CHAPTER 22

Ego loomed over the massive sea, broken but still scoffing. His body had been beaten to the point that his bones were broken, his muscles ripped apart, but he had not fallen down; he stood, indeed seeming to challenge the pain that came to him with his breathing. Salt spray whipped around him, smelling of blood, but nothing compared to the haunts that came out of his mouth, howling in laughter. It was not the laugh of a man, let alone a monster. It was something far worse.

It was an echo without end, ringing through the waves, a supernatural cold. It was the sort of laugh that didn't just make you afraid — it blighted the atmosphere with some primal, some malevolent contagion. It was as if an ancient force had come to life, a entity nourished by disorder, delighting in ruin. Even the ocean seemed to pull back, the waters stilling as though nature itself were afraid of what it beheld.

Suddenly, the scene shifts.

We are at the American headquarters now, a facility buried dozens of layers under security and secrecy. The gleaming steel walls reflected the light of a myriad of monitors. The air vibrated with the mild beeps of machines, the soft murmurings of analysts sifting through enormous streams of data.

In the middle was a person, who was tall and frightening and made you look at him as soon as you saw him. His long black coat billowed over his shoulders, billowing with every move like a shadow brought to life. Beneath it peeked his crisp white shirt, each buttoncuffed wrist blinged up with gleaming insignias of authority. Each detail of his outfit was immaculate, meticulously meticulous, the very presentation of himself a statement of strength,ишь.

With a thick report in his hand, he looked down for a moment before addressing the media, speaking quietly but with the full authority of absolute certainty. "What were you thinking? That just because they have someone who can use metallic notation, they could beat us? Ridiculous." There was no concern in his voice, almost a chuckle at the very idea. "We have always been better."

He closed the report with a snap and with a slight smirk continued, "Ego acted at the right time. He told us before it was too late. That user of 'metallic notation' will not be survived. And as far as I can tell, neither will the second one."

He then rotated slightly, stretching out what appeared to be a sleek console embedded in the desk in front of him. With the press of a single button, a signal emitted through encrypted channels spread well beyond the planet's atmosphere.

Far above, in the unblinking void of space, a dormant satellite awakened. Its mechanical heart thrummed, dormant systems lighting up. Panels changed, compartments opened, and in seconds an unstoppable storm was released.

The satellite's chambers erupted with thousands of missiles that streaked toward the Earth like meteors. Each was a symphony of destruction, designed to circumvent defenses, to inflict with ruthless precision. They rocketed toward Rudra's submarine, cutting through the atmosphere — there would be no avoiding the impact. The impact of their plummet caused shock waves to ripple through the skies, cutting through airs of barometric pressure like knives through silk.

As this apocalyptic pageant unfurled, Ego laughed louder and threw his head back. It was a manic joy, a delirium of vengeance achieved. His cracked lips peeled back into a grin, his bloodied face contorted into something grotesquely triumphant.

"What did you think? That you could kill me and I would do nothing?" His voice was raw, frenzied. "Look! Without lifting a finger, I have accomplished more than you dared to dream about. Now, you will die with me. My revenge will be complete."

His laughter only became more and more unbearable, into something truly maddening. But then—

Rudra's eyes flickered open.

It was unlike anything they had ever seen, a pulse of energy that ignited inside them, a golden glow. The split second it emerged, the air itself seemed to quiver. The ocean churning around it violently as if and reacting to some unseen force.

Ego, mid-laughter, froze. His face contorted, a look of disbelief darkening his features. "This power… this was Ayush's power! How does he have it?"

Meanwhile, in the depths of an unknown facility, something else stirred.

A person wearing a mask and dressed in black rushed through a poorly lit hallway. His boots snapped on the silver floor in brisk, calculated paces, his breaths matching the rhythm. He arrived at a huge, circular room — a command hall lit with holographic projections and covered in screens flashing unreadable streams of data.

He shrieked his way into the tense silence. "What is happening?! What are you seeing? Tell me!"

A moment passed. Then he spoke again, his voice threaded with unease. "I can feel it… His power. It's overwhelming. But something is different. His and my energies were once the same… but now they're different."

Balled his gloved hands into fists. It's like he's giving birth to a new force. His one-ness with the purity of metal is changing… If this continues, he may soon have control over the very metals beneath the earth!"

His mask shone in the low light as he straightened, his voice a frigid whisper.

"Learn everything immediately about him

ly. We cannot allow such a creature to run free."

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