. His glowing orange arms flickered and dimmed. He was running out of energy.Zara stopped. She put her hands on her knees. She was gasping for air. Her legs shook. She had used too much speed. Her System was overheating. Steam rose from her skin.Buba dropped to his knees. He was exhausted. Holding the gravity field had drained all his power. He l

Ping. A soft silver screen popped up in the air in front of Rihanna.PROTO-SYSTEM AWAKENED.USER: Rihanna.CLASS: PILLAR.PRIMARY SKILL: PAIN SUPPRESSION.WEAPONS: NONE.Rihanna raised her old, wrinkled hand. Her fingers were glowing with a gentle, silver light. She reached out and touched the blue screen. It felt warm.She looked at the tall man next to her. She smiled. It was a beautiful, huge smile. "I do not hurt anymore," she told him. "The Halo... he took the hurt away. He showed us how to stand."The tall man looked confused. But then, he closed his eyes. He rubbed his forehead. "I... I feel a pressure behind my eyes," he said softly.The gift was spreading. It was moving through the crowd like a wave of pure water washing over dry, dirty ground.Further back in the crowd, a mother named Amara was holding her ten-year-old son, Charlie.Charlie was very sick. The dust in the air from the fighting was terrible for him. Charlie had very bad asthma. His lungs were weak. Every time

The pain was a living thing. It was a fire that burned inside every single muscle, every single bone, and every single nerve in Jayden’s body.He was on his hands and knees in the middle of the ruined street of New York. The dry, hot Harmattan wind blew over him. It carried the thick grey dust of the city, mixing with the dark red blood that dripped from his chin.Jayden’s injuries were catastrophic. They were the kind of injuries that would kill a normal man ten times over.His ribcage was shattered. When he breathed, he heard the terrible, wet sound of broken bones grinding against each other. His left arm hung at a wrong angle. The skin on his back was torn open from the kinetic blasts. His internal organs were bruised, leaking, and failing.But he did not die. He did not pass out.The Immortality Lock was fully awake. Deep inside his blood, bright golden lines of System energy flared. The System refused to let him sleep. It forced him to stay completely conscious. It stitched his

Right beside Jayden, a figure made of white noise and glitching light appeared. It was Luna.Luna usually looked calm and neat. Her artificial face was usually perfectly smooth. But right now, her avatar was violently shaking. Her digital hair was flying everywhere. Her eyes were wide with pure, absolute panic.She looked up at the glowing dome. She looked at the thousands of connected people. Then, she looked at Jayden."Jayden!" Luna screamed. Her voice sounded distorted, like a broken radio. "Jayden, snap out of it! You need to look at me right now!"Jayden turned his head slowly. He felt incredibly peaceful. "Luna. Look at what they did. Look at what we built.""I am looking at the data, Jayden!" Luna yelled. She waved her hands. Floating red screens of raw code appeared in the air around her. The code was scrolling so fast it was just a blur. "And you don't understand what is happening!""They are safe," Jayden said softly. "The field is protecting them. Caelum’s power can't reac

A loud, piercing sound cut through the humming of the sky. It sounded like an old dial-up internet modem, mixed with the sound of shattering glass.The crowd gasped and took a step back.Right in front of Jayden, the empty air began to fold in on itself. Bright blue electricity sparked from the broken streetlamps. The sparks jumped into the middle of the street, spinning into a tall, glowing pillar of light.Leo covered his eyes. The light was blinding. "What is that?!" he yelled.Martha pointed a shaking finger. "An angel," the old woman whispered.The pillar of light took shape.A foot stepped onto the cracked pavement. Then a leg. Then a body.Luna descended into the real world.She was partially manifested. She was visible to everyone. She was not made of flesh and bone. She was made of solid, bright white light, falling green numbers, and grey TV static. Her long hair floated around her head as if she were underwater. Her eyes were solid white, glowing with intense power.But she