Chapter 15: Oblivion

Every human alive in the new world knew, to an extent, just how catastrophic an advanced system was. The unknown origin of these systems had birthed a mystery surrounding their entire existence, but that didn’t stop humans from harnessing them and using their power for their own selfish reasons.

Rayleigh knew this. As a matter of fact, he just so happened to be a human using a system for his own selfish reasons; in this case, a means to carry out a jailbreak.

The only difference was that Rayleigh had earned the system and its advanced capabilities by defeating its former guardian.

But looking at the turn of events from a different perspective, it could potentially boil down to the notion that Rayleigh had, in fact, stolen it from its guardian.

That begs a question... Did the world leaders of the twenty-first century steal these systems? Perhaps they never crash-landed on Earth by accident, and that story was merely a cover-up to sway people from knowing the actual truth.

History, however, is such a fragile tool – one that could be mended or twisted in order to support a certain narrative, whether true or not.

Elias’s reasons for trying to gain information on the whereabouts of an ancient yet advanced system were a mystery to Rayleigh.

Whatever the reason, it wasn’t a good one.

"Why do you want access to one of the weapons that was once used to destroy the world centuries ago?" Rayleigh questioned. "As far as I’m concerned, if whatever intel I’m about to bring you pans out, and one of those systems ends up in the hands of humans or Runers, we could have another apocalypse on our hands the moment someone decides to start a war."

"That’s not my problem," Elias said calmly, unbothered by the weight of the question. "Do you want your spaceship or not?"

"I do need my spaceship," Rayleigh answered. "But I sure as hell want to make sure the Earth is still intact by the time I get back from my... travelling."

Elias stepped closer, studying him. "From what I’ve noticed, you’re very desperate for a ship. Desperate enough that whatever’s waiting for you out there outweighs any concern you have for this planet." He let that sit for a moment. "So do us both a favor, and stop asking questions."

Tension grew thick in the room, almost suffocating Nou and Ron.

Rayleigh didn’t back down, particularly because he believed Elias to be utterly harmless against him.

’Maybe I should just summon a meteor to wipe that smug look off his face.’

As much as Rayleigh would’ve liked to set Elias straight, the man was right about one thing. His need to leave Earth outweighed any other concern, by a long shot.

"Fine." Rayleigh took a step back. "I’ll get you your information. But when I get back, I expect a ship waiting for me, fueled and ready for deep-space travel."

"Before you go, take this."

Elias brought out a small device, shaped like a pen, and handed it over to Rayleigh.

"This device here should be able to hack into anything that requires an access code, as long as the encryption isn’t too deep."

Rayleigh exited the room, and the underground bunker altogether. Stepping out of the pod, he emerged onto the surface of Skylark City.

Rayleigh exhaled, feeling the treacherous weight of the city settle over him.

The night was young, exactly 10 p.m., and there was still enough time for Rayleigh to complete one last mission.

’When I complete this last mission, I’ll be off this godforsaken planet by dawn,’ Rayleigh thought. His eyes searched the night sky, as if the moon held the solution to his problems.

’I’m coming, Tris. Just hold on a bit longer.’

Something caught Rayleigh’s eye, a small flicker of fire cutting across the darkness, hurtling past the moon for a few seconds. A meteor, probably the size of a pumpkin.

Watching it sail past the moon reminded Rayleigh of what he could now control, and just how devastating that control could be against anyone who saw him as weak.

The Silvered agent who had led his interrogation back at The Vortex had witnessed firsthand the extent of Rayleigh’s capabilities.

"Run," Rayleigh said again, a dark smile settling on his lips. A radar wasn’t needed to tell him something had entered the atmosphere.

"You did this? How?" The agent’s voice shook with horror.

A whooshing sound tore through the sky as a meteorite as large as an armored truck burned through the atmosphere, heading straight for The Vortex.

A few Silvered agents who had witnessed the first impact scattered across the building, scrambling for the nearest exit.

A handful of high-ranking agents, likely Ascendant-ranked, stood their ground, abilities activated, ready to shield themselves.

"Activate the dome!" an agent screamed at the top of his voice.

Back inside the interrogation room, Rayleigh still wore that dark, sinister smile. His mouth moved. "My face will be the last thing you see right before you get blown to bits."

The agent ignored Rayleigh’s threat, jabbing at his communication device instead. "Someone get the dome active, now!"

A voice answered almost immediately. "The dome is offline. Its integrity was compromised during the first strike."

The agent’s face was drained of color. He turned back to Rayleigh, desperation cracking through his composure. "Stop it. Call it off, now!"

Rayleigh’s smile didn’t waver. "I can’t stop it," he said, his voice cold and flat. "Just like I couldn’t stop you from ruining my life. Or my sister’s."

"If I go, you’ll go with me as well, you fool!" the agent yelled, his fear of imminent death incomprehensible.

Rayleigh simply shook his head, completely unbothered. "I’m not dying today. You are."

The agent took a step back, fire igniting once more across his palm, but it was too late for threats now.

Rayleigh’s eyes darkened. "Open defence systems and activate Energy Shield alongside the Lonefield Barrier!" Rayleigh commanded.

► [ Defence Systems active ]

► [ Energy Shield activated ]

► [ Lonefield Barrier is active ]

A translucent energy field rippled to life around him, humming with contained power, just as the ceiling above them began to shake.

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