Chapter 21 – Unstable Power

Experimentation Chamber – Lord D'Karr's Fortress, Xyphora (Volaris System, Sector 7-42D)

The air crackled with raw energy.

Rei's vision blurred, his pulse hammering like a war drum inside his skull.

The surge of celestial energy burst outward from his body, uncontrolled and chaotic—waves of unseen force pulsed through the room, rattling the steel walls and distorting the air itself.

D'Karr didn't step back.

He didn't flinch.

He simply watched.

His mechanical eye flickered, scanning every wavelength of energy radiating from Rei's form.

"Yes," he murmured. "Fascinating."

The restraints on Rei's wrists and ankles trembled, their reinforced metal groaning under the unseen pressure.

But Rei wasn't in control.

His breath was ragged, his muscles trembling as the force threatened to consume him.

The energy was not a weapon—not yet. It was raw, untamed. It threatened to tear him apart just as much as anything around him.

And D'Karr knew it.

The cyborg warlord tilted his head. "You're fighting it."

Rei gritted his teeth, trying to force the surge back down.

It wasn't working.

D'Karr's expression didn't change—only the faintest flicker of intrigue passed through his gaze.

"You don't have to suppress it, boy," he said, stepping closer. "Embrace it."

Rei's glare was sharp despite the pain in his limbs. "Yeah? Why don't you try holding in an explosion inside your own chest?"

D'Karr chuckled, his metallic voice sending a chill through the room.

"That's precisely why you interest me."

With a flick of his wrist, a series of mechanical arms unfolded from the ceiling, each equipped with scanning devices and containment fields.

Rei's instincts screamed at him.

I have to move. Now.

The energy swelled again, but it wasn't cooperating—it was reacting on its own.

Too wild. Too unstable.

D'Karr's eyes gleamed. "Show me what you really are."

The mechanical arms lunged forward.

-Nears the Fortress -

The fortress loomed in the distance, its structure a grim reminder of what kind of monster she was up against.

Seyra kept to the shadows, silent and efficient, her mind running through every possible approach.

She had fought against D'Karr's forces before. She knew the layout of his fortresses, the security protocols, the twisted way his mind worked.

And she knew one thing for certain.

If she didn't reach Rei soon, whatever that bastard was doing to him would leave scars—if it didn't kill him first.

She pressed against the jagged remains of a crumbling structure, scanning the exterior of the fortress.

Multiple guards. Heavy turrets. Patrol drones.

This wasn't going to be easy.

But then again, it never is.

Her grip on her spear tightened.

She moved.

Rei tore against the energy within him, struggling to regain control.

The metallic arms lunged, but the cosmic force reacted on instinct, sending out a burst of kinetic shockwaves that shattered two of them in an instant.

The walls shuddered, cracks forming along the steel surface.

D'Karr's lips curled into something akin to admiration.

He's enjoying this.

The remaining arms adjusted, their containment fields shifting into high-frequency restraints designed to neutralize energy surges.

Rei clenched his fists.

Think.

He couldn't control this power outright. But maybe he didn't have to.

If he could just redirect it—

One of the mechanical arms lunged again, aiming for his head.

Rei twisted his stance, channeling the wild energy not outward, but downward—slamming it into the floor.

BOOM.

A shockwave erupted beneath him, cracking the reinforced ground and sending him flying backward—just in time to dodge the restraints.

D'Karr laughed.

It wasn't a sound of frustration.

It was delight.

"You're learning."

Rei landed hard, panting. His body felt like it was burning from the inside out.

The energy was still unstable.

Still wild.

Still dangerous.

D'Karr stepped closer, his voice lower, almost reverent.

"This is why I've spared you, boy. You're something different."

Rei's glare didn't waver.

"And you're insane."

D'Karr smirked. "That's a matter of perspective."

He lifted a hand, and the walls of the chamber shifted, revealing another layer of containment fields.

"Let's see how long you can last."

The floor beneath Rei collapsed.

And he fell.

Seyra moved fast, using the blind spots between guard patrols to slip past the outer defenses.

She climbed a damaged ventilation shaft, her movements precise, controlled.

Every second counted.

She reached the upper access panel, using a small disruptor device to disable the security lock.

The door hissed open.

Seyra didn't hesitate.

She disappeared into the darkness of the fortress.