2025-10-24 16:31:50Snow powdered the Strattons’ mansion like sugar on marble. Landon stood at the iron gate, clutching the divorce papers Emily had insisted he sign “in person.”
He could have mailed them, but something in him wanted to see their faces, one last time, before he disappeared from their world for good.
The gate buzzed open. He walked up the long drive, boots crunching over frozen gravel. The house glittered with warm light, all glass and stone and quiet arrogance.
Harold Stratton himself opened the door, immaculate as ever in a navy sweater and loafers. “Ah, the prodigal son-in-law,” he said dryly. “Try not to drip on the rug.”
Landon wiped his feet deliberately, meeting the man’s eyes. “Wouldn’t want to stain perfection.”
Harold’s jaw tightened. “Come in.”
Inside, everything gleamed, crystal chandeliers, a fire glowing behind glass, the smell of expensive wine.
Emily sat on the couch, pale blue dress, hands folded like she was attending a funeral. Todd lounged beside her, smug in his designer jacket.
“Let’s make this quick,” Harold said. “We have guests arriving in half an hour.”
Landon dropped the envelope on the coffee table. “All you need to do is sign.”
Harold didn’t move. “Not yet. We have conditions.”
“Conditions?” Landon’s voice was flat.
Emily looked away. “Dad, please, ”
“No, Emily,” Harold snapped. “He deserves to know the price of failure.” He turned back to Landon. “You’ll sign a nondisclosure agreement. You’ll make no claim on family assets, no mention of our name in public, and you’ll vacate the apartment by Friday.”
Todd grinned. “And maybe try getting a job that doesn’t involve begging.”
Landon smiled faintly. “Still jealous of my last one?”
Todd’s smirk faltered. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Landon said quietly. “Funny thing about the world, one day you’re on top, the next you’re asking favors from the guy you mocked.”
Harold laughed, sharp and cold. “Are you threatening us?”
“No,” Landon said. “Just observing.”
Emily stood suddenly. “Stop it! Both of you. Let’s just sign and move on.”
He looked at her then, really looked. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her hands trembling. Maybe she’d loved him once.
Maybe not. Either way, she was part of the old life he was leaving behind. He picked up a pen, flipped the papers open, and froze.
Every word on the page glowed faintly. He blinked. The glow sharpened into whispers, debt clauses, hidden conditions, false signatures.
His mind translated each one instantly, the meanings unfolding in layers. They were trying to trap him legally, claim he’d breached a prenuptial agreement that never existed.
Landon looked up slowly. “You forged this.”
Harold stiffened. “Excuse me?”
“You added two paragraphs at the end,” Landon said. “Clause 14-B, transfer of apartment lease, and 14-C, waiver of legal contestation rights. You tried to bury them in fine print.”
Harold’s face drained of color. “How could you possibly, ”
Todd barked a laugh. “Oh come on, he can barely pay rent, you think he knows legal, ”
Landon cut him off. “I know because I can read faster than you can blink.”
Something flickered behind his eyes, a brief, electric shimmer. The chandelier’s crystals trembled. Emily whispered, “Landon… what’s happening?”
He set the pen down gently. “What’s happening is I’m done being your punching bag.”
Harold recovered enough to sneer. “Or what? You’ll glower at us until we apologize?”
Landon leaned forward, voice low and calm. “Careful, Harold. You wouldn’t want to say something you’ll regret.”
“Get out,” Harold snapped.
But Landon didn’t move. He could feel their thoughts now, buzzing around the room like hornets. “He’s bluffing. If he signs, we’re rid of him for good. Emily looks scared. Good. She should learn.”
He smiled slowly. “You think this is still your house, your rules. But the funny thing about rules, they only matter when people believe in them.”
Todd scoffed. “Oh, you’ve been reading self-help books now?”
“No.” Landon’s gaze pinned him. “I’ve been remembering.”
He reached for the papers again, and with a casual flick of his hand, the ink bled off the page, the text dissolving into blank whiteness. The air smelled faintly of ozone.
Emily gasped. Todd stumbled back, knocking over a glass. “What the, what did you do?”
Landon stood. “I erased your lies. Seems fair, doesn’t it?”
Harold’s face turned red. “You, you vandalized legal documents! I’ll have you arrested!”
Landon chuckled. “You can’t arrest what you can’t explain.”
For a heartbeat, silence filled the room, heavy, electric. Then he turned to Emily. “You wanted me to sign away my dignity. Congratulations. You just freed me instead.”
She looked at him, tears brimming. “Landon, I didn’t know, Dad said.”
“I know what he said,” Landon interrupted softly. “And someday, you’ll wonder why you believed him.”
He walked toward the door, every step echoing like thunder. Todd lunged forward. “You think you can just walk away?”
Landon paused. “Try to stop me.”
Todd’s hand shot out, but before he could touch him, a crack of air burst between them, tossing Todd back against the wall. He hit the floor, gasping, eyes wide with shock.
Emily screamed. Harold stumbled backward, crossing himself. “What are you?”
Landon looked over his shoulder, expression unreadable. “Something you should’ve never underestimated.”
He stepped into the cold night and closed the door behind him. The wind howled across the Stratton lawn, carrying the faint scent of ozone and fear.
The moment he reached the gate, his phone pulsed again. “Integration: 31%. Emotional equilibrium achieved. Next sequence pending.”
He stared at the screen, breathing hard. His hands trembled, not from weakness, but from energy thrumming under his skin.
Behind him, he heard shouting inside the mansion. He didn’t turn back. A taxi slowed on the road. The driver leaned out. “Need a lift, buddy?”
Landon nodded and slid in. “Downtown.”
The driver glanced at him in the mirror. “Rough night?”
Landon exhaled slowly. “Actually… it’s the best I’ve had in years.”
