Marvel: Empire of Power-Chapter 138 - 137: The Apocalypse Gauntlet, Part I: Whispers of Annihilation, Global Heralds

Elias Thorne, now a True Prime Conduit integrated with his System at a level bordering on apotheosis, felt the reawakening of En Sabah Nur not just as an intelligence report, but as a discordant, agonizing scream in the Earth's very energetic and psychic fabric. Apocalypse's final preparations for his global culling were not subtle; they were a declaration of war against all life that did not bow to his Darwinian, strength-obsessed ideology. The System's 48-hour countdown to planetary catastrophe was a cold, unblinking clock.

"He is no longer just stirring, Finch," Elias's voice, now imbued with a quiet, cosmic resonance, addressed his Arch-Necromancer, who was already pale and trembling in his Montreal Sanctum, the necrotic energies of Apocalypse's rising power a suffocating miasma even across their secure link. "He is erupting. His Horsemen are not just attacking random targets; they are converging on global nexus points, attempting to activate some kind of... planetary energetic grid, likely using Celestial technology, to amplify his own power and initiate his 'Great Cleansing'."

Dr. Finch, now [Arch-Necromancer Lv. 6] but looking older and more frail than ever under the strain, nodded grimly. "Indeed, Creator. My scrying rituals and the Mnemonic Ghost echoes of Schmidt confirm it. Apocalypse seeks to use Earth's own ley lines, its dimensional weak points, as conduits for a devastating wave of... transformative, or perhaps purely destructive, energy. London, Moscow, Cairo, and Washington D.C. are not just symbolic targets; they are anchors for this ancient, terrible machinery."

Elias's mind, now capable of processing information and formulating strategies at a speed that would have shattered any human intellect, moved with cold, terrifying efficiency. The Kree threat, the Skrull alliance, the internal superhuman politics of Earth – all became secondary concerns in the face of this immediate, existential crisis.

His orders flashed across his global network:

Marcus "Nox" Thorne & Lexicon "Vex" (Klyntar-Bonded Legionnaire Primes): Aboard the Nightfall III (now upgraded with O'Malley's most advanced Element X shielding and a miniaturized Finch-designed "Necrotic Scrambler" to counter Apocalypse's psionic aura), their primary objective was En Sabah Nur himself. Using their cosmic senses, data from the Frozen Throne, and every scrap of intel Finch had gathered on Apocalypse's Egyptian crypt and Celestial technology, they were to locate his hidden command nexus – his "Throne of Ages" – and attempt a direct, surgical decapitation strike. It was a near-suicidal mission, even for them.Logan (Wolverine – Berserker Ascendant) & Samuel Miller "Argent" (True Legionnaire – Trauma/Cryo Hybrid): These two avatars of primal fury and unyielding resilience were dispatched to Moscow. The Horseman "War" (General Volkov, somehow restored or replaced after his Washington defeat, his pyrokinetic powers now augmented with what looked like techno-organic Celestial weaponry) was leading an assault on the Kremlin itself, seeking to ignite a global nuclear exchange by subverting Soviet command and control. Logan and Miller were to stop him, at any cost. O'Malley, from a Blackwood stealth drone, would provide tactical support and EMP bursts.Adamantium Guard – Praetorian Cohort Alpha (5 True Legionnaires led by David "Technopath" Secundus): Deployed to London. The Horseman "Pestilence" (a new, even more virulent incarnation, her powers now capable of generating self-replicating nano-plagues) was attempting to poison the city's water supply and unleash a biological apocalypse across Europe. David's techno-empathy, combined with Elena Scythe's precision kinetic blades and Dubois Inferno's sterilizing plasma gauntlets, was their best hope.Adamantium Guard – Praetorian Cohort Beta (5 True Legionnaires led by Jaeger "Ace" Richter): Dispatched to Cairo. The Horseman "Famine" (now a withered, wraith-like figure whose entropic aura could drain life force and crumble ancient stone with a touch) was attempting to activate a dormant Celestial energy conduit beneath the Giza pyramids, likely intended to power Apocalypse's global grid. Jaeger's aerial superiority and Nova Okoro's gravitic manipulation would be crucial in this open desert engagement.Thomas MacIntyre & The Remaining True Legionnaire Cohort (8 Legionnaires, including specialized units like "Lexicon" and "Forge" providing remote support if needed): Held as a strategic reserve in Montreal, ready to reinforce any failing front or protect key Blackwood/System assets. Thomas was also tasked with coordinating a global "civilian protection" initiative, using Blackwood Conglomerated's vast resources to quietly evacuate key scientific, cultural, and political figures Elias deemed essential for humanity's (and his own empire's) post-Apocalypse future.Namor, the Sub-Mariner: While the Horsemen attacked land targets, Namor ([Loyalty: 90% - Host as Earth's Last True Bulwark Against Cosmic Annihilation]) and his Atlantean Royal Guard patrolled Earth's oceans and ley lines, countering Apocalypse's attempts to draw power from geothermal vents or trigger tsunamis to further sow chaos. His mastery over oceanic energies was Earth's deep shield.Captain America (Steve Rogers) & S.H.I.E.L.D./X-Men (Unwitting Auxiliaries): Elias, through Anya Petrova, "leaked" heavily fragmented but accurate intel on the Horsemen's general locations and objectives to Peggy Carter and Charles Xavier. He knew Captain America's unwavering heroism and Xavier's dedication to protecting both humans and mutants would inevitably draw them into these conflicts, acting as valuable, if uncontrollable, secondary forces, absorbing damage and distracting Apocalypse's Heralds while Elias's primary strike teams targeted the true objectives. He was using Earth's heroes as unwitting shields for his assassins.Bucky "Wraith" Barnes & Anya Petrova: Remained in Washington D.C. Their mission: observe the final Horseman, "Death" (whose identity and precise location remained shrouded in terrifying mystery, even to Xavier's telepathy), and, more critically, to counter any last-ditch Hydra or Soviet attempts to exploit the Apocalypse crisis. Wraith, with his ability to move unseen and neutralize targets with ruthless efficiency, was Elias's ultimate failsafe against terrestrial betrayal during this cosmic endgame.

