Lin Yun stared at his pallid reflection, the "Meta-Guard" badge on his black uniform glinting ominously. At eighteen, he should be cramming for finals at NYU, not breathing the antiseptic stench of The Abyss Penitentiary – where Starhaven locks up telekinetic drug lords and pyrokinetic serial killers.
Ten years after the New York Meta Awakening, this steel fortress reeked of decaying powers. Guards here died younger than NFL players. His predecessor? A fourth-generation guard who got an icicle through the larynx in Sector 7.
"Transmigrated into a walking OSHA violation?" He adjusted the Kevlar vest over his birdcage chest. Congenital gene defect meant even Red Bull could trigger cardiac alerts.
The door rattled.
"Rookie! Meet your welcome committee." John Wong tossed electro-cuffs. In the blood-smeared corridor lay "Nightmare Marco" – the psychic who turned a senator's daughter into a living doll, now twitching with severed Achilles tendons.
"80-pound power suppressors. 220-pound average inmate." Lin's gasps fogged the respirator as he dragged the deadweight. When his bleeding finger grazed occult symbols in Sector 13, a searing pain shot through his arm.
[Ancient Sigil Detected]
[Chaos Devour System Activated]
[Available Energy Source: Fear (Sector 13)]