"Normal bullets don't work," Miller corrected him. "Because of his Immortality Lock. But our scientists have been working day and night. We have reverse-engineered the Anti-Resonance Cannon that we used in the train station."Miller gestured to a large, heavy metal crate sitting on a forklift."Open it," Miller commanded.Two soldiers opened the heavy wooden lid of the crate. Inside lay a massive, sleek, silver missile. It did not look like a normal explosive. It was covered in thick black wires and glowing blue computer chips."This is the Null-Bomb," Miller said proudly. "It does not create fire. It creates a vacuum of pure, dead space. It completely erases System code in a one-mile radius. If we hit the Halo with this, his Immortality Lock will be deleted. He will just be a man. And then, we can put a normal bullet in his brain and end this nightmare.""Where is he?" the soldier asked."Our scouts say he is heading for Central Park in New York," Miller said. He grabbed his heavy as

The heavy black military helicopters hovered high above New York City. Their spinning blades made a loud, terrible noise. Thwup-thwup-thwup-thwup. The sound bounced off the tall glass skyscrapers around Columbus Circle.Jayden stood perfectly still in the middle of the frozen, snowy street. He was trapped.In front of him, blocking the massive iron gates of Central Park, stood thousands of his own people. The Halo Loyalists. They were normal people who had awakened soft blue and silver magic. But they did not look soft anymore. Their faces were painted with thick, bright yellow stripes. Their eyes were wide, wild, and crazy. They were addicted to the magic. The System had rewritten their brains. It made them want to die for Jayden.Leo, the young boy, stood at the very front. His massive blue crystal shield covered the entire crowd like a giant glass bowl."We will protect the magic!" Leo screamed. Tears ran down his yellow-painted face. "We will not let you turn the System off,

The grey anti-magic rushed up Jayden’s arms. Inside his blood, the golden Immortality Lock fought back. The golden light flared like a dying sun. But the grey energy was too strong. The Null-Bomb was designed to erase System code.Jayden felt the golden threads in his veins snap.Ping.Ping.Ping.The sounds were tiny and sad. The beautiful golden light inside his body went completely dark. The Endurance Authority was deleted. The Retribution Authority was deleted. The Prime Administrator upgrade was ripped out of his brain, leaving a massive, bleeding hole in his mind.He was suddenly so cold. He was so incredibly fragile. He felt the heavy weight of his broken ribs. He felt the terrible ache in his spine.He was just a human.But before the grey energy could kill him entirely, Jayden used his very last ounce of Prime control.He took the massive, collected wave of anti-magic, filtered it through his own empty chest, and threw it forward.He broadcast the Null-wave directly at Leo

General Hayes slowly uncrossed his arms. The General leaned forward. "Let me understand this clearly, Eli. You are telling me that the entire magic system of the world is tied to the physical heartbeat of a completely mortal, powerless man standing in the middle of a war zone?""Yes," Eli said."What happens if his heart stops beating?" President Thomas asked. His voice was barely a whisper.Eli closed his eyes. He took a deep, shaky breath. He did not want to show them this. But they had to know."I ran a simulation based on the base code I stole," Eli said. He pressed the Enter key on his laptop.The giant screen on the wall went dark for a second. Then, the simulation began.On the screen, Jayden’s golden dot suddenly disappeared. Simulation: Anchor Node Terminated.The results were immediate, and they were absolutely horrific. The thin white lines on the map snapped.First, the blue and green dots belonging to the Halo Loyalists began to flash violently."If Jayden dies," Eli expl

The room in Washington, D.C., was completely silent. It was a deep, hidden bunker under the United States capital. The walls were thick concrete. The table in the center of the room was made of cold steel. Five men sat around the table. They wore expensive dark suits. They were the most powerful leaders of the military and the intelligence agencies in America.General Marcus Hayes stood at the head of the table. He looked at the giant screen on the wall.The screen showed a picture of Jayden.It was not a picture of Jayden fighting with magic. It was a picture of him standing in the snow, looking tired and broken."The Null-Bomb worked," General Hayes said. His voice was hard and flat. "The magic in New York City is gone. The blue shields are dead. The healing lights are dead. The Halo is just a normal man again."One of the men in a dark suit leaned forward. His name was Director Smith. He was the head of a private intelligence network. "If he is just a normal man, why are we here,