"Look down, Demon. Look at where you come from."The High Priest stood tall, his staff pointing to the floor of the room, which had transformed into transparent liquid glass.Desmond looked down. Beneath his feet, in immeasurable depths, thousands of pale hands grasped futilely in the darkness. Faceless heads screamed without sound. It wasn't Hell... it was Sheol—the empty waiting place."They are all like you," Caiaphas continued, his eyes glowing pure white. "Souls who felt important. Kings, conquerors, tyrants. They thought they changed the world. But in the face of God's Time... they are merely dust blown by the wind.""And you think you're different?" Desmond looked up, trying to balance himself on the floor that felt like water. "You're just dust too, Old Man. The only difference is, you're dust in expensive clothes.""I am the Gatekeeper," Caiaphas raised his left hand. The Seal of Solomon ring on his finger glowed. "And I declare.

"He stole the core... He actually stole it!"Desmond punched the golden rim of the Ark of the Covenant again. CLANG! The holy metal dented. Desmond's breathing was ragged, his eyes flashing wildly between Demonic red and Void purple."He was here?! He looted this place?!" Desmond laughed bitterly, his voice bouncing off the cracking walls. "And he left me a note like I'm a kindergartner waiting to be picked up!""Relax, Boss! Your heart rate is in overdrive! If you explode from emotion, we won't be able to get out of here!""Shut up, Sabrun! Do you see that empty slot?!" Desmond pointed at the hollow energy vortex inside the chest. "Without that battery, this Nexus is just an empty shell! We're stuck in 1 BC forever!""Wrong, Boss. Check your own data."Desmond paused. He looked at his right hand."You swallowed Primal Energy from Egypt. You swallowed the Holy Grail from Europe. And you just swallowed a Seraphim-level Guardian Angel. Boss... you don't need a battery. YOU ARE THE BATTE

"Hold him! Don't bruise the kidneys!"The leader of the Rust Jackals swung his gear chain. The end of the chain wrapped around Desmond's right arm, yanking him violently toward the wet concrete wall."Let go!" Desmond jerked his hand. He used Physical Mastery to rotate his wrist, trying to slip out of the bind. But the chain was controlled by a hydraulic arm with five times the strength of a normal human.CRACK!"Argh!" Desmond winced. His arm bone creaked. Without magical reinforcement, a contest of strength against machines was a bad idea."You're tough meat, Tourist," the Leader grinned, his iron jaw clanking clank-clank. "But my laser knife cuts through steel. Let's see what you're made of."His two other subordinates charged. One with hoe-like claws, the other with a pneumatic hammer.Desmond was cornered. He kicked the knee of the hammer wielder. THUD! The guy's leg was made of spring steel. Desmond ended up hurtin

"Sit in that chair. And bite down on this."Nova tossed a thick piece of rubber into Desmond's lap. The underground laboratory reeked of ozone and antiseptic. In the center of the room stood an operating chair that looked more like a medieval torture device, surrounded by robotic arms holding needles and laser drills."What's this for? A dog's chew toy?" Desmond picked up the rubber, eyeing it with disgust. He sat in the metal chair, shirtless. His skin, covered in glowing purple light tattoos, contrasted sharply with the dirty cables around him."That’s so you don't bite your tongue off," Nova was busy typing on a floating holographic console. Her mechanical fingers moved so fast they blurred. "You said you wanted an upgrade? You want to fight Helix? Your organic body won't last five seconds against Valerius's Security Protocols.""So you want to turn me into a walking toaster?""I want to install a Neural Link," Nova turned, holding a small black chip shaped like a centipede with fi

Desmond struck down the last Enforcer, the Commander, slicing through his shield and arm in one go."Send my regards to Valerius," Desmond said to the Commander writhing in pain on the floor.Desmond tossed aside the drained plasma sword, then walked casually toward the elevators. Behind him, the luxurious lobby was now littered with white-armored bodies groaning and smoking."Which floor?" asked Desmond as the elevator doors closed."Floor 150. Executive Prison Block," Nova answered, pressing the button. "My friends' signals are coming from there."The elevator shot up at high speed. Their ears popped."Did you kill them?" asked Nova quietly, looking at Desmond."Not all of them," Desmond wiped oil and blood stains from his cheek. "Most are just permanently crippled. I'm in a good mood."DING.The elevator doors opened on the 150th floor.The prison corridor was silent. Too silent. Emergency l