Chapter 1: Rebirth

[Welcome back to the Nexus.]

"The nexus?" I asked confused and bewildered. One moment it was deathly silent, with my mind blank and void. The next I was "Awoken" My senses or more accurately my power to think returning with the only emotion coming forward being scepticism.

"What is the nexus?" I asked still confused; my mind being overwhelmed by the sudden pull of my consciousness. Almost as if I was grabbed from existence and chucked into this dark sketchy corner called the Nexus. I could not see for all I saw here was a dark abyss. I could not feel, only think.

[The Nexus is a place beyond space and time. Beyond the Omniverse. It is where you come back to when you 'die'. Though for you to return you must truly die in both soul and body]

"So, this place… How come I don't know of it?" I asked, indeed if I had died before then I would've known such a place existed. Considering the voice's previous statements, it seems that I was not the first reincarnation nor was I going to be the last.

[The price of reincarnation comes with memory. As your soul is but a recreation of thoughts to truly be welcome back you must remove its existence. It is by design, to ensure that one does not live long past their expiry.]

"Seems kind of odd that I can continue to talk with you then... Should my scepticism, my thoughts and my hesitation not be built upon that? It can't just stem from nothing. Even a child is left defenceless or clueless when born. How am I not being reset?"

[That is because this is "Who" you are without the interference of rules and gods. You are a husk of the original archetype, while the ship may stay the same, the cargo will differ. Some worlds may force your ship to change but upon returning back to the Nexus you shall be reconstructed back to who once you were. Bits of cargo may remain but the main hull has been moved elsewhere. You are as you once were.]

"So I'm the same person no matter how much I change?"

[Affirmative]

"That seems like a waste of time... Wouldn't that be insane?"

[That is why your "Cargo" has been removed. We've had this discussion many times and I doubt it will be the last. Please proceed to the metamorphosis]

"Before we do what it is you want me to do, what is metamorphosis?"

[It is where you undergo a change, a rebirth and a chance to once again live within the omniverse]

"Then let us begin."

[Affirmative activating Metamorphosis]

Name: -

Race: -

Authority: -

"Well, then what are my options?" I asked looking at the now vivid screen of what seemed to be an empty slot for my name, race, and authority. While my name and race were clear for me, the authority category seemed strange.

[Authority: The level of power you have over others and your standing in the universe within.]

"Well then for my name I guess I'll go with Alexander. Now sure why but it just clicks with me."

[Welcome to the Nexus, Alexander, your race will be randomly selected...]

[Race: Vintorium Supremus]

Vintorium Supremus: A warmongering race of semi-humanoids that are incredibly durable, strong and agile. The Vintorium do not need basic human necessities such as water and food. The Vintorium are without limit but unfortunately must train their body and mind to reach new heights. Immortal, the growth of a Vintorium initially starts similar to a human sapien but stops at its prime. Arrogant, Greedy and quick to anger the Vintorium are highly territorial and ferocious. Due to their volatile nature, their DNA is highly encrypted.

Physiology: The Vintorium Supremus has no use for most organs and is replaced with a transparent ethereal core in the middle of the body. The average adult height of a Vintorium Supremus spans from two metres to three metres with the average weight being two hundred kilograms to three hundred tons. The average Vintorium is olive to dark-skinned with their faces blank with their faces usually morphed to their corresponding desire. The radiance of their core usually reflects eye colour. Their core also holds an abundance of abilities that allow them to access others and themselves.

Gain the ability: Spiritual Manipulation*

Gan the ability: Ethereal Manipulation*

Gain the ability: Cosmic Manipulation*

Gain the Sin: Prideful

Gain the Sin: Wrathful

Gain the Virtue: Diligence

Gain the Virtue: Charity

"That's a lot to take in..."

[Fortunately, you will have time on the other side to process it. Until we meet again]

"Wait what do you mea-,"

-

"EAT MY MEAT, GRINDER!" A psychotic voice screamed the sound of his words echoing throughout.

Seeing nothing but darkness I somehow felt bandages around my face, the feeling somewhat comfortable. Ripping it off I remained blind the action confusing me. Passing my hands around my 'face' all I felt was a smooth waffle of flesh.

It felt horrifyingly unnatural.

Slowly thinking of having sight I felt gaps open in front of me, my eyes slowly being constructed. Feeling my face somewhat shift and contort I finally gained the ability to see and smell.

