Prologue
Evolution is no longer a theory.
It's a currency.
The world ended not with fire, but with a surge... The Evo Shock.
No one knows where it came from. A pulse of energy swept across the globe, disrupting every natural and synthetic system. The skies glowed, the oceans surged, and modern civilization collapsed in days. Governments fell and anarchy rose.
The shock changed people, Evo, as it came to be known, rewired the human body.
For some, it brought madness and chaos, turning them feral, hollow, violent shells of what they once were, consumed by power and bloodlust.
But for a rare few, Evo became something else: a gift. It awakened strength, sharpened the mind, and burned like lightning under their skin.
Each Evo signature glows with a distinct color, unique to the user.
Abilities differ, shaped by the user's instincts, emotion, and mental capacity. Evo doesn't give power. It amplifies what's already there.
Out of the ruins of the Evo shock, one entity rose from the dust...
The Guardian's
Not a nation, but a corporate god. A machine built to enforce order.
The Guardian's stabilized Evo, Studied it, and Contained it.
They rebuilt society around it.
They regulated it, taxed it, and weaponized it.
Then they synthesized it.
And that was their mistake.
Because control breeds envy. Synthesized Evo leaked into the black market.
Now, it fuels underground fights, street wars, and criminal empires.
To battle the rising wave of Ferals and Evo-driven crime the Guardians created the Evo Corps, specialized combatants trained in synthesized Evo techniques.
At the heart of the Corps: The Angels
Leader's of the Evo Corps most elite squads.
Each squad has five members.
Only a few remain active.
The most feared among them is Squad 3.
And leading them is a figure dressed in white, with a white hood and mask — the man even Ferals hesitate to charge.
His name is Birus.
CHAPTER 1
The city never slept...
It flickered and pulsed with veins of neon carving through steel arteries. Towering screens blared endless loops of Evo-infused soldiers, their glitching smiles frozen in a haze of blood-soaked valor. Drones hovered like vultures, scanning the smog-heavy streets for illegal activity, Evo surges or worse...
Ferals.
Jasper cracked an eye open.
His rusted wall-mounted TV barked out another warning in its usual droning tone:
"Feral outbreak in Sector 12. Citizens, remain indoors. Evo military personnel have been deployed."
He didn't flinch. Sector 12 was a dead zone, a forgotten stretch of city too far from Eden, the capital, for anyone to care. The Guardians rarely sent Angels here. Sometimes not even Knights. It could be days before the feral was put down.
He reached for the remote, silenced the warning, and dragged himself out of bed.
"Another day in paradise."
The smell of instant rice and burnt oil filled the air as Jasper threw together breakfast. Behind him, soft coughing.
"Mom?"
Emily stood in the hallway, frail and pale, gripping the wall for balance. Only thirty-five, but sickness had weathered her to the bone. She had been ill since Jasper was born, doctors said it was a side effect of Evo exposure during childbirth, but for one reason or another Jasper was born without Evo. No treatment had worked. And now her condition was getting worse.
"Sit down. I've got this," Jasper said, guiding her to the kitchen table. She smiled weakly, brushing the brown hair out of his eyes, like she used to when he was a kid.
He grabbed the mail from their rusted door slot. A familiar envelope, medical bills.
He opened it. His chest sank.
Balance due: 27,932 credits.
He folded it carefully and tucked it into his jacket.
"I'll fix this. I swear."
Later, at school...
Jasper sat under the shade of a broken awning, trying to focus. The sky above shimmered, bright with synthetic light bleeding through the fog. He tapped his foot anxiously until a voice called out.
Hunter: "Yo, Jas!"
Hunter jogged over, grinning, a little out of breath. His hoodie was dirty, his eyes tired.
Jasper: "Still sure about this?" he asked, more serious now.
Jasper nodded.
"I need the money. This is the only shot I've got left."
Hunter: "What the fight club not cutting it anymore?"
Jasper: "I told you, her bills have gone up, I need this"
Hunter sighed. "You could back out. I mean it. This crew's not like the punks we deal with at school. These are Dwellers. Real Dwellers. One mistake"
"I said I'm sure."
Jasper's tone cut like a blade.
They walked in silence. Friends since they were nine, bonded by broken homes and bruised knuckles. Hunter had slipped into the underground early selling Evo, running errands for the local gangs. Jasper had resisted. But today?
Today was different.
They reached the alley by dusk. The shadows stretched long between the crumbling buildings. The stench of chemicals and oil filled the air.
Hunter knocked three times on a rusted service door.
