2025-06-05 01:39:41Jace Caldwell’s vision swam as the temple collapsed, stone and dust choking the air. The fifth Obsidian Heart pulsed beneath the altar, its void-black light feeding The Shroud’s freed form—shadowy, massive, red eyes blazing.
The new man, scarred like Jace, stood in the chamber’s glow, his white eyes searing, the sixth Heart in his hand throbbing with unnatural power. “You broke the wrong circuit,” he said, voice like thunder.
Ethan’s final whisper echoed in Jace’s skull: I’m sorry, brother. Lena Voss lay half-conscious, blood pooling from her shoulder, while Aria, the young Marked girl, clutched the fourth Heart, her red eyes wide with fear.
Victor Kane, NexTech’s CEO, was gone, the first Heart with him, and Mara, the first Marked, vanished in the chaos. Jace’s scar burned, his senses razor-sharp, but his heart was a wound—Ethan’s ash, his voice, his impossible return.
The man stepped forward, his scar pulsing on his chest, mirroring Jace’s. “I’m Gideon,” he said, the sixth Heart flaring. “The Shroud’s herald.
You’ve unleashed it.”
The temple shook, red tendrils lashing from the fifth Heart, wrapping the walls, The Shroud’s form solidifying—arms, claws, a face of endless dark.Jace’s Glock snapped up, his scar guiding his aim. “Undo it,” he growled, firing.
The bullets sparked off Gideon’s exosuit, useless. His scar screamed, and The Shroud’s voice roared: He’s mine, Iron. Jace’s vision split—half temple, half void, Ethan’s face in the sixth Heart, screaming: You can’t save me.
He shook it off, lunging for Gideon, the second Heart in his hand burning.Gideon moved faster, his fist cracking Jace’s jaw, sending him crashing into a pillar. Pain flared, but his scar healed it, heat swallowing the sting.
Lena staggered up, firing her gun, but Gideon dodged, tendrils from the fifth Heart lashing at her. Jace dove, shielding her, the tendrils grazing his back, blood spraying.
His scar sealed the wound, but the second Heart pulsed, images flooding in: Ethan in a lab, Gideon watching, the sixth Heart burning into Ethan’s chest, his screams eternal.
“Jace!” Lena rasped, grabbing the fourth Heart from Aria. “Destroy them!” Aria screamed, lunging for the Heart, but Gideon grabbed her, his white eyes flaring. “You’re part of this, girl,” he said, tossing her into the altar.
The fifth Heart flared, and The Shroud’s form roared, shaking the temple to its core.Jace’s scar burned, his body moving on instinct—faster than human. He tackled Gideon, the second Heart’s glow syncing with his scar.
Their fists collided, each blow cracking stone, Jace’s scar healing every hit. “What are you?” Jace snarled, pinning Gideon. The sixth Heart pulsed, and Gideon’s scar glowed, his strength surging.
He threw Jace off, the second Heart skidding across the floor.“You’re the third,” Gideon said, his voice calm, deadly. “Mara, Ethan, you, Aria, me. The Hearts need five Marked to free The Shroud. But there’s a sixth.”
He raised the sixth Heart, its light blinding. “And it’s mine.”The temple’s ceiling cracked, drones breaching, their cannons glowing. NexTech assassins stormed in, rifles blazing.
Jace’s scar guided him, dodging bullets, his Glock finding visor cracks. Blood sprayed as two fell, but more came. Lena fired, her shots wild, her wound slowing her. Aria crawled toward the fourth Heart, tears streaming.
“I didn’t want this,” she whispered, her scar glowing.Jace grabbed the second Heart, its heat searing. The Shroud’s voice roared: Break it, or bow.
He saw Ethan in the void, half-shadow, pleading: End it, Jace. The fifth Heart’s tendrils lashed, wrapping Gideon, but he laughed, his suit sparking, the sixth Heart shielding him.
Jace hurled the second Heart at the fifth, the collision sparking, tendrils retreating. The Shroud’s form flickered, its roar deafening.Gideon charged, his blade slashing Jace’s arm.
The scar healed, but the sixth Heart pulsed, and Jace’s vision blacked out. In the void, Ethan stood, his body dissolving. “The sixth Heart’s different,” he said. “It controls the others.
Don’t let him keep it.” Jace snapped back, gasping, as Lena grabbed the fourth Heart, smashing it against the altar. It cracked, its glow fading, and Aria screamed, her scar dimming.