As the city lights streaked past the window, he caught his reflection, eyes faintly glowing, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips.
Whatever the Ascension Protocol was, it had chosen the right man, and for the first time, the son-in-law everyone mocked was no longer a victim. He was the storm coming for them all.
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Chapter 91. Corporate Battlefield
Smoke rolled over the industrial zone like a living thing. It crawled between steel towers and broken loading docks. Sirens cried in the distance and then went silent. The air smelled of oil, hot metal, and fear.The industrial complex once made machine parts for farms and trains.Now it made war.Landon Hale stood on the edge of a rooftop and looked down. Below him, floodlights cut through the dark like sharp knives.Aether Dominion tanks moved in slow lines across cracked concrete. Their engines growled low and steady, like patient beasts. Drones hovered above them in perfect grids, blinking white and blue.Navarro crouched beside Landon and checked his rifle. His jaw was tight. His hands were steady. “This place is a fortress,” Navarro said. “Walls. Towers. Kill lanes everywhere.”Claire’s voice came through the earpiece. She was calm, but it took effort. “Not a fortress,” Claire said. “A machine. And machines have weak parts.”Jin sat three blocks away in a dark van. Screens fill
Chapter 90. Wolfe’s Fatal Secret
Landon Hale stood beside the small metal table in the safehouse basement. The lights were dim, and the air was heavy with the smell of old concrete and damp wiring. Dr. Harin Varos sat across from him, wrapped in a blanket Claire had given him, his hands trembling but his mind sharp. Everyone else stood nearby, watching and listening with tight, anxious faces.Claire leaned against the wall, arms crossed but eyes focused. Marcus paced slowly, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. Jin tapped at his wrist screen but only half-paid attention to the glowing code. He was waiting for something far more important.Priya sat closest to Varos, gently adjusting the small device that checked his vitals. She kept her voice low and calm. “You are safe now. Whatever Dominion did to you is over.”Varos gave a tired smile. “Thank you. But I fear what I must tell you is far worse than what they did to me.”Landon nodded once. “Then start from the beginning.”Varos took a slow breath. His eyes were
Chapter 89. The Dominion’s Hidden Hostage
Rain hammered the windows of the Vanguard safehouse like a thousand small fists. The sky over Milwaukee was dark and heavy, and every rumble of thunder made the walls seem thinner. Priya sat at the long metal table with three screens glowing in front of her. Her hands moved fast, her eyes locked to the scrolling data like she was following the pulse of a living creature.Landon Hale watched her from across the room. His shoulders were tense, and his jaw was set tight, but he kept still. He knew Priya worked best when no one interrupted her. Claire stood near the door with her arms crossed, tapping her fingers against her sleeve in a slow, worried rhythm. Marcus and Jin sat farther back, ready but restless. Suddenly Priya gasped softly. “Found it,” she whispered, but it sounded like a shout in the quiet room.Everyone turned toward her. Landon stepped forward. “Found what?”Priya swallowed. Her voice was low and careful. “Aether Dominion is holding someone. Someone very important. S
Chapter 88. Tangle In The Ruins
The arena had been abandoned for decades. Concrete walls cracked, steel beams twisted, and rust claimed everything that hadn’t already fallen. Once, it had been a place of cheer and sport. Now, it was a graveyard of echoes, shadows moving like ghosts along the debris-strewn floor.Landon Hale crouched behind a fallen metal beam. His chest heaved, sweat running down his forehead despite the chill of the night air that filtered through the collapsed roof. The Vanguard had tracked intelligence that Tangle, one of Wolfe’s Serpent Triumvirate, was hiding here. Now, silence pressed down on them like a physical weight. Even the wind seemed to whisper warnings through the broken rafters.Claire’s voice crackled over the comm. “Landon, stay sharp. We’ve got a live one. Tangle isn’t just strong, he plays with physics itself. His limbs can reach impossible angles. Watch the ceiling, walls, everything.”Navarro muttered under his breath as he checked his rifle. “This place feels like a trap. E
Chapter 87. Corporate Deep Freeze
The night felt wrong from the first minute. Landon Hale stood on a rooftop overlooking the lower east sector. Wind pushed cold air across broken streets. Neon signs flickered like tired eyes. The city was restless, breathing in fast, shallow gasps. It felt like the whole place was waiting for something painful.Jin’s voice trembled through the comm. “Landon, I am seeing strange signals. I have never seen this pattern before. It is moving between networks like ice spreading on water.”Claire’s tone sharpened “What kind of pattern?”“Cold. Slow. Infectious. And it is heading straight for Syndicate-era biotech implants.”Landon stiffened. “You think Dominion is doing this?”Jin answered quietly. “I know they are.”The night suddenly felt colder. Down below, crowds moved through the streets. Workers heading home. Civilians gathering supplies. People trying to pretend their world was not collapsing. None of them knew death was already creeping through the digital veins of the city.Lando
Chapter 86. Scales And Steel
The city screamed long before the people did. Landon Hale heard the first blast from three blocks away. The ground shook beneath his boots, and a deep roar rolled across the plaza like thunder trapped inside a cage. Dust rose between the buildings. Windows rattled. Car alarms burst to life one after another, screaming over each other until the noise became a wall of panic.Marcus looked up from his rifle scope. “That came from the central plaza. Something big.”Claire’s voice cut through their comms, sharp and tense. “I’m picking up emergency reports. People are running. Something’s attacking the square, and it’s not Dominion.”Landon’s stomach tightened. He already knew. Wolfe had made his move.Jin shouted from the safehouse connection. “It’s Scalebreaker! Wolfe just unleashed him in broad daylight!”Marcus whispered a curse. “That monster again.”Landon was already moving, sprinting toward the smoke. “We stop him. Now.”“Wait,” Claire called, but he had cut the line. He knew she
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