CHAPTER 18: Tie in: The Regens House

A while ago, before the flashing light brought Malrik to the Founders' house, Jace and his team were dealing with their own problems at the Regens House. They finally caught their breath after the battle against Bluefang. The gates were forced wide open, but unlike the devastation in the Founders, the streets here were silent.

The Regens House was different from the grand estates of the Four Families or the heavily fortified zones of the Glades House. Here, the buildings were tall but plain, arranged in neat rows of brick and stone apartments with narrow alleys between them. There were no extravagant manors, no elaborate courtyards—just practical homes built for resilience rather than luxury. The windows were shuttered. The doors were bolted. These actions indicated that the residents had listened to the emergency warnings. 

The team moved cautiously through the district. Unlike the devastation at the Founders’ House, there were no bodies strewn across the streets, no buildings reduced to rubble. The air wasn’t thick with smoke or the metallic scent of blood. Instead, the streets were empty, the doors shut tight, the windows dark. It was as if the entire district had held its breath, waiting for the worst to pass.

“Feels like a ghost town,” Chester muttered, adjusting the strap of his satchel. His teleportation powers had drained him, and his steps were slower than usual.

“They must’ve locked themselves in,” Natasha said, brushing dust off her force-field gauntlets. “At least they were smart enough not to fight.”

“We’re not all dumb like everyone else thinks,” Rin added, her voice quieter than usual. “Regens House doesn’t have warriors like the Glades do and we don’t have the technology like the Elite House.”

Jace and Rin had grown up here. They knew these streets better than anyone. That was why, as they walked, Rin took the lead, guiding them through alleyways and shortcuts that only locals would know.

Jace glanced at Brock, who was barely standing. His broad frame sagged under the weight of his injuries. Rin had done her best to bandage him, but without a healer, it looked grim. Natasha caught Brock as he looked like he was falling and slumped him over her shoulders.

“We need a medic,” Jace said. “Fast.”

“Easier said than done,” Natasha replied, adjusting Brock’s arm. “We don’t even know if anyone here can help.”

Jace clenched his fists. He refused to believe that. There had to be someone.

They turned a corner and spotted movement behind a second-floor window of an apartment. A curtain shifted, just barely, and then stilled.

“Look up there,” Chester whispered. “They’re watching us.”

Jace stepped forward and raised his hands, palms open. “It’s us!” he called. “We’re not the enemy! You can come out. It’s Jace Jamerson!”

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, one door creaked open. An elderly woman peeked out, her eyes scanning them carefully.

“Jace…?” she hesitated.

He exhaled in relief. “Mrs. Cruz.”

She stepped out fully, still cautious. Behind her, other doors began to unlock. Residents peeked out, their expressions filled with a mix of fear and hope.

“Are they gone?” a younger man asked.

“For now,” Jace confirmed. “But we don’t know for how long.”

One of the men, a former city guard, stepped forward. “We heard the warnings from the Taskforce X agents and evacuated everyone from District 1 at the gate. Some of us have been hiding in the basements since the alarms went off. We heard commotions earlier… We thought the worst.”

“Some Deviants were attacking but we took care of them,” Rin explained grimly.

“It’s nice to see the young generation fighting for us old folks,” the former city guard man replied. “We’re so greatful for your support.”

Rin blushed but bowed slightly to show her appreciation.

Jace noticed that many of the residents were parents clutching their children and elderly couples holding onto each other tightly. Some younger men and women had knives or blunt weapons, but it was clear they weren’t fighters. The air was still intense.

Then a voice cut through the silence.

“Where is Hector?”

Jace turned sharply. Standing at the edge of the crowd was Diana Cruz, Hector’s younger sister. Beside here were their parents Mr. and Mrs Cruz.

“I forgot to ask…where is my boy Jace?” Mrs. Cruz asked. “Hector came with the agents and told us he was going to the frontline. Did you not see him?”

Jace hesitated.

It had been a while since he saw Hector. After they were divided during training Hector went to the Elite House with the other Special Treatment initiates. He had heard that were still there when the attack started but he had not heard anything since the attack earlier that night. If Hector, Obed and Diana Novak had been on the frontlines, he wasn’t aware.

Diana took a step forward, her expression fierce. “Tell me the truth.”

Rin, standing beside Jace, lowered her eyes. She had known Hector well, although they were not really friends.

“We don’t know,” she admitted. “He was with the others during the initial fight, but… things got bad fast. We got separated.”

Mrs. Cruz gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Mr. Cruz placed a firm hand on her shoulder, his face hard but his eyes filled with pain.

Diana ran toward Jace, throwing her arms around him. Her small frame trembled against him as she clutched his shirt, her breath hitching with barely contained sobs. “Promise me you’ll find him.” Her voice was soft but insistent, desperate for certainty in the chaos.

Jace felt the weight of her words settle deep in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, steady and sure. “We will,” he whispered, his voice firm. “I promise.”

Diana pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes, searching for any hint of uncertainty, any lie. But she found none.

She nodded, swallowing her words. “Good.”

Before the moment could settle, a weak groan broke through the air.

Brock.

The sarcasm in his voice was forced, barely masking the pain he was in. “By all means… keep having your little moment. I’ll just… bleed out over here.” His breathing was ragged, sweat was dripping down his forehead and his skin was paler than a ghost. 

“Damn it,” Natasha muttered, kneeling beside him. “He’s losing too much blood.” She turned to the gathered residents. “Does anyone here have medical supplies? We need help.”

Rin and Jace exchanged a glance before speaking in unison. “Ms. Hyuga.”

Natasha frowned. “Who?”

“She’s a medic,” Rin explained quickly. “She lives in District Five. If anyone can stabilize him, it’s her.”

Diana rushed into a nearby apartment, emerging moments later with a makeshift cot—wooden, but padded with a worn mattress. With help from the residents they carefully lifted Brock onto it. A woman from the gathered crowd knelt beside him, quickly cleaning and rebandaging his wounds before they lifted the cot to carry him.

Jace felt it before he saw it. A shift in the air. His breath caught as an invisible force pulsed through him, sending a shiver down his spine. His blood boiled under his skin, his veins burning as though something inside him was awakening. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, faster, louder, matching the rhythm of the tremors beneath his feet.

That was when it happened.

A blinding light filled the sky hitting the dome cleanly and separating. 

Then the ground rumbled beneath them, the force so sudden and violent that dust and loose stones shook free from the buildings. It wasn’t just an earthquake—it was something else. Something unnatural.

and Powerful.