The Shroud’s form collapsed, tendrils lashing wildly. Gideon roared, raising the sixth Heart. “You’re too late,” he said, his white eyes blazing.
The temple’s floor split, revealing a hidden chamber, a seventh Heart—smaller, pulsing red, alive. Jace’s scar burned, and Ethan’s voice screamed: It’s not over.A drone’s blast tore through the wall, and Mara reappeared, her scarred face twisted, her blade aimed at Jace.
“You ruined everything,” she snarled, lunging. Jace dodged, his scar guiding him, but the seventh Heart pulsed, and The Shroud’s form surged back, its claws reaching for him.
Lena fired, clipping Mara’s shoulder, but Gideon grabbed the seventh Heart, its light syncing with his scar.Jace’s phone buzzed—a video, unknown number. Ethan’s face, in a lab, his voice desperate: “Jace, the seventh Heart’s the anchor.
Destroy it, or The Shroud owns us all.” The screen cut to black, and Gideon laughed, his white eyes glowing. “You’re not the balance, Caldwell. You’re the sacrifice.”
The seventh Heart flared, and Jace’s scar exploded with pain, his body freezing.
The Shroud’s claws wrapped him, pulling him toward the void. Ethan’s voice whispered: I’m still here. Then a new figure burst through the rubble—Ethan, flesh and blood, red eyes blazing, holding a dagger etched with runes.
“Not yet,” he said, stabbing the seventh Heart. It shattered, and The Shroud’s form screamed, collapsing, but Ethan’s body flickered, dissolving into ash again, leaving only the dagger.
Jace fell, gasping, the sixth Heart in Gideon’s hand pulsing wildly. “You can’t stop it,” Gideon said, raising the Heart. But Lena lunged, stabbing Gideon’s scar with a shard of the fourth Heart.
He screamed, white eyes dimming, and the sixth Heart fell, rolling toward Jace.The temple shook, and a new voice—female, ancient—echoed from the sixth Heart: “The circuit’s broken.
Now the real war begins.” The ground split, swallowing Gideon, and a portal opened, red light spilling out, revealing a city of shadows and eyes.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
The Sacrifice's Edge
Jace Caldwell’s scar burned, a jagged pulse ripping through his chest as NexTech’s neon-lit city trembled, the void-core—a massive machine, its surface etched with the company’s logo—pulsing like a diseased heart. Ethan lay wired to it, alive, his black eyes flickering, a silver Obsidian Heart embedded in his chest, its pulse a low thrum, like a storm trapped in iron. The white-eyed woman stood before the core, her scar blazing, holding a blacker-than-night Heart, her voice like a storm breaking: “You’re the sacrifice, Caldwell.” Lena Voss gripped Jace’s arm, her eyes human, tears cutting through blood-streaked grime, her betrayal still raw despite her whispered apologies. Aria, the young Marked girl, cowered behind a shattered spire, her red eyes streaming, clutching the fourth Heart’s shards. The air stung with the reek of molten steel and something acrid, like hope charred to ash. Jace’s Glock trembled, his heart a tangle of grief, rage, and doubt—Ethan’s wired form, Lena’s shak
The Mirror Of The Void
Jace Caldwell’s scar burned, a jagged pulse searing his chest as NexTech’s neon-lit city trembled, the void-core—a massive, pulsing machine etched with the company’s logo—roaring at its heart. His mirror-self stood before it, eyes black, scar blazing, voice a twisted echo of his own: “You’re not the heart. I am.” Ethan’s ash lingered under Jace’s nails, his brother’s final scream—The Void’s in you—clawing at his mind. Aria, the young Marked girl, screamed, a gold Obsidian Heart forming in her trembling hands, its pulse wild, like a star fracturing. Lena Voss gripped Jace’s arm, her eyes human again, tears cutting through blood-streaked grime, her rune-etched dagger discarded but her betrayal still raw. Selene lay slumped, her final Heart dim, blood pooling from her scar. Victor Kane’s void-black form—face splitting, eyes multiplying—loomed, his laughter a chorus of shadows. The air stung with the reek of molten steel and something sour, like betrayal baked into bone. Jace’s Glock
The Heart Of Void
