My Shard Bearer System - Elias's Legacy
Chapter 115: Tides of a change

Chapter 115: Tides of a change

"However, a known terrorist faction—operating outside our borders—interfered with an extraction mission involving one of our wardens."

The side feed blurred in again. Not edited. No jump cuts. Just a tight camera angle showing the moment everything went wrong.

"They used a shard in a way we hadn’t seen before. It distorted perception—amplified panic. The civilians you saw weren’t hostile until it was too late."

Murmurs built behind the reporters.

"You expect us to believe that?"

"You’re saying they were manipulated by some kind of psychic effect?"

"Who gave them access to a shard in the first place?"

Elias clenched his jaw.

The Commandant didn’t flinch. "We are investigating all sources of unauthorized shard appearance. That includes internal reviews. No one is above it."

He let the feed go quiet again before speaking.

"Our goal hasn’t changed. Those who’ve trained, who’ve mastered their Ikona, will become something this world needs—strength. Resolve. Leadership."

He looked directly into the lens.

"They are still human. Still people."

The screen faded into a black transition. White letters scrolled across the bottom:

One Week. Public Forum. Live Discussion.

The Commandant’s voice returned over the blackout.

"In one week’s time, you will hear directly from them. The ones learning. Fighting. Surviving. Not edited. Not filtered."

The image returned to his face.

"Our goal does not shift with the emergence of these... shard-bearers. Whether you believe in divine favor or luck, take it how you will. This is a warning—but also a chance."

The Commandant’s tone hadn’t changed once. His face remained still, eyes level with the camera. Not persuasive, not defensive. Just certain.

"When the alien forces return—and they will—we will not be caught unprepared."

Elias watched him closely. There was no swelling background, no flag behind him. Just a man standing beneath a blank wall and speaking like the war had already started. Maybe it had.

"We don’t know what the future will hold," the Commandant continued. "But we will take every calculated path toward salvation. We know you have questions. So do we."

The reporters leaned forward, shifting, half-standing with mics extended. A few tried to shout again, but the Commandant didn’t pause.

"As more information becomes available, we will release it. That is our promise."

He stepped back from the podium. Gave a slight bow—barely more than a nod—then turned and walked off-screen without waiting for applause, without looking back.

The screen cut to black.

Elias didn’t move. Behind him, Paul had stopped leaning and stood upright now, arms still crossed. Kikaru kept her eyes forward, her expression unreadable.

They’d seen more in two minutes than most of the world had in the last month. And yet somehow, it still felt like they were behind. Like the rules kept changing. Like someone else was pulling the strings.

Warden Geras finally spoke.

"That was from about a day ago. Broadcasted from what used to be the nation’s central government headquarters." His tone didn’t carry emotion—just the weight of knowing what would come next. "But what matters now is how we respond. If you’re going to keep holding those shards... then the world needs to see something from you. Something worth keeping around."

Paul gave a low chuckle under his breath, but it didn’t carry far.

"Well," he said, leaning back slightly, "I’m sure that won’t be too hard, right? Save a few people. Do a couple of good deeds. Public loves a clean headline."

He exhaled, voice softening. "Makes sense. Or... it sounds like it should."

His expression darkened. "Problem is—there’s a group out there making that near impossible."

Kikaru’s voice cut in from beside Elias, sharp and controlled. "You mean Silas. Vincent. That entire mess."

Geras shook his head.

"I wish it was that simple."

He reached to the table behind him, pulling a folded projection map from a secured binder. With a press of his palm, the image expanded—a digital layout of the Vardency continent flickered into view. Sparse infrastructure. Scattered cities. Now all flagged in red.

"They call themselves the Primed Epics," Geras said. "No idea why. But official reports count seven shard users involved. Seven. And they’ve taken full control of the region in less than a week."

Kikaru leaned forward. "The entire country?"

Geras nodded once.

"Yes. Gone. Civil authority, military, everything. Wiped or absorbed."

She stared at the projection. "And we’re just hearing about this now?"

"To be fair," Geras said, eyes still on the display, "we’ve kept this under wraps as long as we could. From all of you as well. The trust level wasn’t there yet. Honestly, still isn’t."

He tapped the edge of the console. The map zoomed slightly, triangulating one of the southern provinces before shrinking back again. Red markers blinked across the continent—too many.

"We sent in teams. Full detachments. Specialized units meant to neutralize them. But their shard abilities..." He let the words trail for a moment. "Some of them don’t make sense. Not in any conventional combat logic. Sixty men and women. Gone. No survivors. They killed them all."

Elias blinked. The silence stretched longer than he expected before Kikaru stepped forward, her expression tightening.

"You’re saying all sixty? Even the ones in suits?"

Paul was the one who finished the question. "You mean even with the exosuits? The biosuits?"

Geras nodded once, slowly. "It wasn’t a full massacre. When the biosuits got involved, they pushed back harder. But some of those shard abilities... they directly counter exosuit systems. Shorted them, destabilized them, or just bypassed them entirely."

He glanced at the group again, but his voice lowered. "I won’t show those deaths. No one needs to see that."

Elias stared at the projection. He thought of Vincent. Of the doctor. Of Colby.

And now, this.

Geras pressed another key. The screen dimmed briefly, shifting from map data to a paused clip—grainy, low-light, but stabilized.

"This is where we pivoted," he said. "After what happened in Vardency, the consensus was clear. We couldn’t keep treating this like containment. My peers—the ranks—decided it was time to elevate the best candidates."