And Smell I did as the horrible stench of feces, blood and urine instantly assaulted my nostrils. Disgusting was but a subpar description of what I wanted to detail.

Checking my hands they seemed somewhat small for an adult and from what the description learned I knew that I was perhaps a youngling.

Looking around I assumed I had found myself to be inside a prison. Hearing further screams and moans I continued to lay sit down cautiously.

'Just where am I?'

Looking at the bars of the cell wall they were rusted with decay, the stone pavement left crooked and cracked. The prison architecture looks somewhat similar to that of a modern prison, at least one that's been totalled.

All other cells of the prison were ripped open with most of the bars seemingly being clawed off by beasts or removed due to decay. The scratch marks and stench gave me all the more clues needed. 

To see such damage I wondered what kind of world I was placed in. For example just how powerful were the beasts here to be capable of ripping and tearing a steel bar?

Noticing the Graffiti and blood marks on the walls, they adorned strange symbols and patterns, I continued to study my surroundings. 

Quotes such as "Eat my balls" and "Praise the sun" were carved and painted into them. Interesting yet frightening.

How long was this prison abandoned for these people to completely fuck it up?

Damn was it cold... What the hell was I wearing?

Peering below to view my clothes, I seemed to be in underwear with a cloth to cover my lower body. My upper body was left naked to the eye. My skin, like the description, was light brown.

"So, you're awake," A deep voice called out startling me. Slowly turning my head, I was met with a series of words.

<Analysing creature>

<Bipedall Mammal>

<Creature: Human>

<Creature condition: Critical>

<Threat: None>

<Data added to Libary>

Seeing the words appear they quickly faded within a second. Was this perhaps a part of my physiology? If so what other secrets were hidden within my core?

"The name is Francis Octavius, nice to meet yah. I would shake your hand but as you can see, I'm kind of fucked." He snickered, his face covered with scars and open wounds apparent on his body.

The man looked comparable to a Caucasian; a snazzy moustache plastered on his face. What also stood out was his left prosthetic arm… It looked futuristic.

Glowing with neon lights, I stared at it for a bit; the material was coloured with red and bronze dashes. Evaluating my setting I knew now that perhaps this wasn't a modern setting but a possible dystopian future.

"My name is, Alexander… Say where are we?" I asked getting up.

"Fuck if I know. A bunch of arsehole psychos chucked me here though. They want my bounty. Fucking losers, I'll tell ya," The man snickered.

"Though the bigger loser was those fuck heads in Dahl," He sneered before raising his right hand to reveal that his forearm was completely gone. Seeing the wound, I paused shocked. How in the tom fuckery was he still moving?

"How are you still alive?" I asked my mind still wondering how the man was still moving, telling from his body he was shot… everywhere but his head, heart, and lungs.

"Ever believed in god kiddo?" The man questioned out of nowhere.

"Nope," I replied honestly. If God was out there, then what was he doing? I decided to only believe in myself and no one else. Cause when things went south who else could you trust but yourself….

"Well let's just say my faith in the lord is keeping me up," The man chuckled, his hand fumbling to his chest to reveal a cross.

"Faith is keeping you alive? Don't be so delusional if the lord was really out there you would be alive. Besides don't you have some tech in you?" I asked.

"Well, you might be true. A few cybernetics can keep a man up… But not for long. My time's running out kiddo. I've only got my belief to take to the grave. Seeing as you are the only one here, I want you to take my Echo Device and my gun." Francis replied lifting an Echo device towards me as well as chucking his gun.

"What's stopping me from taking it anyway?"

"There's a difference between inheritance and grave robbing yah know..."

"Meh, what's the difference."

Receiving his so-called inheritance I scanned the item up and down. My intrigue peaked from how it was loaded. The gun was a fucking futuristic fluorescent pistol that on the side glowed a red ember.

It had a dial on the side to reveal how much ammunition was in the pistol with a flashlight installed on the bottom. Seeing where the safety was I flicked it and was greeted with the red hue being replaced with a neon blue.

Switching it back and forth I was amazed yet confused about what it did. Did it perhaps just change the colour, what did it mean?

"Malawian tech mixed with Dahl. It's my favourite weapon. I hope you enjoy it," He smiled, seeing me play with it.

"What's Maliwan and Dahl?" I asked my hands still fiddling with the weapon.

"Fuck *Cough* you have been living under a rock." He joked, blood now spilling onto his clothes.

"Shit is there anything I can do to help," I asked.

