Apocalypse: becoming the hidden Ruler

The group stopped outside a heavily guarded Steel Serpent ward. Axel barely even acknowledged the armed men watching him, striding forward as if he owned the place.

"Healing." The room brightened with a soft, eerie glow.

Lying on the bed, wrapped in bloody bandages, was Lucas—his body a mess of scars and stitched-up wounds.

Axel had been capable of healing him earlier, but at the time, he had wanted to silence him.

Now? That decision had just become his ticket out of this mess. The moment Axel's ability took effect, the change was instant.

Lucas's muscles twitched, his breath hitched, and slowly—his bloodshot eyes cracked open. A second of silence. Then—

"Lucas!"

"Mr. Lucas!"

More and more people rushed forward, surrounding the bed. Axel? He just stood there, watching the scene with an unreadable half-smile.

Lucas's voice came out hoarse, disbelieving. "This… is Sin City? I'm back? I survived?"

When Lucas escaped from Black Rock Prison, he was hunted relentlessly. To get away faster, he made the decision to hack off his own hands and feet, just to slip free from the cuffs and shackles.

His Awakening skill allowed him to regrow lost limbs, but the pain… the pain was something he'd never forget.

He'd risked everything to get back, but in the end, he had collapsed. But now… He was awake. Back in Sin City. Back with the gang.

"Lucas, you're awake." Declan stepped forward, wearing a faint smile.

"Boss!" Lucas's voice cracked with emotion. He never thought he'd make it back alive, let alone have the boss himself greet him.

And there were so many people here, watching. Normally, no one would have given someone like him a second glance. He was just another mid-tier Awakener, nothing special. But now? It felt different.

Declan's voice cut through the air. "Lucas, we've got a new brother in the gang. We're trying to verify his identity. He says you can vouch for him. Since you're up, take a look."

To the Steel Serpents, whether Lucas lived or died wasn't a huge deal. Guys like him—strong, sure, but not exceptional—were a dime a dozen in Sin City.

But right now, what he said mattered a hell of a lot.

Lucas followed Declan's gesture—and then his gaze landed on the young man standing at the center of it all. Axel.

His eyes widened. His face twisted into disbelief. And then— He laughed. "Him? Of course I know him!" Lucas looked around, chest rising with emotion. "Axel saved my life. If it weren't for him, I'd be a corpse rotting outside Black Rock."

The room fell silent. Even Blackstone looked stunned—staring at Lucas as if he'd just grown a second head. "Lucas, are you sure? Look again! How the hell could you possibly know this guy?" Blackstone's voice rose, his calm cracking with frustration.

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To him, Axel's identity as a Whisper Syndicate operative was already a done deal. But now? Lucas was claiming Axel saved him? This was insane.

"I'm damn sure." Lucas's voice was steady now, no hesitation in his tone. "Back in Black Rock, I thought I was cold-blooded. But Axel? First day in that hellhole, he killed a prison guard."

Lucas scanned the room, meeting the eyes of those who doubted. "If Axel hadn't fought in that place, I'd be dead."

Everyone had heard about Lucas's arrest by Krythos officials. A death sentence. No one thought he'd walk away from it. Now, hearing the full story, the crowd's opinion began to shift.

Whispers turned to murmurs. Mistrust turned to curiosity, then respect.

"So Axel pissed off someone high up and had to flee to Sin City? Damn..."

"Didn't think the guy had it in him."

"Killed a guard on day one? That's some next-level balls."

In Sin City, most people were ruthless bastards. But what they respected—even admired—was raw courage, and the ability.

And Axel? He had just earned both. The trial wasn't officially over yet—but in that moment, most of the room had already made up their minds.

Axel wasn't the one under scrutiny anymore. He was the fucking legend in the making.

"Mr. Declan, I was just about to tell you I recognized him, but you walked off," Axel said calmly.

Declan slapped his forehead. He *did* remember Axel trying to say something earlier while he was healing Lucas.

"And as for this Whisper Syndicate crap…" Axel gave a helpless shrug, "Come on. If I were one of them, why the hell would I risk coming to Sin City?"

A ripple of laughter rolled through the room. The absurdity of it landed with everyone. Even the gang's lieutenants—usually stone-faced—let out small chuckles. Then they turned toward Blackstone, their amusement fading fast, their gazes were cold.

They weren't stupid. Everyone knew Blackstone had it out for Axel ever since he'd taken over the Exotic Beast Pill business.

But this? Accusing someone of being with the Whisper Syndicate just to get rid of a rival? That was crossing a line.

"You—Lucas! Were you threatened by him?!" Blackstone snapped, pointing at Axel. "I heard it with my own ears!"

Lucas blinked, thrown off. It finally clicked—Blackstone was accusing Axel of being with the Whisper Syndicate.

"Think about it! Maybe he helped you escape on purpose. Let you run free, come here, just to make his cover story airtight. Of course you'd vouch for him! That's the whole plan!"

His voice cracked with anger. His eyes were bloodshot. The murderous aura rolling off him made the temperature in the room drop.

To him, this wasn't just suspicion anymore—this was truth, unshakable and absolute. But now? No one was buying it. Everyone was looking at him like he was the crazy one.

"Ahu, calm yourself." An older man from the back finally spoke."Let's be real. You think the Whisper Syndicate went through all this just to join a street gang?"

He glanced around at the gang members—most of them hardened fighters, a few level-three Awakeners, but the majority just low-rank grunts scraping to survive.

"What the hell do we have that they'd want?" It wasn't mockery. It was just the truth.

Everyone knew the Whisper Syndicate was terrifyingly powerful, infamous across Krythos. A gang like Steel Serpents? Yeah, they ran some streets. But to Whisper Syndicate? They were fucking irrelevant.

Lucas, who'd been grinning a moment ago, now had a dead expression on his face. He thought back to his escape—how he'd ground his wrists down with wire, chewed grass to stay alive, crawled through shit-filled sewers with half his blood gone.

He almost died more times than he could count. Deliberately let me go? Fuck off.

If Blackstone weren't higher up in the hierarchy, Lucas would've punched his teeth in right then and there.

"But—" Blackstone opened his mouth again, clearly not ready to let it go. But a hand gripped his shoulder.

Caden. He shook his head. Whatever Caden's original plan had been, things had spiraled out of control. Right now, if Blackstone kept talking, it'd only dig the hole deeper.

"Alright, enough of this back-and-forth," Declan said coldly, cutting through the rising noise. His eyes narrowed at Blackstone. "And tell me, how exactly did you manage to overhear Axel? He was in his own room. You just happened to be nearby?"

Blackstone stiffened, caught off guard. Yeah, the Awakened had sharper senses than most—but even so, eavesdropping was a huge taboo in Sin City. You get caught snooping, and you're not just breaking trust—you're making enemies.

"I…" Blackstone hesitated, jaw clenched. If Axel had actually been guilty, maybe no one would care about how the information was obtained. But now that he'd cleared his name?