Zero Hour

Chapter 18: Showdown

New Eden, 2159

Commander Zare sneered, "This is futile; Erebus reigns supreme."

Nexus's gaze locked onto Zare. "We'll take it down."

The firefight intensified.

Zero's pistol fired, taking down agents left and right. Paxton and Dr. Taylor fought alongside Nexus. Lena and Payton's hacking kept the elite squads disoriented.

Zare charged, but Nexus countered. "You're finished," Nexus said.

Zare's eyes widened as Nexus disarmed him.

Zare snarled, "Just like Phoenix died that day, you'll die today."

Zero's eyes blazed with fury. Her voice trembled with rage.

"You're the one who was sent to promise Axel power and manipulated him, weren't you?"

Zare's smile twisted.

"Promise is a gentle word. I reprogrammed his desires, rewrote his ambitions. Now, power is all he craves. And even if you tried to save him, it's too late. His mind is mine, forever lost to the abyss. Redemption is a luxury he can no longer afford. The only way to stop him... is to kill him."

                             Warning : Graphic Content Ahead

Flashback: Axel's Brainwashing

Axel's eyes snapped open, his mind foggy and disoriented. He was strapped to a cold, metallic table, surrounded by the eerie glow of medical equipment.

Zare's face hovered above him, a twisted grin spreading across his features.

"Welcome, Axel," Zare said, his voice dripping with sadistic pleasure.

"You're about to undergo a transformation. One that will make you... loyal only to me."

Axel struggled against the restraints, but they held firm. A syringe pierced his skin, injecting a dark, viscous liquid into his veins.

His vision blurred as the substance coursed through his body.

"No... please..." Axel begged, his voice weak.

Zare's laughter echoed through the room.

"You'll beg for more. You'll crave the power I offer. And you'll do anything to get it."

The brainwashing began, a relentless barrage of psychological conditioning and neural reprogramming.

Axel's screams were drowned out by the cacophony of conflicting thoughts and emotions, his mind shattered and rebuilt in Zare's image.

Days blended together in a haze of agony and terror.

Axel's sense of self was erased, replaced by an insatiable hunger for power and control.

His memories were distorted, his loyalties rewritten.

When the process finally ended, Axel's eyes had changed.

They burned with an unnatural intensity, his gaze fixed on Zare with an unsettling devotion.

"Master..." Axel whispered, his voice barely recognizable.

Zare's smile grew wider.

"Welcome to your new existence, Axel. Where pain is pleasure."

Zare received a transmission from Erebus, its voice cold and detached.

"Zare, I have a new mission for you. Phoenix must be eliminated. He's gotten too close to the truth. Use Axel to find and kill him."

Zare nodded, understanding the stakes.