I needed more info dammit!

"Skip the rubbish bucko. I can see an opportunist when I see one. No need for all that. On my Echo Device are the key and clues to my stash. It holds all my trusted belongings. I gave you my key now it's all up to you on whether you can find the right hole. It's all up to you. Good luck, you're going to need it" The man cheered his smile being the last expression on his face.

<Gathering Data>

<Objectives Updated>

<Objectives >

->Find Francis Octavius's Stash of Loot

Was this part of being a Vintorium Supremus or was this due to the Nexus? Maybe it was the Echo device. I needed to test some things… Thinking of saying status in my head I was then been greeted with a display.

Name: Alexander

Age: 11

Health: 100% 

Aether: 0

Seeing the menu, I was confused by the stature. What exactly was it basing my stats on? Leaving those thoughts for later I started to fiddle with the ECHO device. On it displayed a date, an app and a diary.

[DATE: 13/6/2200] [ECHO NET] [DIARY]

This thing was a poor man's tablet… well with better technology attached to it. However, that didn't say much when its only use was a rip-off version of the internet and a recorder.

Halting my exploration of the net I paused hearing the voices of the psychos getting louder with their steps growing ever closer.

"I can't wait to wear, his face!" A psycho screamed frantically.

"Calm it. We need to see if our friend here will be of use. If we can get Francis to spill we'll be rich. Rich! Hopefully, you guys didn't… FUCKING HELL!" The man screamed. His hands smashed into the bar in front of me, startling the sane folk behind him.

"You lads just had to ruff him up? Bloody idiots. This was my… our one way out of this hell hole," He muttered rubbing his face.

Scratching his chin, he looked to face me. The man stood at 170m with his back slouched. He had a grumpy face and looked like he wanted to kill himself with every breathing moment. The rest of his goons ranged from shirtless crazy people wearing masks and sane men who wore a green military uniform with helmets blocking their identities. The uniform consisted of a two-piece uniform, plated gloves, and steep cap boots.

Everything else was mismatched including the helmets as some chose to not wear them and instead wore a hat. Foolish yet I had a feeling there was a reason for their arrogance. All their armour was emerald, green in colour not bad but did they have to go full army commando here?

"What's with the kid, especially those eyes of his?" He asked his hands by his hip. Glaring at me he awaited one of his goons to answer.

"I don't know Flynt. One of the boys Saw him knocked outside the camp and they brought him here. Thought he might be an Atlas spy, but he doesn't seem the type. The boy was too… I don't know. He's too strange" A random person responded.

"Sounds like an Atlas spy if I might add," Another joked.

Thinking of a way to hide the new goodies I had, they were transported away.

<Items successfully stored>

How convenient, I internally snickered.

"It's Baron Flynt to you, now get to it. Check Francis's body for any loot or hint. Best we get to it, or else any DAHL forces get shifty again and visit us. Also, check our parameters again. Atlas might want to have a piece of our boy here as well," Baron Flynt spat his hands going through his hair as he turned away frustrated.

"What do you want us to do with the kid?" One of the goons asked.

"Do whatever you want. Just make sure to loot Francis's body. If you find anything of value hand it over to me. Don't try to steal anything. Otherwise, you're going to end at the chopping block." Baron Flynt responded leaving the goons to me.

"I want to wear his face!" A psycho screamed frantically his head moving up and down as he banged his head into another psycho's head.

"I wonder what a child tastes like!" Another asked his hand holding a knife.

"Halt it lads leave the kid to me," A tall man stated his gruff hands pulling me towards him though I saw the strain in his hands when he did. Shirtless with military pants the man seemed dodgy.

"Don't worry kiddo you'll be safe with me," The man smiled. Seeing him I started to worry. Bells were ringing in my head, and they were telling me that this man wasn't anything but safe.

Scanning the man most of his wounds seemed to be near his stomach… Scratch marks… Not good. NOT FUCKING GOOD!

"Damn it! No fair. No FAIR!" A psycho screamed his head now banging the floor vividly. What in the actual fuck am I watching.

"Let's get away from here," The man stated gripping my hand and pulling me away.

Which I responded with resistance. Pulling the man, he was moved violently. The strength to which I hauled caused him to smack his head against the metal pole. Seeing his mouth bleed I knew I did some serious damage.

While the action caused many to be shocked it was mostly due to the speed at which I did it. It left no room to negotiate that it was a coincidence.