It opened, but before either of them could react, black sacks were yanked over their heads.
Jasper groaned as consciousness returned. His wrists were tied. So were Hunter's. Gagged, blinded by blood and grime.
Then, heavy footsteps.
Out from the shadows stepped a massive man, glowing with unstable Evo. It crackled from beneath his skin like living lightning.
The Hoss.
His voice was slick, theatrical.
The Hoss: "Hunter. Oh, Hunter... Didn't I warn you what would happen if you ever came back to me empty-handed?"
Hunter thrashed, eyes wild with fear.
Jasper's heart raced.
The Hoss ripped Hunter's gag off and continued,
The Hoss: "You've cost me thousands, you little rat. Thought Evo made you a man? Thought wrong."
Hunter tried to beg.
Too late.
With a sickening crunch, The Hoss drove a knife into Hunter's face, scooping out his eye.
Hunter screamed.
Jasper's ears rang. His heart broke.
Rope. Cut the rope.
Jasper twisted, grinding his wrists against the jagged edge of the rusted shelf behind him. His adrenaline burned. The knots slipped.
Now!
Jasper surged forward, tackling The Hoss. He unleashed everything, right hook, left jab, uppercut. His underground fighting instincts kicked in. He dove for The Hoss's gun.
Gunshots.
Jasper twisted and dodged but...
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Pain like fire bloomed in his chest. He slammed into a steel shelf.
Wood and metal crashed over him.
He couldn't breathe.
His hand hit something, a box had split open.
Five glowing syringes spilled out.
Before he could react, they pierced into his chest.
Evo: Raw, Synthesized, and Unstable.
Three stabbed straight into his heart.
His scream gurgled in blood.
"He's mutating!"
"Finish him off! We don't need another feral!"
The thugs stepped closer...
A voice rang out.
Cold. Calm.
"Divine Retribution."
The room trembled.
The thugs collapsed, blood pouring from their mouths, eyes, ears, every pore.
Out of the darkness stepped a figure in a white suit, black gloves, and a hood that shadowed his face beneath a sleek white mask.
Birus.
"Tsk. You guys look like you need a doctor" he said, tilting his head.
The Hoss froze. Evo crackled from his veins. His face twisted.
The Hoss: "You don't scare me, Angel."
Birus: "Shhh. 'Erase.'"
The Hoss vanished. Gone without a sound.
Birus turned to Jasper.
His eyes behind the mask narrowed. "Still alive? That much Evo... and you're not feral?"
He raised his hand. A strange glow formed in his palm.
Birus: "Omnipotent Reach."
The light touched Jasper's chest, tracing the Evo inside him.
Not synthetic.
It felt... natural.
Birus: "Impossible"
Birus stood over him in silence.
Then grinned.
Birus: "Interesting. Guess I'm keeping you, kid."
The world faded as Jasper's vision dimmed.
The last thing he saw...
Was Hunter's body.
And a single tear slid down his cheek
Two Years Prior: Sector 12, Underground Fight Club
Hunter: "C'mon, Jasper! He's winded, finish it!"
Jasper: "I got this. Evo junkies don't scare me."
The crowd roared from the underground stands, a crude circle of sweaty bodies chanting names and bets in a haze of bloodlust and flickering lights. Concrete walls were stained with old fights, the air thick with smoke and tension.
Announcer (over a busted loudspeaker):
"FINAL ROUND! Place your bets—200 credits on the evoless kid!"
"5,000 on the Evo junkie!"
"He's barely hanging in there!"
Jasper's chest heaved. Blood trickled from his nose, his fists bruised and trembling. Across the ring, his opponent was a snarling Evo user with veins pulsing bright orange it staggered forward, twitching from overexposure.
Hunter (from behind the ropes): "You've got this! He's burning out—his body can't handle that much Evo!"
Jasper: "Did you put 500 on me?"
Hunter (grinning): "Damn right I did."
Jasper: "Good..."
The bell rang.
Jasper lunged with two quick jabs and a sharp leg kick that cracked against the junkie's thigh. His opponent screamed, surging forward with a pulse of Evo, fists flying like wild hammers. Jasper tried to block, but one gut punch slipped through hard.
He doubled over, spitting blood.
Hunter: "JASPER!"
Vision fading, Jasper dropped to one knee. Then... a flash, his mother's face. Pale. Smiling weakly. Her voice calling his name.
He ducked the next haymaker. Pivoted. Uppercut.
The Evo junkie reeled, stunned.
Jasper sprang up, hooked his arm around the junkie's neck and pulled. A chokehold, tight and low. The Evo user flailed, but the drugs had drained him. It became a battle of stamina versus will.
