Dominic stood frozen, his breath shallow and uneven, his wide eyes locked on the stage where his father, Titan Forge, loomed over Zenith’s crumpled body. The boy’s neck had been twisted, the sickening crack still ringing in Dominic’s ears like a death knell. His father—his indomitable, invincible father—had just killed a fellow hero, a kid barely older than himself. Dominic’s entire world was shattering, piece by piece, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the nightmare unfolding before him.

  The crowd around him surged in panic, a chaotic sea of terrified bodies, but Dominic remained rooted in place, his mind too numb to process the movement, the fear. He couldn’t blink, couldn’t breathe, as the scene on stage played out in grotesque clarity. Zenith’s lifeless form, his head hanging at an impossible angle. Titan Forge standing like a statue, the blankness in his eyes betraying the reality—he was no longer in control. And behind it all, the Chancellor, a level 5 Psychic, watching with cold amusement.

  "Do you see now?" the Chancellor’s voice boomed through the speakers, his words dripping with venomous satisfaction. "Your heroes are nothing without control. And I—" he paused, stretching out his arms as if he were some dark messiah—"control everything."

  Dominic’s heart pounded in his chest, a painful thud that drowned out the screams of the crowd. His father, the man who had protected him, guided him, taught him everything he knew—wasn’t even himself anymore. Titan Forge, the strongest hero in the country, was nothing more than a puppet under the Chancellor’s control.

  As Dominic’s mind raced, his gaze drifted across the stage to Stellar, who stood in the same mindless stupor, a civilian woman gripped by the throat in his glowing hand. Warden, the impenetrable hero, maintained the force field, locking the other Guardians inside, helpless against the Chancellor’s power. Dominic’s stomach churned. Everything he had ever believed about heroes, about his father, was unraveling before his eyes.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Dominic noticed something else—a woman moving through the crowd. Her face was pale, her features tight with concentration. He didn’t know her name, but he recognized the desperate determination in her eyes. She wasn’t running like the others. She was moving toward the stage, toward the heart of the chaos. She clutched a tablet in her hand, her fingers trembling as she tried to access something, anything, that could help. Dominic could see it in the way she moved—she was trying to stop this, but she was running out of time.

  His chest tightened as he watched her edge closer, her movements careful, calculated. She was just feet away from the stage now, her eyes flicking between the tablet and the towering figure of the Chancellor. Dominic could see the fear in her posture, but she pushed through it, her focus unyielding. She had a plan.

  But then, in the blink of an eye, the Chancellor’s gaze shifted, landing directly on her.

  Dominic’s heart dropped.

  The Chancellor’s voice, low and dripping with malice, cut through the air. "I see you."

  The woman froze. She barely had time to react before the Chancellor’s mind wrapped around her like a vice. Dominic saw the shift in her eyes—the panic, the helplessness—as the Chancellor’s control slammed into her like a wave. The tablet slipped from her hands, clattering to the ground as she collapsed, clutching her head in agony.

  "You think you can stop me?" the Chancellor sneered, his voice cold, taunting. "You think your little toys will save you?"

  Dominic watched in horror as the woman’s body seized, her mind clearly under the Chancellor’s crushing influence. His grip on her was absolute, and in that moment, Dominic realized just how deep the Chancellor’s control ran. There was no escaping it, no fighting it. Not even for the most brilliant minds or the strongest heroes.

  But then, something strange happened. As the Chancellor’s gaze lingered on her, a thin stream of blood trickled from his nose.

  Dominic blinked, unsure if what he was seeing was real. The Chancellor wiped the blood away with a quick, irritated gesture, his focus momentarily faltering. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but Dominic saw it—his father’s body shifted. For a split second, Titan Forge’s blank stare faded, replaced by a flicker of recognition. His father was there. He was fighting.

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  And then, in a blur of motion, Titan Forge swung his massive arm toward the Chancellor, his fist aimed directly at the man’s head.

