Xavier Community College.
"Chris, I want to sleep..."
Young Gideon mumbled. Before he could finish, his head lolled to one side, and he fell fast asleep on the sofa.
It was not just him. The other teenagers nearby had already slumped over in various positions, slipping into an unnatural sleep as their breathing rose and fell.
"Something's wrong, Scott..." Chris Bradley shook his head with all his strength, and the scene before him began to blur into doubles.
He braced himself against the wall, swaying unsteadily. "I... can't hold on much longer!"
"This is Shadow King's plan..." Scott muttered. "Did Hank and the others... fail?"
At that thought, a powerless frustration suddenly surged through Scott.
He could clearly sense danger closing in, yet he could see nothing. All he could do was sit here like a useless fool and wait.
Perhaps because of the Phoenix Brand, the powerful psychic Impact made his head feel as though it were splitting apart, but it had never fully put him to sleep. That was all it had managed to do.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."
Suddenly, a faint yet rhythmic sound came from outside.
It sounded like something being dragged across concrete, orderly and uniform, making their scalps tingle.
"What's that sound outside?" Scott's heart stirred. Ever since losing his sight, his hearing had become far sharper than before.
Toad Mortimer had already clung to the upper wall like a gecko. He lowered his voice, his tone heavier than ever before.
"They're coming for us. There are a lot of them."
Before he could finish—
"Boom—!"
The old warehouse's heavy iron door was forcibly torn open from outside by an irresistible force. Twisted sheet metal curled inward with a shrill screech.
Outside the door, more than a dozen metal-bodied robots stood silently. Their crimson electronic