All the psychos seeing the man being refused and pulled back were also shocked. The man's stature wasn't to scoff at. He stood at 190cm with a weight of what seemed to be 150kg.

For me, a child who stood at around 162cm I defied all the laws of physics to them. All the sane guards seeing me immediately pointed their weapons towards me with the… less sane ones jumping around in awe.

"HOLY SWEET BALLS! THAT WAS AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWESSSSSOME!" A psycho screamed his body jumping up and down at the act.

"Did you just see that Davey?" Another goon asked flabbergasted, his hand by his holster. His mind wandered on whether he should shoot the threat or await further orders.

"I did. We need to tell the boss," Another confirmed as he rushed towards the direction of where Flynt ran towards.

"You shouldn't have done that buddy," The man replied as a vein started to pop on his head his brows starting to crunch.

Feeling his gruff hands attempting to pin me down I smiled. Not wanting to become a cupcake dealer I wrestled back my hands pushing against his. While he had a head start, I started to push down on him completely overwhelming him as he was brought down to his knees. The others unsure what to do waited for Flynt's command. They never did like the big guy.

"Okay, what's with all the ruckuses? Did you find anything goo-," Flynt announced before pausing. A fifteen-year-old pinning down one of his strongest men or who he assumed to be a fifteen-year-old. For all he knew, the kid might be a good-looking midget.

"Alright, back off Kent leave the midget to me," Flynt ordered.

"I. Can't. Boss." Kent muttered his breath growing shorter and shorter as the second passed. Feeling overwhelmed he fell to the ground and passed out. The constant strain on his muscles left him weak.

Yeah, that's what you fucking get, cunt...

"Fuck I leave you all for a few seconds and one of you has already been bullied by the midget. I knew I shouldn't have sent Hanz and Franz to scout around." Flynt sighed his brows creasing as he waved them off.

"Get back to work everyone; and you!" He exclaimed.

"Follow me," Flynt muttered his back now turning to face the tall structure ahead.

"We got a lot to talk about," Flynt continued as he started to walk away.

Still being shell-shocked from the sudden change of environment I followed the Baron. Maybe if he was willing, I could get more information about where I was and perhaps how.

"Leave the kid to me, I don't want any interruptions," He ordered leaving the guards to step away from his position his word being the absolute law.

Looking at the surroundings, the prison seemed to have an open roof with the actual cages being left to rot. Everything such as the walls was stripped down to leave an open area. Most Psychos' seemed to walk about, their beds being the cold pavement.

The more civilized ones set up tents. It seems the psycho's got the scrap and the guards got to sleep in a more hospitable place. Made sense but still.

Looking over I saw a tall structure it was similar to a guard tower it seeming more like a three-story building. A makeshift staircase to the side of the tall building led us up there. Carefully scanning the area it was more of a throne with a generator by the side supposedly powering the whole of the building.

No wonder they called him Baron. He was playing royalty... Arrogant. Looking at the moon I was surprised, not only was the thing cracked with molten bumhole. A whole ass space station in the shape of an H was present. What in the tom fuckery is this?

"Look, kid. I'm going to offer you two alternatives. You either help me and we both get off this planet, or you leave my base and never come back. Either way, it's no hard feelings." Flynt explained.

"I thought you were going to chain me like a dog or something," I asked confused.

"Why would I? If you want to be free, go ahead. Though you won't last long on Pandora. Here I provide food, water, and safety. I won't lie this place is insane. It'll drive you insane but it's what I got to call home. For now, at least." He revealed his hands placed behind his back, his eyes watching the ongoing fortification of his prison.

"Still why?" I questioned.

"Do you know the reason why those psychos listen to me?" He questioned, his head turning to me.

"Because they fear you?" I answered.

"Nope, those people could kill me tens of times over if they wanted to," He chuckled.

"They listen to me because they respect me. When DAHL abandoned this prison, they left everything. Including their personal. They left all of us here. Guard, prisoner, and chefs. All abandoned on this godforsaken planet. When I heard the news of this I was frustrated… Angry. Why had our leaders abandoned us? I didn't know why until it was too late. The sudden summer of pandora scared them away. Beasts that were slumbering awoke their claws and tusks now spreading terror amongst its' citizens, Well its newest citizens. I could've left those starving prisoners to die in their cells…" He revealed.

"But you didn't," I finished.

"I didn't. I couldn't. Now those who looked at me in detest were now replaced with reverence. They worshipped me. I let them choose. If they wanted to stay or leave. Do you know what they did?" He questioned again.