  Dominic’s heart surged with hope, his breath catching in his throat. His father was going to do it—he was going to break free, to stop this madness.

  But the Chancellor was faster.

  Before Titan Forge’s fist could connect, the Chancellor turned, wagging his finger with a condescending smirk. "Ah, ah, ah," he murmured, his voice sickeningly sweet. "You shouldn’t have done that."

  And just like that, Titan Forge froze again, the flicker of resistance snuffed out in an instant. His arm fell back to his side, his expression returning to that blank, controlled state. Dominic’s hope shattered.

  The Chancellor turned back to the crowd, addressing them with an almost casual air. "It seems our dear Titan Forge had a momentary lapse in obedience. How unfortunate." He wiped the remaining blood from his nose, his smile growing colder, more malicious. "But we can’t have that, can we? No, there must be consequences."

  Dominic’s blood ran cold as the Chancellor’s gaze swept across the audience. The smile on his face twisted into something dark, something cruel. "As a penalty for Titan Forge’s little… rebellion, I will have him kill someone else. But this time, it will be personal."

  Dominic’s heart pounded in his chest. No. No, no, no. He could see where this was going, and every fiber of his being screamed in protest.

  The Chancellor snapped his fingers, and from within the shimmering force field, Viora, Dominic’s mother, was pulled forward. Her expression was calm, unreadable, but Dominic could see the subtle tension in her posture. She knew what was coming, even if she couldn’t fight it.

  "Viora," the Chancellor announced, his voice oozing with satisfaction, "the loving wife of Titan Forge. Let’s see how well love stands against control, shall we?"

  Dominic’s entire body went rigid, his mind screaming in disbelief. This couldn’t be happening. Not his mother. Not in front of him. He wanted to run, to scream, to do anything—but he couldn’t move. His feet were glued to the ground, his limbs paralyzed by the sheer horror of what was unfolding.

  The Chancellor waved his hand, and Titan Forge’s body moved like a marionette. He stepped forward, his massive hands reaching out for Viora’s throat. Dominic watched, helpless, as his father—the strongest hero in the world—gripped his wife’s neck with the same cold precision he had used on Zenith.

  "No…" Dominic whispered, his voice trembling. He could barely breathe, barely think. His father wasn’t in control. He wasn’t responsible for what he was about to do. But that didn’t make it any easier to watch.

  Viora didn’t fight. She stood tall, her eyes locked on Titan Forge’s face, even as his grip tightened around her throat. Dominic could see the love in her eyes, the silent plea for him to remember who he was. For him to fight against the Chancellor’s control one last time.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  "Decapitate her," the Chancellor commanded, his voice smooth and unwavering.

  The crowd screamed. Dominic’s vision blurred, his world spinning out of control. He couldn’t stop this. He couldn’t do anything. He was just a powerless kid, watching as his family was torn apart.

  Titan Forge’s grip tightened, and with one swift, brutal motion, he twisted. There was a sickening snap, and then—

  Viora’s head fell to the ground.

  Time seemed to slow, the world narrowing to the bloodstained image of his mother’s body crumpling to the stage. The cheers, the cries, the chaos—all of it faded into a dull roar in Dominic’s ears. He could see nothing but the blood, hear nothing but the echo of his father’s strength being used for the ultimate betrayal.

  Dominic’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees, his chest heaving with silent sobs. His mind couldn’t process what he had just witnessed. His mother—gone. His father—a puppet, forced to do the unimaginable.

  And above it all, the Chancellor stood with a satisfied grin, his power absolute, his control unshakable.

  Dominic’s heart shattered into a thousand pieces, the weight of it crushing him from the inside.

  The world was no longer a place of heroes. It was a place of monsters. And one of those monsters had stolen his father, his family, and everything he had ever believed in.

  At that moment, something inside Dominic broke.

  He looked up to see, the man from the shadows, the man he had asked for help before, and in the darkness that followed, a spark of something cold, something dangerous, ignited.