Owen was breathing heavily as he jogged down the hallway, the lingering effects of embodiment still weighing heavily on him. His muscles burned, and his vision swam. As he descended a set of steps, his foot caught the edge, and he tripped, crashing to the floor with a loud thud. He grunted, huffing a few breaths as he struggled to push himself up. His body felt heavy, but he gritted his teeth, refusing to stay down.

  Then, from further down the hall, shouts rang out.

  "There! An inmate!"

  Owen’s head snapped up. A group of officers was rushing toward him. He clenched his fists and pressed a hand against the floor, dragging himself up. As they drew nearer, his eyes locked onto a face he hadn't expected to see—Sonya.

  She saw him at the same time, and her eyes widened in recognition.

  When the officers closed in on him, the two at the front quickly raised their firearms, aiming directly at him. One of them barked, "Get on the ground! Now! Or I swear I’ll shoot!"

  Through tired breaths, Owen smirked. "Go ahead, then."

  The officer’s finger tensed on the trigger, but before he could fire, Sonya let out a quiet sigh.

  Her hands blurred. In an instant, she struck the officers on either side of her, her precise chops landing sharply on their necks. Before the others at the front could react, she struck the remaining officers in the back of their heads, sending them toppling forward, unconscious.

  Owen raised an eyebrow as he watched Sonya calmly step over the unconscious officers. "So… you with us now?" he asked.

  Sonya didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she stepped forward, her gaze focused on him. "You need healing." she said simply, her tone leaving no room for argument.

  She placed a hand on his shoulder and a warm sensation spread through his body, and almost instantly, the exhaustion weighing him down started to fade.

  His muscles relaxed, the pain in his joints disappeared, and his breathing steadied. Within seconds, he felt completely rejuvenated, as if he had just woken from the most restful sleep of his life.

  Sonya pulled her hand away.

  Owen stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders, marveling at the difference. He exhaled, then glanced at her. "Thanks," but then he asked again, "Are you joining the escape?"

  Sonya looked at Owen for a moment, her expression unreadable. Then, with a quiet sigh, she said, "I’m not. I can’t just abandon my duties."

  Owen frowned. "You should." he told her firmly.

  She gave him a sad smile, shaking her head. "Go, Owen. You don’t have time for this."

  His jaw clenched, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he took a step back, then turned away. As he started moving down the hallway, he called over his shoulder, "I hope I’ll see you again in the future."

  Without waiting for a reply, Owen broke into a run, disappearing down the corridor.

  ***

  Albert narrowly dodged the swipe of the monstrous wraith lunging at him, its elongated claws slicing through the air just inches from his face. As he backed away, his eyes flicked toward Barbara, who was already engaging the other creature.

  "Don’t let them touch you!" he shouted. "If the wraiths get their hands on us, we’re dead!"

  The wraith that had missed him let out a guttural snarl, its hollow, soulless eyes locking onto him as it prepared to strike again.

  Marie turned to the gathered inmates. "The wraiths will keep them busy for a while. Let’s head to the landing deck."

  A wave of nods rippled through the group before they hurried down the stairs. They moved around and then past Albert and Barbara.

  Barbara's glare burned into the fleeing inmates, but in that brief distraction, one of the wraiths lashed out. Its jagged claws scraped across her forearm. She winced, feeling an immediate, unnatural numbness spreading through the limb.

  She staggered back, tearing away her sleeve with her teeth. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the flesh already blackening, veins shrivelling as necrosis set in.

  With a growl of frustration, she lifted her remaining arm. In one decisive motion, she severed the dead limb, the cut clean and precise. Blood spattered the floor as she exhaled sharply, steadying herself. Then, with fury burning in her eyes, she stared down the approaching wraith.

  Near Barbara, Albert extended a hand towards the passing inmates, his purple essence surging outward. Instantly, cries of agony filled the air as several inmates stumbled, clutching their bodies and writhing in pain.

  The wraith nearest to Albert lunged again, its monstrous claws reaching for him. Albert barely managed to sidestep, his eyes darting between the shadowy creature and the inmates still trying to flee.

  But then, an inmate broke away from the fleeing group. Jason was coming straight for Albert.

  He leaped forward, his fist raised high, aiming for an overhead punch. But Albert, clearly annoyed, simply raised his palm and pushed Jason back sending him stumbling several steps away.

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  Before Albert could follow up, the wraith was on him again. Its claws slashed through the air with unnatural speed, forcing Albert to duck low and weave backward. Each attack came dangerously close, the chilling presence of the creature making his skin crawl.

  Meanwhile, Grace and Hannah also broke away from the fleeing inmates, their eyes locked onto Barbara. Barbara noticed them from the corner of her eye.

  Her severed arm twitched, then within seconds, new flesh rapidly formed, as her limb fully regenerated. Once it was fully restored, she flexed her hand and swung it violently, the sheer force of it causing a powerful gust of wind to blow Grace and Hannah backwards.

  Without missing a beat, Barbara pivoted and drove her fist straight into the wraith lunging for her. The impact sent its head snapping backwards. But instead of falling, the creature’s head whipped back into place unnaturally, its hollow, soulless gaze locking onto her once again. Without hesitation, it lunged for her again.

  Away from the fight, Marie crouched beside Katherine, carefully slipping an arm around her waist and lifting her up. Katherine winced but managed to drape her arm over Marie’s shoulder for support.

  As they began moving, Katherine muttered, "Your wraiths won’t last long."

  Marie’s eyes flicked toward the battle raging behind them. "I know," she said, her voice calm but strained. "Just keeping them moving fast enough to match advanced essence users is draining me."