"They stayed?" I mused.

"Nope, they left and found out why DAHL abandoned us. The ones who survived came crawling back." He chuckled.

"Do you believe I'll come crawling back to you?" I asked this time causing him to deeply stare at him his eyes seemly wanted to look away.

"Maybe. Who knows. So, what will you do? Join me and my kingdom or leave and risk crawling back to me? What will you choose," He asked. Feeling something deep in my core I couldn't help but snort. Who gave you the option to decide for me? Who gave you the right to question me? Who do you think you are?

"I choose neither," I responded leaving him Dazed his brows creasing as his hands started to hover over his holster. Seeing him I snickered.

"What do you mean?" He probed, his eyes never darting from mine.

"Who gave you the authority to decide what I can and cannot do?" I asked my body rushing towards his neck.

Feeling a sudden crack over a translucent field I broke closer to his neck. Pulling to the side I left him dangling off his throne and down below his subjects. Is this who you call your leader? This weakling?

"Who said I could not survive?" I mused my eyes starting to flare as I stared him down.

"Do you think you can question my authority?"

Clenching my hand around his neck I could almost feel his life draw away.

"If you thought you could. Then you would be mistaken."

[Life force extracted]

Feeling my hands move I syphoned the very life essence of the man, his body starting to rapidly deteriorate the once lively body now decaying to a husk. Dropping his body to the ground everyone looked on at me in fear with the psycho's now bowing to me.

"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOOOODDDDDDGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDD!" A psycho screamed.

This caused all the mentally ill to attack their sane comrades with some being unfortunate to taste a meat cleaver to the head. Dazed and confused by the sudden betrayal the guards and sane prisoners fired their weapons frantically. It didn't matter who was shot, friend or foe they were all shot, accidentally or not.

Overwhelmed by notifications and realising what I had just done I took the time to run away foremost. What the hell happened? Why did I do that? That wasn't me… Was it? Fuck I need to run. Damn, that was crazy.

Dashing and covered by the barrage of bullets, screams of colourful threats charged me. Jumping down the tall structure I headed down to the many tents for the guards. Hiding behind a dumpster I crouched adrenaline still pumping through my body.

Closing my eyes, I breathed in and out slowly. While I knew I was physically strong I did not know the extent of it. Was I able to take a bullet? I didn't know. That left me with a few options. Thinking about how to retrieve the stored items I was greeted with another notification.

[Current core storage]

>Augmented Pistol (Variants unknown)

>ECHO device (Francis Octavius)

"Retrieve the damn pistol," I thought before realizing that In my hand was the fluorescent pistol.

'This will come in handy.'

Switching the pistol to its neon colour to blue, I awaited the guard.

"COME OUT GRINDER!" A voice shouted. His steps got closer to the dumpster I was hiding behind.

"I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!" He continued before reaching me, his smile getting larger before he realized but by then, it was too late.

*Bang*

Splattering his brains across the other tents I was left shaken by the sudden look of a man's head being blown off. A translucent screen around his body shattered before the bullet cracked through his skull. The damage and overload completely exploded his skull.

The firepower of this thing was crazy… Though I quickly recovered my body almost felt like it was telling me to man up and stop being a pussy. Seeing the corpse unmoving I tread forward. My mind already deciding that perhaps this was it. This was the tone my life was going to move in.

Scanning his body, I seemed to notice he was wearing what I assumed to be a shield. This was because when I suddenly assaulted Flynt, I felt a translucent 'shield' layer around his neck. Picking the shield up It looked odd. A triangle piece of metal with a power cell in the centre.

The charge on it then enveloped me. Looking at my body I could faintly see a light blue translucent layer surrounding it. Looking at the shield again I noticed a brand name on it. Maliwan...

Deciding to leave such questions for another day on the reach of such a cooperation I looked at my ammo count. 99 bullets are now left in the chamber. This was gonna get messy.

-

"BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD FOR THE BLOOOOOOOOOD GOOOOOOOOOOD!" A voice screamed.

Alexander still unsure what to do steeled himself for the massacre he was possibly going to participate in. Carefully treading the sound of screams started to dwindle with most of them being replaced with mutters of frustration.

"Fucking hell. I knew we should've shot the fucker when we had the chance. The little shit has us in a wrap." A guard exclaimed his eyes wandering from corpse to corpse.

