THE STRONG AWAKENING
"You don't need to worry about her anymore," Jade Blake said calmly, her voice both apologetic and firm. "I've already dispatched a team to Oakbridge to handle that. And... you should know something, Damien. She's not your biological mother. You don't belong there. You belong here."
The words struck him like a slap.
"What the hell are you saying?" Damien snapped, his eyes narrowing. "Who do you think you are to tell me that?"
Jade didn't flinch. Instead, she turned toward the older man who stood silently behind her. "Doctor Kellan, please."
The man gave a polite nod. "Thank you, Jade."
Damien's eyes flicked back and forth between them, the pulse in his jaw tightening. "Why is there a doctor here?" he asked suspiciously.
Jade stepped forward, her expression unreadable. "Doctor Kellan isn't just any doctor. He's a world-renowned neurologist and cognitive rehabilitation expert. And more importantly—he was once your closest confidant. He trained with you. Taught you. You trusted him."
"That's right," Kellan confirmed, his tone warm. "You may not remember now, but we shared years of duty and loyalty, Sovereign Commander."
Damien's brows furrowed, his voice strained. "I have no memory of you. None of this makes sense."
Kellan moved around him slowly, assessing. "That's because you lost everything three years ago. But the truth hasn't changed. Damien Blackwood, you were the mightiest ally of the Azure Syndicate—the nation's elite forces. The nation's greatest shield."
He paused, his voice deepening. "You weren't just another soldier. You were the soldier. The Sovereign Commander above all four military regions. The nation's pride."
Kellan's words thundered in the sterile room.
"And now," he added solemnly, "your people need you back. The Dread Fangs and Eclipse Sect have unified. They're preparing an assault on our borders. The Azure Syndicate stands at the edge of ruin. You're the last hope."
"You've been fed lies," Kellan said, voice cracking slightly with emotion. "You are not some pathetic, cast-off son-in-law as the Oakbridges painted you. You are a billionaire warrior, feared and revered. A name that strikes dread across continents."
Jade took a slow breath, watching Damien's reaction.
"After the last great war, your chopper was sabotaged. You crash-landed far from our base. By the time we found the wreck, you were gone—missing, unconscious, and lost to the wind. Your amnesia hid you in plain sight. But we never stopped searching."
Damien's chest rose and fell as he shook his head violently. "Enough! I'm not who you think I am. My name is Damien Ashwood, not Blackwood!"
Jade stepped closer, her tone gentle. "Please… Sovereign Commander. Just let us help."
"Help?" he spat, rage rising in his throat. "The only help I need is to get back to my mother!"
Kellan's jaw tightened. He exchanged a look with Jade. She gave a quiet nod.
"I'm sorry, Sovereign Commander," Kellan murmured. "But if words won't bring you back… we'll do it another way."
Before Damien could react, thick restraints latched around his wrists and ankles. He struggled, eyes wild. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"You'll thank us later," Jade said, almost apologetically.
The synthetic bindings immobilized him completely, numbing his arms and legs. Kellan opened a sleek silver case, withdrawing a futuristic headgear—half helmet, half neural interface. With practiced hands, he fitted it tightly over Damien's skull.
"Get it off me!" Damien roared, jerking against the belts. But they didn't budge.
Then, without warning, the lights went out.
Darkness devoured the room.
And then… the walls came alive.
Like a living dream, memories he didn't know he owned danced around him in holographic brilliance. He saw himself charging into warzones, fearless, clad in armor. He heard battle cries, the whistle of bullets, the thunder of his own voice giving orders. He saw smiles—his comrades, his victories, his rise through ranks… all now playing around him like sacred cinema.
Inside the helmet, familiar voices whispered to him—some laughing, some crying, all piercing his soul.
A jolt of electric current surged through his brain.
Damien screamed.
Pain unlike anything he'd ever known ripped through him. His skull felt like it was splitting open. Kellan remained focused on his monitor. The memory boot had begun—15%.
Each percent surged with agony, each spark dragging a lost piece of his identity back into place. Sweat poured from Damien's temples as he screamed louder.
"You're doing well," Jade called above the noise, her voice tight with concern. "Just a little more. Please hold on!"
Most couldn't make it past 40%. At 50%, the human brain began to fracture. But Damien—he reached 60%, still breathing. Still screaming. Still enduring.
His past came flooding in, rapid and sharp—his oath as Sovereign Commander, the battle that earned him his title, the enemies he'd crushed, the people he vowed to protect.
75%…
80%...
Jade bit her lip. She could barely watch.
Damien's entire body convulsed as the machine pushed deeper. Blood trickled from his nose. His hands clenched into fists against the bindings.
By the time the meter reached 95%, Damien let out a sound so feral, so loud, it made Jade's heart stop.
"Turn it off!" she shouted in terror. "Doctor Kellan, shut it down—now!"
"If this continues, he'll die!" she screamed again, running toward the machine.
And yet, even in that chaos… something ancient had awakened. Damien Blackwood was coming back.