  Katherine tightened her grip on Marie’s shoulder. "Then I need to rejoin the fight."

  Marie glanced at her. "But you’re too injured."

  Katherine didn’t respond. Instead, she suddenly pushed herself away from Marie, forcing her to step back. "I don’t care," she growled through gritted teeth. "I’m not sitting this one out."

  Before she fully turned around, she pointed towards the landing deck. "Go help the inmates board the cars."

  She then used wind to carry herself forward towards the battle.

  ***

  Isaac stood tall on the hover truck, overseeing the departure of the ships from the landing deck. Rows of vehicles were lined up, and his droids guided the inmates to vessels, allowing them to leave and go wherever they wanted.

  Suddenly, he heard someone call his name from below. Isaac looked over the edge of the truck and saw Marie standing there, her figure moving through the chaos below.

  He jumped off the truck and landed beside her. The moment his feet hit the ground, he immediately asked, "What’s the situation inside the hangar?"

  Marie glanced toward the hangar, her face a mix of concern and urgency. "I think we won’t be able to hold them off for much longer. We need to hurry and get everyone out of here."

  Isaac nodded. "I’m doing my best to get them out as quickly as possible."

  Just as he spoke, Marie suddenly stumbled forward, her body swaying. Isaac’s reflexes kicked in, and he reached out to catch her.

  "Hey, what’s wrong?" he asked.

  Marie’s eyes were wide as she looked at him. "My essence… it’s dropping quickly."

  She looked toward the hangar again, her expression darkening. "We don’t have much time left."

  ***

  Barbara was mounted on the wraith, her fists relentlessly hammering its head into the ground. Each time she caved its skull in, the creature regenerated, its dark, twisted form repairing itself almost instantly. But Barbara didn’t stop. She kept pounding, her strength making the floor beneath them crack.

  The wraith slashed at her, its claws raking across her arms and torso, leaving behind streaks of dead, blackened flesh. But Barbara didn’t care. Her regeneration was strong enough to counteract the necrosis, keeping her body from succumbing to the deadly touch of the creature.

  As she continued her assault, Hannah rushed in from the side, delivering a powerful kick aimed at Barbara’s head. But when her foot connected, Barbara barely budged. She didn’t even acknowledge Hannah’s attack. She cursed under her breath and stepped backwards.

  Then Katherine appeared, her finger pointed straight at Barbara. At the very tip of her finger, air rapidly compressed into a dense, swirling bullet. She then fired it forward.

  The air bullet struck the back of Barbara’s head with a sharp crack. Her head dipped forward slightly, and for the first time, a low, guttural growl rumbled from her throat.

  Barbara let out a furious snarl as she raised both arms high above her head. Then, with a thunderous crash, she brought them down onto the wraith beneath her. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the ground, shattering the creature into black mist.

  As the last of the wraith’s wisps faded into the air, Barbara slowly rose to her full height and turned to face Katherine and Hannah.

  Hannah instinctively flinched at the sight of her. But Katherine didn’t hesitate. She placed both hands beneath her and blasted upwards, launching herself high into the air. As she ascended, arcs of lightning surged through her body, crackling with raw power. She aimed her charged hand down at Barbara.

  Just as Barbara tensed to move, two chains suddenly erupted from the ground, wrapping tightly around her wrists. She growled and pulled at them with immense force, but the chains held firm.

  Katherine wasted no time. She fired a concentrated bolt of lightning straight at Barbara, the electricity crackling through the air before striking her head-on. Sparks danced wildly around her body.

  But then Barbara’s body began to shift as she transformed into her beast form. The moment the transformation was complete, the lightning’s effect faded completely, leaving her completely unscathed.

  Barbara let out a deep, rumbling breath before flexing her arms. With a violent tug, she ripped free from the chains, sending shattered metal flying. Her glowing eyes snapped to Hannah.

  Next to them, the intense battle between Jason, Grace, and the wraith raged on against Albert. Grace’s eyes darted between the two battles, her focus shifting as she tried to help where she could.

  She extended more chains from the ground beneath Barbara, hoping to halt her movements. But before the chains could fully wrap around Barbara, she was distracted by a sudden movement.

  Jason was sent flying backwards with brutal force, crashing hard into the ground. His body skidded along the floor before coming to a painful halt. Grace’s gaze snapped back to the warden.

  She saw him quickly move towards the wraith. With a swift, fluid kick, he delivered a roundhouse kick that connected with the wraith. The wraith’s head was instantly torn from its body, sending it flying into the air. Its body crumpled to the floor, and its dark form started to dissipate.

  Albert turned his full attention to Grace and the remaining inmates still locked in battle. His expression was cold, unwavering. Slowly, he raised his hand into the air, and at that moment, a powerful surge of essence erupted around him like a storm. The air itself trembled with his power.

  Grace’s eyes widened in alarm as searing pain shot through her body. She gasped, her legs nearly buckling beneath her. All around her, the others cried out in agony, gripping their heads or collapsing to their knees. Katherine, who had been floating in the air, let out a strangled yell as she collapsed to the floor.

  As the inmates writhed on the floor, their bodies overwhelmed by Albert’s ability, he stepped toward Jason first. Without hesitation, he lifted his foot, positioning it directly over Jason’s head, ready to crush his skull with a single stomp.

  But before he could bring it down, a sharp voice cut through the chaos.

  "Albert!"

  The unexpected call made both him and Barbara freeze. Albert’s teeth clenched in irritation as he turned his head towards the source.

  From the back of the hangar, barreling down the stairs with reckless speed, was Owen.

  Once Owen reached the ground and closed the distance between them, he leaped at Albert, his fist cocked back, ready to strike.