"No time to regret it we have to wait until Hanz and Franz get back. We already lost most of our men. How many people do we still have?" He asked the other guard beside him.

"Fuck let me think…. At least 60 of us. The other sick fucks are chopping down our numbers quickly. Lucky had them kept in their cells else we would've been swarmed. The only thing stopping them from eating our ass inside out was Flynt… Shit, are our catch-a-rides up yet?" He asked.

"Soon we just need a power core, but Flynt only ever told Hanz and Franz about the code to open the storage room," The other revealed.

"We're fucked then. I knew we should've taken more ammo but you had to open your big mouth," He bickered.

"Says the one who talks about safety all the time. I was just following protocol," He argued.

While they're distracted, I will kill the other and interrogate the survivor. The other guards seem busy stopping the hoard while these two knuckleheads were tasked with finding me and god they are fucking shit at their job...

They're not even searching just looking at their fallen comrades… Oh well better for me I guess..

Now's the time…

Sneaking behind them he shot the head of the first guard and smashed the shield of the other leaving his body exposed. Knocking the gun off his hand he held his body in a lock.

"I'm going to give you a choice. Obey me or die," Alexander demanded his eyes starting to brighten. Anger in his tone as his teeth gnashed.

"I ain't telling you shit, kid," The surviving guard replied his voice starting to get dimmer, with oxygen starting to escape his body.

"Then you left me with no choice," Alexander replied as he left his thumb on the survivor's head. Pressing down the man started to panic.

His body started to move involuntarily, its attempts to free itself being thwarted.

"Obey!" Alexander commanded his voice now echoing in the mind of the guard.

Unknown to the guard, Alexander's eyes started to illuminate, its glow getting brighter.

"I… Understand…" The man replied, his body slowly starting to slope, his movements becoming calmer until he flopped onto the ground.

"Good, now tell me everything about this planet."

"The planet we are on is Pandora, and it has one moon, Elpis."

"Now where are we?"

"DAHL's old prison facility."

"What is DAHL?"

"DAHL is a weapon manufacturing company and our old employer," He revealed.

"Now tell me…" He stated only to be interrupted by the sudden slump of his body, blood coming from his eyes, nose and ears.

"Damn that's bloody," He muttered backing up.

"DAMN IT, THE KID GOT SAM AND KELLY! FIRE!" A guard shouted loading his barrage of bullets against him.

Ducking the ongoing fire, he was struck a total of three times before leaving his body exposed. His shield had gone down.

Damn it. I wasn't the best aim in the world, and I wasn't some sort of genius that could pull shit out of my arse.

Looking at the corpse on the floor he dragged it closer before rummaging through his mind to how he had hypnotised his prey.

What was the whole point of syphoning? What does it give? How did I interrogate that bastard? Was it cause I killed him or because I had his corpse?

[Syphoning beginning]

[Aether gained: 60]

The fuck is Aether going to do for me?

"YOU AREN'T GOING TO LAST LONG BUDDY!" A guard shouted towards Alexander.

"Well, I'm fucked," Alexander muttered seeing all the guards surround him. Their numbers totalling double digits.

"But I'll be dammed to let you all kill me," He slurred his hand by the trigger as he aimed towards them. Feeling bullets pass through his arm and body he buckled under the pain.

While he groaned in pain with each shot, they tore through his flesh some bullets left embedded within him. Fueled with unjust and unprecedented anger he closed his eyes. Fire stirring with his core and mind.

"I WILL NOT FALTER!"

Continuing his rampage he ignored the pain and pressed on his hail of fire pressing on. Even though the pain had left him stunned for a few moments. For every second they left a gap for him to recover he retaliated with equal force.

"Holy shit this kid won't fucking die!" A guard shouted.

"I swear I shot the kid in the throat!" Another muttered his voice seeming more of horror than an annoyance.

Biting his tongue, Alexander attempted to keep his body up, only for him to notice that he stopped feeling any pain. Only anger. Anger that they attempted to take my life. Anger that they thought they could.

Closing his eyes, he stood in place allowing the bullets to hit his body before Reflecting them outwards. Feeling his wounds close up, the bullets instead hit the guards back, their bodies now scattered everywhere. Feeling his vision blur he dropped to a knee his body damn near exhausted.

[Aether consumed]

[Inefficient Aether]

I WILL NOT FALL! he exclaimed within his mind as his body stood up jolting tall. As he aimed his gun around, with his hand swaying from side to side he was left frozen.