Jace Caldwell’s scar burned, a jagged pulse tearing through his chest as the shadow city’s plaza vanished, the portal’s red light spitting him into a real city—NexTech’s gleaming metropolis, all steel spires and neon veins, pulsing like the Obsidian Hearts. Ethan stood before him, unchained, his black eyes glinting, clutching a new Heart blacker than night, its pulse a low thrum, like a storm trapped in stone. Victor Kane loomed, his face splitting, void-black eyes multiplying, his voice a chorus of shadows: “The Void’s awake, and you’re its heart.” Lena Voss staggered beside Jace, her eyes human again, tears cutting through blood, her rune-etched dagger trembling in her hand, the new Heart’s glow dim. Aria, the young Marked girl, clung to a shattered pillar, her red eyes streaming, the fourth Heart’s shards scattered at her feet. Selene lay slumped, her final Heart pulsing weakly, blood pooling from her scar. The air reeked of ozone and something rancid, like dreams burned to ash
The White Heart
Jace Caldwell’s scar burned, a jagged pulse in his chest as the shadow city’s plaza dissolved into chaos, the spire’s veined face shattered, its red glow fading. The void surged, a black tide swallowing the ground, and the gold-eyed child stood at its heart, a white Obsidian Heart pulsing in their small hands, voice like a bell in a storm: “You broke the wrong key.” Ethan’s scream—Jace, I’m not here!—clawed at his mind, his brother’s black-eyed form gone, maybe never real. Lena Voss, possessed, white eyes blazing, gripped her rune-etched dagger, the new Heart dim in her hand. Aria, the young Marked girl, cowered, her red eyes streaming, clutching the fourth Heart’s shards. Selene, keeper of the final Heart, lay slumped, her black eyes dim, blood pooling from her scar. The air reeked of charred bone and something sharp, like trust snapped in two. Jace’s Glock trembled, his heart a tangle of grief and rage—Ethan’s absence, Lena’s betrayal, the child’s cryptic power.His scar flared,
Void's Face
Jace Caldwell’s scar screamed, a jagged pulse in his chest as the shadow city’s plaza trembled, the spire’s veined face crumbling into dust. Victor Kane stood before the roaring portal, his face shifting—skin rippling like oil, eyes void-black, no longer human, his voice ancient: “The Shroud was just the beginning.” Ethan—Jace’s brother, alive again, black eyes glinting—stood beside him, a new red Obsidian Heart pulsing in his hand, his expression blank, not the kid from Brooklyn. Lena Voss, possessed, white eyes glowing, gripped a rune-etched dagger, the new Heart’s void-black pulse dim in her other hand. Aria, the young Marked girl, cowered behind a spire, her red eyes streaming, clutching the fourth Heart’s shards. The final Heart, held by Selene, pulsed like a dying star somewhere in the chaos. Jace’s Glock trembled, his heart a snarl of grief and betrayal—Ethan’s sacrifice, Lena’s cold eyes, Kane’s transformation. The air stung with the reek of molten iron and something sickl
The Final Heart
Jace Caldwell’s scar throbbed as the NexTech lab dissolved into the portal’s red maw, spitting him back into the shadow city’s plaza, the spire’s veined face crumbling. Ethan—his brother, alive moments ago—had plunged a red Obsidian Heart into his own chest, his sacrifice collapsing the lab, his scream echoing: Jace! Lena Voss, possessed, her white eyes glowing with The Shroud’s power, gripped a new rune-etched dagger, the new Heart’s void-black pulse dim in her hand. Aria, the young Marked girl, clung to a spire, her red eyes wet, the fourth Heart’s shards scattered at her feet. The new woman—tall, black eyes glinting, holding a final Heart pulsing like a dying star—stood before the portal, her voice chilling: “The Shroud’s not the enemy.” The air reeked of ozone and something sour, like grief burned into ash. Jace’s Glock trembled, his heart a snarl of loss and rage—Ethan’s sacrifice, Lena’s betrayal, this woman’s cryptic claim.His scar flared, senses too sharp—catching the spire
You may also like
Rags To Riches: The Riveting Tale Of Jason Smith
Chukwuemeka_101121.1K viewsThe Charismatic Charlie Wade
Lord Leaf61.6M viewsDrakon of the Seven Armies
Maddy Taurus461.1K viewsYou Do Not Deserve Me
Keep It Flowing93.1K viewsThe Strong-Willed Sean O'Connor
R. AUSTINNITE378 viewsBillionaire With A Mysterious Past
John Parrish 1.2K viewsTHE VENGEFUL BILLIONAIRE
Zhen Zhen104 viewsNolan Lancaster: Rejected, Revenged, And Richer Than Ever
Icy popsicles183 views