Chapter 4: The Apex Response
The airlock hissed shut, separating Kael and Jax from the chaos they had just caused in the GSI vault. The armored submersible tore away from the facility, climbing rapidly through five kilometers of crushing Pacific depth.
"We're clear of the immediate response area," Elara's voice crackled in Kael's earpiece. She was miles away, piloting the submersible remotely, her x12 Digital Multiplier running their evasion program. "But the system is awake now. They know exactly who we are, and where we're going."
"We're not going anywhere, Elara. We're going everywhere," Kael corrected, his gaze fixed on the small, encrypted chip containing the raw GSI data. He had exposed the Global Council. Now the global elite would expose their weapons.
1. The X40 Trap
A klaxon blared through the cabin.
"Kael! Two bogeys, rising fast! Not GSI security—these are optimized for speed and firepower. Multiplier signature... x40 Enforcers," Elara yelled, her composure finally breaking. "They'll intersect our path in ninety seconds!"
Kael moved with practiced ease, his x10 strength letting him check every lock and brace point without looking. "Jax, they're faster than you are. You're our shield, not our speeder. Get to the rear bay. Prepare for impact."
Jax, the x30 Defense, didn't argue. His body was a study in pure kinetic resistance. He shifted his weight, his muscles instantly tightening, achieving maximum density. He knew his limits: he couldn't dodge the x40 agents, but he could survive them.
Eighty seconds later, the sub was rocked by twin impacts. The x40 Enforcers, using specialized high-velocity sub-torpedoes, had found their mark.
The rear bay door buckled inward, but Jax was there, his x30 density absorbing the blow like a heavy steel sponge. He was thrown back, slamming into a bulkhead with a sickening crunch.
"Damage report!" Kael shouted.
"Hull integrity at 70%. Jax is stabilized, but their follow-up attack is designed to crack him," Elara reported, her voice regaining its icy calm. "I can't pilot and run the data encryption simultaneously! They'll have a tracking beacon on us in thirty seconds!"
"Don't worry about the beacon," Kael said, his face hard. He knew the best defense wasn't resilience; it was distraction. He threw a smoke grenade designed to confuse sonar, bought from an old contact specializing in x5 counter-surveillance. "Just process the raw data. Find us a hole in the GSI's lie."
2. The Erased Region
Elara didn't need to be asked twice. She pulled the raw GSI feed onto her primary display, filtering through the noise of the ongoing assault. Her x12 mind skipped past decades of mundane data until she hit the wall Kael saw: the deliberate masking protocols.
"Found it," Elara whispered. "The Council didn't just mask the x130 Titan's name. They deleted the entire region where the Titan was first recorded. It's a physical cover-up, Kael. They erased an area of the map."
The second wave of torpedoes hit. Jax roared in pain, his shield holding, but his defenses straining at the prolonged x40 assault.
"I can't hold them forever, Boss! Get the damn coordinates!"
Elara focused, forcing her consciousness past the pain flickering from Jax's density field. She bypassed the concealment protocol, stripping away the blank digital canvas the Council had created.
The original data snapped into focus: a vast, desolate, and now heavily irradiated area spanning the Siberian Arctic. The hidden files referred to the region as "Site-ZERO."
"Kael," Elara said, her voice shaking with revelation, "The entire Power Level phenomenon, the 100-year lie... it didn't just start there. The first recorded x130 Titan was contained there. And the historical records mark it as the location of 'The Flare'—the event that created all Power Multipliers."
3. The New Target
The submersible was barely holding together. Kael knew the x40 Enforcers would breach Jax's defense on their next strike.
"Coordinates, Elara!" Kael yelled, grabbing the controls.
Elara relayed the remote Arctic coordinates. Kael didn't hesitate. He swung the sub into a suicidal, high-G maneuver, diving toward a deep trench—a reckless move that would throw the x40 Enforcers off their trajectory.
"Jax, report!"
"Shield held. Scrambled their tracking. But my multiplier is cycling recovery, Boss. We need a safe zone, soon," Jax replied, his voice strained.
Kael ignored the damage warnings flooding the console. He looked at the Siberian coordinates. The Mafia Boss, Vittorio, wasn't just investigating a murder; he was looking for the birthplace of all power.
"New course, Elara," Kael ordered, his voice echoing with finality. "Maximum thrust, Arctic destination. The case is closed here. The mission begins now."
He looked at the small chip in his hand. The x125 killer was hunting history. Kael was going to beat them to the source.