Everyone here had died. The tens of men were reduced to a mere zero. In just 10 minutes he had reduced this prison to a ghost town. He was their doom.

I am!

Feeling his mind go hazy he slumped to the ground, moments passing as he attempted to recover his breath.

-

Walking around the many bodies I grabbed whatever loot I could ammunition, spare guns, and clean clothes. I grabbed whatever to test the limits of my storage and when I did, I felt my body started to weigh. With every increase of items so did my body. It didn't physically but I felt my body start to get heavier, slower, sluggish. It felt like every cell was me pulling down.

I ended up grabbing 3 shirts, 4 vests, 2 pairs of shoes that were a bit too big for me, 90 pieces of pistol ammo, 50 pieces of Submachine ammo, 40 assault rifle ammo, 20 pieces of shotgun ammo, 5 grenades, 1 submachine gun, 1 shotgun 3 shields and 1 cleaver.

Looting pants was a no-go because apparently when you died the muscles in your anus relaxed. This was the same as your bladder. Pants became a horror sight for me. No way was I going to be a toddler walking around in shit. Especially shit that wasn't mine.

After looting all that I felt uncomfortable. It felt like carrying all the grocery bags at the same time. While manageable you wouldn't want to hold on forever. So, I ended up dropping 2 of the armoured vests. They were quite heavy. 12 kg each. Wearing one, I reduced the overall weight of my body.

While I could, why would I keep it on for training when there wasn't any point in doing so right now? The weight over my body felt fake yet real. So doing it wasn't exactly a main priority.

My most important objective was surviving. Then thriving. Thinking of my overall capacity It was around 50 kilograms. While I could technically carry more, anything near or above 50 kilograms made my body strain more than it needed to.

Guns that weren't up to par were left due to rust/poor maintenance and or damage done to them. The best loot was taken from the guards since they were stacked. I took a meat cleaver from a bandit due to my lack of skills in shooting, I believed melee was a better alternative to missing half my shots.

Moving to the supposed storage room I saw that it was locked. Just like the guards said, the storage room was locked well… Am I stupid? It was easy to find the storage room due to it being a building over from Flynt's throne. As well as the apparent graffiti sprayed all over it. He couldn't leave the storage room out of his sight.

Before I wanted to though a sudden thought came to my mind. Was there a limit to how many corpses I could syphon? Running to every corpse I syphoned each one. Depending on how fresh the corpse was, the more aether I got.

I ended up syphoning 900 aether. Sweet. This would serve me well. Well, if I knew how to use it. The damn shit gave me no manual. The feeling of carrying the loot also decreased. I believed the aether was releasing some of the pressure that came from carrying my loot.

Finally making my way back to the Storage room I went to the datapad which required a code. Pulling out Francis's pistol (Now mine) I aimed the neon blue pistol. If my assumptions were correct, then this would mean electricity… I hope. Hopefully, this would somehow open the door.

Standing a few metres back I shot… and missed. Well then… Aiming again this time taking my time to aim properly, I shot again… And missed. Shooting again I finally hit the target and caused the datapad to start to static before blowing up and opening the storage door. Neat.

Entering I found a cache of ammunition and weapons. Dropping the old weapons with the new they were mostly DAHL in a brand. Here I also found a sniper and assault rifle. Sweet! Packing up extra ammo I now had 1000 bullets for pistols, 700 for Submachine guns, 500 for shotguns, 200 for snipers and 10 grenades.

Also, there seemed to be 15'660 dollars in cash just lying there. Grabbing it I smiled. Hopefully, inflation hadn't fucked over this society.

If it did these 15'660 dollars may truly be only worth a shit stain down the road.

I also noticed syringes of an unknown red substance. Interesting. I ended up taking 50 of them as well as some bandages scattered around.

Medical supplies were handy you know especially since I grabbed some painkillers, bandages, band-aids, Anti-bacteria wipes, gloves and much more. My Total weight was now estimated to be around 60 kilograms plus my own which I believe to be about sixty.

Feeling the weight slightly increase I started to stretch. It returned to being the same feeling as before. Uncomfortable but bearable.

Seeing a chest rig I also took that. Maybe it would help me later. Looking again I found a gas mask. While futuristic it covered the entire face and head.

This would serve me well. My eyes were… Eye-catching - Pitch black with no iris. Taking the gas mask and wearing it I moved out.

Time to explore the borderlands...