Chapter 176: World Tempering!
The cataclysmic roar of thunder peeled through the skies, as a blinding pulse of highly compressed plasma currents tore down from the tumultuous clouds.
The beam tore straight through the research facility with lethal, concentrated purpose — tearing, melting, and carbonizing everything in its path.
Until it reached its target... the genetic battle suit.
A resounding quake shook as a wave of compressed air carrying deadly stray currents rippled through the entire workshop.
Seth shielded Kylie’s frail frame with his back as the cackling bolts bounced against his bronze-tanned skin.
Brandon hissed from pain, his clothes burnt to a crisp as the cackling current licked against his skin.
The current poured like a stream of unending waterfall from the skies, pelting relentlessly against the battle suit.
All around the Aegis SafeZone, power began to shut down due to the intense electromagnetic interference generated by the phenomenon.
And in a matter of seconds, the entire SafeZone turned pitch black, mired in a blackout. The government was alarmed, Seth’s teammates were alarmed.
All while the blinding currents beat against the battle suit.
One after the other, the dimmed runes etched on the metallic plates of the battle suit began to ignite.
This time the hue of gold was absent, as it bloomed with a simmering, beautiful, entrancing cadence of purple.
Beat by breath, the rune flares ignited with the same dreamy shade as the armor slowly began to rise into the air.
The blinding streams of current intensified as though the earth itself was giving life to the armor.
The runes flared brightly along with intricate overlapping energy transmission veins.
The genetic armament, cast from pure metal, glowed so brilliantly at this moment it almost turned translucent.
But the foggy orb in the chest remained dim.
The sky wasn’t having it — a shockwave of deafening thunder clapped!
BOOM!
The current was bolstered as the intensity widened.
"What the fuck is happening?!" Brandon hissed through gritted teeth, struggling to keep his footing as another overwhelming wave of air swept past.
On Seth’s end, he remained unmoved, his back already turning a ruddy shade from the relentless bolts of stray current.
Kylie’s eyes closed tight, her ears bleeding, her teeth clenched but remaining relatively unharmed as Seth’s silhouette weathered the rest.
And finally, as the runes flared brighter, the brilliant halo around the armament thickened. The orb flickered weakly, showing progress.
The current crackled around the gene battle armor, as though another round of tempering was in due process. Flakes of ash peeled from the surface of the armor.
The veins etched across simmered brightly, and that was all it took for the orb to be illuminated.
The brilliant flash of light burned through the air as the orb began to relentlessly suck in the current.
The clouds above shrank rapidly in real time.
The lightning cackled, struggling to meet the absorption rate as its source dwindled.
Until the last current sparked, swallowed whole by the pulsing orb...
The world went still, as the last thin path of clouds dissolved, soothing warm rays of sun breaking through its dwindling mass to illuminate the SafeZone.
The activity of electrons in the air calmed as power was slowly returned district by district.
The howling, raging gales slowly calmed into a weak bristling wave, as the earth finally stilled.
No more tremors, no more quakes. The skies calmed as the thunderous claps dissolved into whispering echoes.
Cheers broke out across cities — not stemming from victory, not stemming from understanding.
But from the raw exhilaration that they were alive. Just now, they thought the world was ending.
Surprisingly, despite how disastrous and cataclysmic the phenomenon behaved, there was barely any damage.
No single life was lost, no properties had been damaged — well, the steaming red gaping hole running through the research facility would beg to differ.
But aside from that, everything remained pristine and unharmed.
But this didn’t cause the government to relent in their response. Damage or no damage, whether the phenomenon had gone or not, they still had the responsibility to investigate the cause.
Orders were given, as convoys of military rovers and jeeps streamed through the streets from various locations, all having the same destination.
The heart of this disaster — the Dome of Research and Inventions.
In the sky, three figures could be seen zipping through the clouds, carrying distinct auras.
Elaine, Jack, and Uriel — even these three couldn’t sit still after this commotion.
They feared the worst. Could it be the other races had commenced an attack?
Or was it another form of threat they had never encountered before?
Their hearts palpitated as their figures blurred, riding the wind, streaks of light spilling from their wills in their wake.
Back in the research facility, Kylie’s workshop — or at least what was left of it...
The entire room had been charred black, smoke filling the air, slowly drifting out of every opening available.
Brandon’s haggard silhouette could be seen near the exit, his clothes reduced to burnt rags.
His chest rose and fell in a heavy rhythm, misty breaths exhaling from his nostrils and mouth.
His face was blackened as his sapphire pupils still flickered with apprehension.
His hair stood in a smoking mess. He collapsed, his bum falling onto the charred metal-plated ground.
"T-that was close..." his exhausted voice rang. He craned his neck towards Seth’s direction with minimal worry in his heart.
Well, if he could survive this, Seth definitely did. The question was how well did he protect that beautiful technician of his?
Kylie’s eyelids slowly parted, her vision blurry as white noise rang in her ears.
But it gradually cleared out. She finally gained back full reign of her senses.
Her eyes flickered, focusing on a pair of eyes staring back at her.
Her breath caught for a moment, trying to process the circumstances. Somewhere along the explosion she had been knocked out.
The foggy mist of confusion slowly cleared in her mind as she finally comprehended the situation.
Her eyes flashed as she stared into Seth’s eyes. "Are you hurt?" she whispered, her voice tinged with genuine worry.
Seth stared at her, remaining silent for a few seconds before nodding. He slowly rose, the crusted char of skin on his back cracking and breaking, blood seeping as his back straightened.
A trail of blood trickled down from the sides of his lips, his blood in turmoil due to the relentless bombardment of unhealthy amounts of deadly currents.
He wiped the trail of blood as Kylie also rose.
Seth’s ear twitched as he caught noise of movement, his head turning towards the exit.
A frail elderly figure rushed in. "Little monster, are you okay? Are you alive?!"
Elder Ron yelled worriedly, his head swerving from left to right, his heart pounding with worry.
By some miracle, the damage of stray currents never went past the walls of the workshop. And due to the wave of blistering heat serving as a deterrent, he and the other scientists were far from real harm’s way. Thus, he was uninjured, just slightly shaken with a few aching bones.
Suddenly he froze, his eyes widening as he stared beyond Seth and Kylie, almost forgetting what he was here for. His jaw slacked as he pointed.
"What is that?"
