The cheering echoed through the city's training arena, reverberating with a mix of disbelief and triumph.
Max stood quietly, his arms crossed as he watched the crowd. Hope was a fragile thing in this world, but right now, it was roaring like wildfire in their hearts.
Sara turned toward him, her face flushed with exhilaration. "I did it," she whispered. "I really did it…"
Max smiled faintly. "You owned it."
He turned, his coat fluttering slightly in the artificial wind the training drones kicked up.
"Alright!" he called out to the gathered survivors, his voice commanding. "You've seen what one spark can do. That same power lies in all of you now. Maybe not lightning, maybe not fire — but something yours. Something real."
He raised a hand, summoning a translucent red apple in the air — glowing faintly with arcane light. Another appeared, then another, until dozens floated above the crowd like glowing stars.
"Each of these will awaken your latent potential. Take one, and know this — power doesn't make you chosen. What you do with it does."
One by one, the survivors stepped forward, each grabbing a Red Apple and taking a bite. A faint pulse echoed through the air with each awakening. Some collapsed as energy coursed through them. Others cried out in awe or fear as strange symbols glowed across their bodies or their eyes lit up in unnatural colors.
Max watched it all, calculating.
He opened his interface silently.
[Mutation Rate: 48%]
[Power Stabilization: 62%]
[Combat Viability: 37%]
[Projected Resistance Capability: Minimal – Requires Further Training]
His eyes narrowed.
"This is a start. But just a start."
Suddenly, a flare shot into the air from one of the city's outer towers.
Sara, still catching her breath, turned. "A signal flare?"
Max's expression darkened. He opened a tactical view from the tower's POV.
A massive figure was striding toward the city gates — half Ultron, half Sentinel. Its eyes glowed bright blue, its mechanical limbs bristling with heavy weapons. It was not a simulation.
[WARNING: Actual Ultron-Warframe approaching.]
[Threat Level: Beta-Prime]
[Engage? Y/N]
Max turned to Sara. "Get everyone back. Lock down the gate."
"But we just started—" she protested.
"I'll handle this one," Max interrupted, stepping forward. The red apple core still hovered beside him, but now it glowed like a miniature sun.
He summoned his full aura — a crimson glow wrapping his entire body, flickering with wisps of otherworldly power. "Time they learn what kind of monster made this world safe for them."
As the warframe drew closer, Max lifted off the ground, hovering toward it.
Behind him, the city's shield pulsed and shimmered, red lightning dancing over its surface.
In the heart of the city, Sara watched, clenching her fists. She wasn't afraid anymore — only ready.
This was no longer just a shelter.
It was the birth of something greater.
The ground trembled beneath the mechanical titan's feet.
The Ultron-Warframe, a monstrosity of sleek adamantium and pulsating blue energy, towered above the ruined outskirts. Its face bore no emotion — just a polished, deathless mask with a singular glowing eye. From its back, six cannon-like appendages unfolded, each crackling with unstable plasma.
Inside the city walls, survivors watched in silent horror.
Sara stood with clenched fists, red lightning twitching along her arms. "He said to stay back... but we can't just watch."
"Max said he'd handle it," someone whispered.
She stared beyond the dome, then slowly shook her head. "Even he isn't invincible."
Max hovered a few feet off the cracked highway that led into the city. His body glowed with a subdued, but focused red aura. The wind picked up as the warframe closed the distance, its mechanical voice hissing through the static:
"Unregistered anomaly detected. Power signature inconsistent with local models. Directive: annihilate."
Max smirked. "Directive: shut the hell up."
He raised his hand.
A massive sigil of dark red light formed behind him — ancient, glowing like a black sun on the horizon. Dozens of tendrils of energy erupted from it and shot forward, slamming into the warframe.
The ground cracked under the force.
But when the smoke cleared… the warframe still stood. Scorched, but unfazed.
Then it moved.
Fast.
A cannon arm morphed into a blade and slashed toward Max. He parried with a conjured shield, but the impact blasted him back a hundred meters. His boots scraped along the ground, smoke trailing behind him.
"Alright," Max muttered, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. "No more playing."
He reached into his inventory.
[Item Used: Core Overclock Amplifier – Tier A]
A red pulse shot through his veins, and his aura exploded. The air vibrated as gravity bent slightly around him.
He shot forward, leaving a thunderclap behind him, and slammed into the warframe's chest — sending it crashing into a collapsed skyscraper.
The impact shook the horizon.
From the city, Sara watched the dust cloud with wide eyes.
"I'm going," she said suddenly.
"What? He told us to stay here!" another survivor shouted.
"I know," she snapped. "But I have this power for a reason. And if he falls — we all fall."
Without waiting, she darted toward the shield's edge. Max's mark still glowed faintly on her hand. She held it forward.
The dome parted, just for her.
And she ran.
But as she reached near him, she saw Max had already defeated the metal monstrosity.
"Hm, what are you doing here?" Max turned toward her and asked.
"Um, nothing… I saw you had defeated it and… well, since you're still here, I wondered what you were doing," she said quickly, trying to cover up her mistake.
Max let out a small chuckle. "I was checking if there's any useful part left on this one."
She stepped forward. "Then let me help."
Max glanced at her for a moment, then gave a nod. "Alright. Let's see what we can find."
They both knelt beside the wrecked Ultron-unit — its chest still smoldering from the lightning blast Max had landed moments earlier. The plating was heavy, blackened, and fractured, but inside, faint flickers of blue light still pulsed from its core components.
Sara carefully pried open the side panel while Max used a flick of his finger to magnetically rip out a power node.
***
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