Kai sat in a dimly lit conference room, his mind still processing everything. The heavy silence was broken only by the faint hum of the monitors around him. The ancient prophecy. The return of the First Apocalypse. The fact that his energy signature had been found at the battlefield.
It was too much.
He wasn't just some random kid thrown into the chaos anymore. He was connected to it.
Evelyn Cross stood at the front of the room, arms crossed, studying him like a scientist observing an experiment. There were two other people in the room—both government agents, dressed in sleek black suits. Their presence made the space feel colder.
"Before we move forward," Evelyn said, "I need to ask you something."
Kai exhaled through his nose, resting his arms on the table. "Go ahead."
Evelyn's gaze didn't waver.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?"
Kai narrowed his eyes. "You pulled me out of a museum exhibit and dumped the apocalypse on me. It's a little late for that question, isn't it?"
Evelyn didn't smile. "It's not about whether you want to fight, Kai. It's about whether you can. You've been frozen in ice for over three years. No formal combat training. No knowledge of your abilities. No experience in this new world of heroes."
Kai's jaw tightened. He knew she wasn't wrong.
Before the ice, he had been a kid who got thrown into a warzone and survived by sheer desperation. He didn't have the refined skill that heroes now had. He had missed three years of progress.
But…
He clenched his fists under the table.
He had also spent those three years awake.
Frozen. Watching. Listening. Thinking.
He had been conscious the entire time, hearing the world move on without him. He had replayed that battle over and over in his mind, wondering what he could've done differently. He had trained in his head because it was all he had.
Now?
Now he had a second chance.
Kai leaned forward. "I may not have the training. I may not have the experience. But I fought that thing once, and I survived. And if it's coming back, I'll fight it again."
Evelyn studied him for a moment before nodding.
"Then let's talk strategy."
She tapped a button on the table, and a holographic map of the United States appeared above them. Red markers blinked in several locations, each one placed over isolated towns and cities.
"We believe the First Apocalypse is still weak," Evelyn explained, pointing to the clusters of red. "It's been appearing in remote areas, likely to avoid drawing attention while it regains strength. The attack three weeks ago was the first time it revealed itself, which means it's getting bolder."
Kai's eyes flicked over the map. There was a clear pattern to the locations.
"…It's heading east."
Evelyn nodded. "Exactly. If this trend continues, its next attack will likely be somewhere along the East Coast. But that's not the biggest problem."
She zoomed in on one of the red markers.
"Survivors from the last attack claimed that the creature spoke."
Kai's entire body tensed. "What?"
"It didn't speak in human language, but it communicated with something." Evelyn's expression darkened. "Which means it's not alone."
Kai felt something cold settle in his stomach.
It had always been assumed that monsters were mindless. Dangerous, powerful, but ultimately just beasts. If this thing was intelligent enough to speak, then that changed everything.
"…You're saying there could be more like it," Kai muttered.
Evelyn nodded grimly. "And we have no way of knowing when or where they'll appear."
A heavy silence filled the room.
Kai closed his eyes for a brief moment, steadying himself. The world had changed so much since he had been frozen. He wasn't even sure where he fit in it anymore.
But this—this fight—was something he understood.
He exhaled and looked up. "So what's the plan?"
Evelyn tapped the holographic screen, and the map changed again. This time, it displayed a single location—an abandoned military facility in the Appalachian Mountains.
"We're taking you here," she said. "It's an old training site for government-sanctioned heroes. It was abandoned when private hero organizations became more dominant, but it still has state-of-the-art equipment."
Kai frowned. "You're sending me to train?"
"You need to get your strength under control," Evelyn said simply. "Right now, you're a liability. You have raw power, but no discipline. If you go into battle like this, you'll be the first to die."
Kai clenched his jaw. He wanted to argue. To tell her he didn't need training. But deep down, he knew she was right.
The fight against the Minotaur had shown him that. He had power, but no control. He had been winging it the entire time.
If he wanted to take on this First Apocalypse, he needed to be better.
"…Fine," Kai said. "How long do I have?"
Evelyn's expression remained unreadable.
"Six weeks."
Kai blinked. "That's it?"
"We don't have time for a full training arc," Evelyn said flatly. "You need to get battle-ready fast. Our intelligence suggests the First Apocalypse will attack a major city within two months. If that happens, casualties will be in the millions."
Kai swallowed hard.
Six weeks.
Six weeks to go from a half-baked fighter to someone who could stand against a monster that took everything from him the first time.
The weight of it pressed down on him.
But he had already made his decision.
"Alright," Kai said. "When do we leave?"
Evelyn gave a small, satisfied smile.
"Tomorrow morning."
Kai exhaled and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
Six weeks.
He had a lot of work to do.