Elias Thorne himself remained within his Sanctum Umbra orbital station, his consciousness a nexus point for the System, his newly ascended True Prime Conduit abilities allowing him to monitor and subtly influence these simultaneous global battles on a level that was almost precognitive. He could feel the thrum of his Legionnaires' Praetorian loyalty, the cold fury of Logan and Miller, the ancient power of Namor, even the distant, chaotic energies of Captain America's desperate heroism and Jean Grey's surging Phoenix Force. He was the conductor of an orchestra of demigods, playing a symphony of survival against Apocalypse's dirge of annihilation.

His own [Prime Essence Shard Reserve] stood at [0.1/???], utterly depleted by his Apotheosis and Legionnaire creation. He would need to harvest from Apocalypse or his Heralds if he wished to further augment himself or his forces during this conflict.

The first reports began to filter in, a staccato drumbeat of escalating violence:

Moscow: Logan and Miller "Argent" engaged Horseman War in the heart of a burning Red Square. Volkov, his Celestial armor shimmering, his pyrokinetic blasts capable of melting tank armor, was a true demigod of destruction. But Logan, his Berserker Ascendant fury a match for Volkov's flames, his adamantium claws superheated by Elias's subtle energy infusion, was a relentless, unkillable force. Miller, his cryo-resonant talons shattering Volkov's techno-organic weaponry, his cold rage a perfect counterpoint to the Horseman's fire, fought with a terrifying, sacrificial tenacity, his Feral Legionnaire regeneration pushed to its absolute limits and beyond. The battle was leveling city blocks.

London: David Technopath's Legionnaires met Pestilence not in the water reservoirs (Anya had provided a last-minute intel update on a change in Pestilence's target), but in the London Underground, where she was attempting to unleash a tailored nano-plague into the city's ventilation system. The confined tunnels became a deathtrap of bio-toxins, energy blasts, and shattered concrete. Dubois's plasma gauntlets burned through Pestilence's corrupted Morlock minions, while Elena Scythe's kinetic blades carved defensive perimeters. David Technopath himself, his mind a whirlwind of code and counter-code, battled to disable Pestilence's mutagenic dispersal devices.

Cairo: Jaeger Richter's Legionnaires engaged Horseman Famine near the Giza pyramids. Famine, an ethereal figure whose very presence seemed to drain life and hope, was proving incredibly difficult to target. Conventional energy weapons passed through his entropic aura. Nova Okoro's gravitic manipulations could momentarily bind him, but he would simply phase through them. Jaeger, from his custom Blackwood aerial combat platform (the Sky-Reaver), resorted to experimental "telluric disruptor" charges O'Malley had developed, trying to sever Famine's connection to the Earth energies he was manipulating.

Washington D.C.: The Horseman Death remained a terrifying enigma. No direct sightings, only a rapidly spreading wave of inexplicable suicides, heart failures, and a chilling, existential despair that was gripping the city's leadership. Captain America, S.H.I.E.L.D., and even a deeply troubled Charles Xavier (coordinating his X-Men remotely) were struggling to even identify, let alone counter, this insidious psionic/spiritual assault. Wraith and Anya were operating in the deepest shadows, trying to find Death's anchor, his focal point, before the city's will to resist completely collapsed.

Elias Thorne watched it all, his mind a super-cooled processor analyzing probabilities, reallocating resources, subtly nudging events through his psionic links and System interventions. This was not just a battle; it was a global exorcism, an attempt to purge Earth of an ancient, malevolent god. The cost would be immense. Heroes would fall. Cities would burn.

But as he felt the distant, savage triumphs of Logan and Miller in Moscow, the cold, disciplined fury of his Legionnaires in London and Cairo, and the nascent, terrifying stirrings of Nox and Vex as they approached Apocalypse's hidden throne, Elias knew one thing with absolute certainty: humanity, in all its flawed, infuriating, indomitable forms, both mundane and mutant, both heroic and shadowed, would not go quietly into the long night En Sabah Nur sought to impose. freewebnøvel.com

The Apocalypse Gauntlet had been thrown down. Earth, guided by its unseen System Lord, was about to answer with a fire of its own.