Chapter 138: A Battlefield Drowning in Chaos

The moment the Resonance Amplification Device unleashed its full power, the battlefield became a living nightmare. The sky above the canyon fortress fractured with spiraling distortions of energy, warping reality itself. The ground quaked violently, cracks of glowing psychic light forming beneath the feet of warriors on both sides. The air vibrated with an unnatural hum, a sound so deep it seemed to shake the very bones of those who heard it.

Coalition forces, already battered and bloodied, dropped to their knees in agony as an overwhelming psychic wave ripped through their minds. Federation soldiers clutched their helmets, their neural dampeners struggling to withstand the sheer force of the device's output. Resistance fighters collapsed mid-charge, their weapons slipping from their fingers as their consciousness flickered. Even the hardened mercenaries of the guild staggered, some letting out guttural screams as the psychic resonance tore through their mental defenses like blades of raw energy.

Syndicate forces, though initially affected as well, recovered faster. The device quickly empowered them once more, their cybernetic enhancements pulsating with violent energy. Their bodies surged with renewed aggression, their eyes glowing with a sickly purple hue. Enhanced enforcers roared as they tore through coalition ranks with inhuman speed and strength.

Ethan could do nothing but watch in horror.

He fell to one knee, his vision swimming as the unbearable weight of psychic force pressed down on him. Every nerve in his body screamed. His breathing was ragged, every inhale a struggle against an unseen force pressing against his lungs. The sheer power of the Resonance Amplification Device was suffocating, warping the air, distorting sounds, filling his mind with echoes of madness.

A few meters away, Eliara was barely conscious, gripping her head in agony. Zyrix, who had been providing sniper cover moments earlier, now slumped against a broken Federation turret, his rifle abandoned as blood trickled from his nose. Ogmungals Foons, the giant warrior, was on his hands and knees, bellowing in frustration as he fought against the crushing psychic pressure.

The battle was turning into a slaughter. If this continued, they would all die.

Then, he felt it again.

An even more violent tremor deep within.

Ethan's gaze snapped downward to the molecular dagger in his hand. The dark, crystalline blade pulsed erratically, as if alive, its energy reacting to the overwhelming psychic storm. The glow around it flickered in chaotic patterns, oscillating between deep void-like darkness and bright violet energy that resonated with the waves of destruction emanating from the fortress.

It was reacting to the device.

No… it was fighting it.

A thought....no, an instinct screamed at him.

Use it.

Ethan gritted his teeth, his fingers shaking as he put more force into grip. The moment his inner pyschic power wrapped slightly around the dagger, a shockwave pulsed through his body.

A surge of energy erupted outward from the blade, engulfing Ethan in a shimmering, protective field. The pressure bearing down on him vanished in an instant, his mind suddenly clearing as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his soul. The dagger pulsed again, and with a raw, desperate roar, Ethan plunged the blade into the ground.

A massive shockwave of dark energy exploded outward from his position, sweeping across the battlefield like a tidal wave. The Resonance Amplification Device's oppressive psychic energy was violently repelled, the overwhelming pressure evaporating as Ethan's power flooded the warzone.

A massive dome of energy formed over the battlefield, a barrier of shifting black and violet light that shielded the coalition forces from the device's influence. The agonized screams of soldiers turned into gasps of relief and wonder as the crushing psychic weight lifted from their minds. Resistance fighters stood once more, their weapons gripped tightly. Federation soldiers reactivated their neural dampeners and snapped into formation. Mercenaries, no longer paralyzed, charged forward with renewed determination.

The tide was shifting.

Inside the fortress, Drakor Krenna watched this sudden turn of events with widening eyes. He had expected many things, brutal resistance, acts of defiance, even moments of desperation from the coalition leaders.

But this…

This wasn't possible.

That dagger, the weapon that mercenary was wielding. It was the antithesis of the Resonance Amplification Device.

Drakor's shock was brief. A moment later, it twisted into something else.

Fascination.

A manic grin stretched across his face, his hands gripping the edge of his control panel as he stared at the battlefield below. "So, this is the true power from those visions which i've been looking for…" he murmured, his voice laced with dark amusement.

For the first time, he felt something stir deep within him. Not fear. No, not fear.

Excitement.

Drakor turned away from the controls, stepping toward the pulsating core of the Resonance Amplification Device, the heart of his creation.

The device had given him power beyond human comprehension. But this wasn't enough. Not yet.

He needed more.

Drakor extended his hands toward the sky, and the swirling psychic storm above the battlefield surged toward him like a living entity obeying its master's call. Violet lightning crackled through the clouds, illuminating his towering fortress as raw, unrestrained energy cascaded into his body. His muscles tensed and elongated unnaturally, his entire form shifting beyond human limitations. A deep, guttural growl rumbled from his throat as his veins pulsed with sheer power, his flesh glowing with an eerie radiance that made the very air around him shimmer.

He was ascending.

The battlefield trembled beneath his transformation, the energy warping reality itself. The Syndicate soldiers, even those enhanced by the device, looked upon him with awe and fear. Coalition forces, battered but still standing, froze as the very ground beneath them seemed to reject their presence. The resonance of his power vibrated through every molecule of existence, like a discordant song that threatened to unravel the fabric of Kynara itself.

Then, with a single movement, Drakor vanished from his vantage point atop the fortress.

A thunderous boom shattered the air as he shot into the sky, his silhouette momentarily lost in the storm above. For a breathless moment, the battlefield was silent. Soldiers on both sides looking up, their weapons still raised, unsure of what was coming.

And then, like a divine executioner descending upon mere mortals, Drakor plummeted toward the battlefield like a falling meteor.

The impact was apocalyptic.

A massive shockwave erupted outward, ripping through the war-torn canyon. Jagged cracks split the earth like fractured glass, and countless soldiers, both coalition and Syndicate, were hurled through the air as if they were weightless. Entire Federation tanks were overturned, Resistance fighters were flung into the ruins, and even fortified defensive emplacements crumbled under the force.

Dust and debris choked the sky, the very fabric of the battlefield rewritten in an instant. When the storm settled, a new reality emerged. A battlefield not between two armies, but between mortals and a divine.

Drakor rose from the crater he had created, standing amidst the destruction like a being reborn. His glowing, violet eyes locked onto Ethan across the battlefield. His once-human face was now something else entirely, something beyond comprehension. His expression carried no hesitation, no fear, only the cold certainty of an entity that had transcended mortality.

A deep, sinister chuckle rumbled from his throat, reverberating through the canyon like the final echoes of an execution drum. His voice was no longer just his own, it was layered with something ancient, something vast.

"You've done well to reach this far," Drakor murmured, flexing his newly empowered fingers, the air around them crackling with raw energy. The very gravity around him seemed to shift, bending reality at his whim. "But let's see how well you fight… against a divine."

The battle had reached its most dangerous turning point. The coalition forces, momentarily bolstered by Ethan's shield, had barely begun to regroup but now they faced a foe beyond anything they had prepared for. Drakor, no longer bound by the limitations of flesh and bone, was now the living embodiment of the Resonance Amplification Device's power.

Ethan tightened his grip on the molecular dagger, the blade pulsing in defiance of Drakor's ascension. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, realizing the horrors to come.