And Jasper's will won.
The Evo junkie passed out.
Announcer: "WINNER... JASPER!"
The crowd split, half cheering, half booing. Hunter climbed through the ropes and embraced Jasper, who could barely stand.
Hunter: "My guy! You did it!"
He pressed a small wad of credits into Jasper's hand.
Hunter: "Cut from the winnings. Couldn't have made the bet without you, champ."
Jasper looked at him, heart pounding. It was just enough to cover his mother's medical bills for the month.
He smiled.
Present Day...
White light.
Jasper gasped awake, bolting upright.
Needles pierced his arm, tubes ran to machines he didn't recognize. The air smelled like antiseptic. Panic set in.
Jasper: "Where... Where am I?!"
He scanned the pristine room. White tile floors. Beeping monitors. A black-suited figure stood silently at the edge of the bed, her long, black hair glowing faintly with strands of Evo. The woman didn't blink. and her fluorescent pink eyes felt like they were scanning his soul.
Sera: "You're awake."
Her voice was calm. Dead calm.
Jasper: "Who are you?!"
Sera: "My name is Sera. Master Birus instructed me to wait until you regained consciousness."
Jasper blinked. Her posture was perfect. Still. Like a statue.
Jasper: "What... What is this place?"
Sera: "You're in Eden. Headquarters of the Guardians."
Jasper: "What?!"
Sera (flatly): "Please lower your voice. Master Birus will return shortly."
SLAM.
The door burst open. Birus entered, in a white suit with black accents, gloves shimmering with faint Evo energy. His hood was up. A white mask obscured the lower half of his face.
His presence was heavy.
Jasper felt it, the pressure. The power. Evo crackled faintly in the air as Birus approached. For a moment, Jasper couldn't move.
Then, Birus spoke, cheerful, as if greeting an old friend.
Birus: "Finally, kid. I've been waiting two whole weeks..."
Jasper: "Where's my mom?"
Birus: "Easy. Calm down."
Jasper: "Don't 'easy' me! Where is she?! If you hurt her!"
Sera stepped forward without hesitation.
Sera: "You won't be able to hurt Master Birus. Attempt it, and you'll die instantly. You won't see your mother again."
Birus (sighs): "Sera... could you try being less terrifying?"
Sera (blinking): "I am being kind. I'm warning him."
Jasper froze. The tension in the room cracked like glass. Then Birus relaxed, slumping into a chair beside the bed.
Birus: "Your mother's alive, kid. I took her to Eden General, the best hospital on the continent. She's stable. Dominion tech saved her."
Jasper: "Why... why would you do that?"
Birus: "Because I saw it."
Sera: "He saw everything. Your Evo. Your pain. Your memories."
Birus: "I used Omnipotent Reach on you back at the warehouse. Your Evo, it wasn't synthesized. It was raw. Stable. And you survived five full syringes. That should've killed you. Or turned you into a feral."
Jasper: "So... you're saying I awakened?"
Birus: "Mmm... Not quite. No flashy powers yet, but your physical stats? Already inhuman."
Birus tossed a clipboard into Jasper's lap.
Jasper (grabbing it): "Let me see"
It was blank...
Not a single word. Just a drawing of a smiley face.
Sera: "Beautiful report, Master."
Birus: "Thanks, I worked hard on that."
Jasper blinked at the two. The strongest people he'd ever seen... and this was how they acted?
Jasper: "You two are insane..."
Sera (igniting faint pink vines from her fingertips): "You will not disrespect the master."
Jasper: "Whoa, WAIT!"
CRASH!
Sera flew backward, the door slamming shut behind her.
Birus: "She gets dramatic sometimes."
Sera (from the hallway): "Apologies, Master. I'll be more precise next time."
Jasper: "Why... Why is she apologizing to you?! You launched her!"
Sera (calmly): "The Master takes care of us all."
Jasper stared at Birus, equal parts terrified and intrigued.
Birus (standing): "C'mon, kid. Let's go visit your mom."
Jasper: "Really?"
Birus: "Yeah. Then I'll introduce you to the squad."
Jasper: " One more question?"
Birus: "Yes?"
Jasper: "Why were you in Sector 12? And how did you know where to find me?"
Birus: "I won't answer that yet, you've got to meet him to understand?"
Jasper: "Him?"
Birus and Jasper walked out of Dominion headquarters, a limo approached, and Birus opened the door for Jasper.
Birus: "Get in, we've got a lot to take care of today"