The world disappeared in white.
Not light.
Not heat.
Something beyond both.
Jeyson felt every cell inside his body ignite at once as the lightning struck him directly. The street beneath him exploded apart, concrete vaporizing instantly while shockwaves tore through nearby buildings.
People screamed.
Cars flipped.
Windows shattered across the district.
But Jeyson heard none of it.
Because something was speaking inside his head.
"Compatibility confirmed."
His body convulsed violently.
Bones cracking. Organs failing. Nerves burning alive.
He should have died instantly.
Instead—
He remained conscious.
Which somehow made it worse.
The voice returned.
Ancient.
Mechanical.
Godlike.
"Beginning integration."
Jeyson screamed.
Silver veins spread beneath his skin like living wires while memories that weren't his flashed through his mind.
Wars.
Machines larger than cities.
Winged beings made of light.
Entire civilizations erased in moments.
Then—
Darkness.
Far above the city, the Sentinels stared into the smoking crater with horror.
"That energy spike…" one whispered.
"That's impossible."
The female Sentinel from earlier stepped closer to the crater edge.
Inside it—
A human silhouette stood slowly.
Alive.
Steam rose from Jeyson's body.
His burned hoodie hung in pieces.
Silver energy pulsed faintly beneath his skin with every heartbeat.
His eyes opened.
For one second—
They glowed completely white.
Every Sentinel raised their weapons instantly.
Threat assessment alarms screamed through their helmets.
UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED.
PRIORITY RISK: EXTREME.
Jeyson looked around slowly.
The city looked different now.
Sharper.
He could hear electricity inside nearby buildings. Hear heartbeats from streets away. Feel vibrations beneath the ground.
It was overwhelming.
"What…" he whispered.
Then the voice returned.
Clearer now.
[System Initialization Complete]
A translucent interface appeared directly in his vision.
USER: JEYSON KANDHOR
DESIGNATION: ECHO
STATUS: ALIVE
SYNC RATE: 3%
PROTOCOL: GOD-TECH ADAPTATION SYSTEM
WARNING: HUMANITY DEGRADATION POSSIBLE
Jeyson stumbled backward.
"What is this?"
No response.
Then suddenly—
Pain exploded through his chest.
He collapsed to one knee as information flooded his brain violently.
Combat data. Languages. Energy signatures. Unknown technologies.
It felt like his mind was being forcefully expanded.
One Sentinel aimed directly at him.
"Target confirmed hostile."
Jeyson looked up sharply.
"I didn't do anything!"
"Energy levels rising," another warned.
"Kill him before stabilization completes."
Kill him.
Just like that.
Not save. Not help.
Kill.
Something cold awakened inside Jeyson then.
A realization.
The world had already decided what he was becoming.
Monster. Threat. Enemy.
Before he even understood himself.
The female Sentinel hesitated slightly.
Then—
"Fire."
Energy blasts erupted toward him.
And instinct took over.
The System activated automatically.
[Emergency Adaptation Triggered]
Time slowed.
Not literally.
His perception accelerated beyond human limits.
He saw the trajectory of every incoming shot.
Saw openings.
Escape routes.
Probabilities.
His body moved before he consciously understood how.
The explosions missed him by centimeters.
The ground shattered behind him.
Sentinels stared in shock.
"He dodged that?!"
Impossible.
No untrained human could move like that.
Jeyson looked at his trembling hands.
Then the System spoke again.
Adaptation Complete.
Ability Acquired: Echo Step
And for the first time in his life—
Jeyson felt power.
Real power.
The kind the world feared.
The kind that could change everything.
Sirens began screaming across the city.
More Sentinels were coming.
Jeyson looked at the heroes surrounding him.
Then he ran.
Into the darkness.
While above the city—
Something ancient watched him awaken.