Silas Vancroft retreated in a frantic rush, the soles of his expensive leather shoes crunching loudly against the glass shards scattered across the ballroom floor. The brittle snap of shattering glass grated against the suffocating silence of the massive room.The Patriarch stared straight ahead, watching the two Praetorian corpses that now towered directly before him. The blank, pupil-less white eyes of the dead did not blink, radiating a dense aura of pure vengeance. This was the manifestation of a death energy that could never be halted by mountains of cash, political negotiations, or even the highest doses of military stimulants. In this exact second, Silas finally realized a bitter truth: inside this freezing room, he was no omnipotent god. He was merely a mortal old man being judged by a demon he had created through his own past ambitions.A gripping, primitive terror instantly seized the underworld emperor's mind. The arrogance he had nurtured and worshiped for fifty years crum

Outside the Vancroft Fortress, along the ice ledge.The blizzard howled savagely outside the facility, whipping thousands of needle-sharp ice crystals across exposed skin like razor blades. The ambient temperature out on the open cliff was far more brutal and lethal than the freezing cold inside the throne room.An exhaust vent, barred with heavy steel grates that overlooked the precipice, was kicked violently open from the inside.Klang!Kael Thorne crawled out of the narrow, pitch-black hole, his body tumbling onto the deep snowbank. The waiter’s jacket he wore was tattered beyond recognition, while the white shirt underneath was soaked through with fresh blood oozing from wounds across his abdomen, thigh, and shoulder. Every inch of Kael’s muscles and joints screamed in agonizing pain, but the burning resolve in his eyes remained bright, colder even than the Arctic storm raging around him.The former detective forced himself to his feet with immense effort. He squinted, cutting thr

KRAAAK!The frozen corpse of the guard jerked its hand back with terrifying force. The hydraulic strength of its frozen, dead muscles ripped the handle of the ice axe cleanly out of Silas Vancroft’s grip with violent ease. Yet Elias had no intention of using the sharp edge to exact his revenge. He immediately hurled the ice axe far into the distance, letting it sink deep into the thick snowbank beside the fortress.Silas stumbled backward in a hurry, the slick soles of his expensive boots slipping across the thin layer of ice. The old man landed hard in the snow. His breath came in ragged gasps in the freezing air, his aging eyes wide with absolute horror. The underworld emperor who had once been so arrogant and proud was now nothing more than a frail old man, trembling violently in sheer terror.Kael Thorne, his chest narrowly spared from being split open by the arc of the axe, dragged himself backward with the last remaining slivers of his strength. The former detective leaned his w

"...NINE MINUTES, FIFTY SECONDS."The automated countdown broadcast over the Tartarus facility's speakers severed the blizzard's silence with haunting clarity. Emergency red strobes spun wildly against the walls, transforming the glacial landscape into a hellscape drenched in blood-red light.Outside the fortress, Kael Thorne forced his broken body back to his feet. The ribs in his chest screamed in agony, while fresh blood oozing from his abdominal wound soaked the snow beneath his feet. Yet the rush of adrenaline fueled by the terror of death granted him a surge of artificial strength. He had to move fast to save the remaining members of his chosen family."Damn you, Silas!" Kael spat raspy through the pain. He hobbled toward the Snowcat, whose mechanical diesel engine was still idling nearby.Kael climbed into the driver's seat, slammed the gear shift with his functioning left hand, and floored the accelerator. The armored caterpillar vehicle roared, plowing through the deep snow a

ZRRRNGGGG!The high-speed medical drill whined and shrieked piercingly, grinding directly against the hard surface of Elias's skull. Fine bone dust and a spray of fresh blood instantly burst into the air, staining the transparent protective goggles Sloane wore.Aloft the cold stainless steel operating table, Elias's body suddenly spasmed violently from the reflex shock of his central nervous system. Because this extreme procedure was performed without general anesthesia, the excruciating pain of his drilled skull pierced straight into his sensory cortex without mercy. Elias's brain screamed hysterically within the muteness of his body. The gray Ghost Rot veins across the left side of his face suddenly throbbing wildly, fighting desperately against the searing agony."Kael! Hold his head down hard! If this man's head shifts even a millimeter, the drill bit will tear right through his brainstem!" Sloane shouted aloud, cutting through the blaring whine of the drill.Kael Thorne, whose sh