Marvel: Empire of Power-Chapter 95: Greenland’s Ghostly Throne, a Shard’s Price, a Legion’s First Son

The Greenland ice cap was a desolate, wind-blasted hell. Logan, Samuel Miller, and O'Malley had been tracking the "Sign of the Serpent" Hydra faction for weeks, their pursuit leading them ever deeper into a network of ancient glacial tunnels and newly excavated ice caverns. The "Frozen Throne" artifact was not just a myth; it was real, an immense crystalline structure of clearly non-human origin, pulsating with a cold, ethereal light and an energy that made Logan's adamantium skeleton hum and Miller's Feral Striker senses scream with a primal warning. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

This Hydra faction, led by a fanatical, ice-veined commander named General Kaltblut ("Cold Blood"), believed the Frozen Throne was a source of limitless power, perhaps even a dormant deity they could awaken to usher in a new ice age under Hydra's dominion. They had surrounded it with their elite Serpent Guard (cryo-enhanced supersoldiers) and were attempting a complex ritual involving Element X and strange, alien resonators to "attune" themselves to its energies.

Elias Thorne monitored their progress with an icy calm that belied the immense strategic importance of this mission. This was not just about stopping Hydra; the Frozen Throne itself registered on the System as an [OMEGA-TIER UNKNOWN ENERGY SOURCE – POTENTIAL DIMENSIONAL ANCHOR/CONDUIT. PRIME ESSENCE SIGNATURE: OFF THE CHARTS. ACQUISITION OR CONTAINMENT IS ABSOLUTE PRIORITY. EXTREME RISK OF REALITY DISTORTION/UNCONTROLLED ENERGY RELEASE.]

The Shard potential here was colossal, enough to not only genesis his first True Legionnaire but potentially many more, or even fuel another, even more profound, personal augmentation for Elias. But the danger was equally immense.

Logan, Miller, and O'Malley launched their assault during a brutal Arctic blizzard, the howling winds and swirling snow their only allies. Logan was a force of nature, his resurrected fury and enhanced senses perfectly attuned to the frozen chaos. He moved through the Hydra Serpent Guard like a vengeful winter spirit, his adamantium claws shearing through their cryo-armor and flash-freezing energy blasts. Miller, his Trauma Variant Feral Striker form now almost impervious to the sub-zero temperatures and focused battle fury making him an unstoppable juggernaut, smashed through ice barricades and engaged the heavily armed Hydra shock troops, his bone claws like jagged icicles. O'Malley, using his array of EMP devices and specialized sonic emitters, disrupted Hydra's communications and targeting systems, turning their own advanced technology against them.

The battle raged through echoing ice caverns, lit by the eerie blue glow of the Frozen Throne and the muzzle flashes of Hydra energy weapons. The Serpent Guard were formidable, their cryo-lances capable of instantly freezing unprotected flesh, but Logan's healing factor burned away the frostbite, and Miller's regenerative abilities, though slower, stubbornly knit his frost-damaged tissues back together.

They fought their way to the central chamber, where General Kaltblut, a hulking figure encased in powered cryo-armor that made him resemble a mechanized frost giant, stood before the pulsating Frozen Throne, his hands raised, chanting in a guttural, ancient tongue. The Throne itself was vibrating with immense power, the air around it cracking with an unnatural cold that even Logan felt deep in his bones. Strange, spectral figures, like frozen echoes of forgotten entities, flickered at the edges of vision. Kaltblut was on the verge of activating it.

"You are too late, abominations!" Kaltblut roared, his voice amplified by his helmet, as Logan and Miller burst into the chamber. "The Ice Father awakens! A new Fimbulwinter will cleanse this world, and Hydra shall rule over its frozen corpse!"

He unleashed a torrent of pure, solidified cold from his gauntlets, a blast that flash-froze a massive ice stalactite and sent it crashing towards them. Logan, with a roar, met it, his adamantium claws shattering the tons of ice into a thousand glittering shards. Miller, meanwhile, charged Kaltblut, weathering a secondary cryo-blast that coated his arm in rime ice, his bone claws aiming for the General's exposed head within the helmet.

The fight with Kaltblut was brutal. His powered armor gave him immense strength, and his cryo-emitters were deadly at close range. But Logan and Miller, fighting with the desperate, savage synergy of two beings who had faced oblivion and returned, were relentless. Logan, using his agility and smaller size, weaved under Kaltblut's attacks, his claws finding chinks in the armor, severing power conduits. Miller, a battering ram of fury, absorbed blow after blow, his Feral Striker regeneration pushed to its absolute limit, but continued to press his assault, his bone claws raking across Kaltblut's visor.

Finally, Logan, in a desperate gamble, allowed Kaltblut to seize him in a crushing grip, then, with his other hand free, plunged all three adamantium claws deep into the General's primary cryo-core unit on his chest plate.

There was a blinding flash of blue-white energy, a deafening roar, and Kaltblut's powered armor exploded, sending fragments of super-chilled metal and a wave of intense cold blasting through the chamber. Logan was hurled back, smoking and regenerating from flash-freeze burns. Kaltblut was... gone. Vaporized.

The Frozen Throne, its activation ritual catastrophically interrupted, pulsed erratically, its light dimming, its immense energy signature fluctuating wildly before settling into a dormant, but still incredibly potent, hum.

O'Malley rushed in, his face grim. "The whole damn glacier is destabilizing from that blast! We gotta get those Shards and get out, now!" The System had confirmed: General Kaltblut, with his advanced cryo-armor and deep connection to the Throne's energies, had possessed a massive Prime Essence signature.

Logan, despite his injuries, moved towards Kaltblut's epicenter, where the System indicated the largest Shard concentration now lay amidst the wreckage. Miller, already healing from his own considerable wounds, stood guard.

[HYDRA "FROZEN THRONE" INITIATIVE NEUTRALIZED. GENERAL KALTBLUT (ADVANCED CRYO-AUGMENT) ELIMINATED. ALIEN ARTIFACT (FROZEN THRONE) ACTIVATION PREVENTED – STATUS: DORMANT BUT UNSTABLE. PRIME ESSENCE SHARDS ACQUIRED: +2.3 (from Kaltblut's unique cryo-energy/alien artifact resonance & residual energies from defeated Serpent Guard elites). Total Shards: 6.9/??? SIGNIFICANT SURPLUS ACHIEVED.]

Almost seven full Shards. The price had been steep, but the reward was immense.

They made a hasty retreat, O'Malley grabbing what portable Hydra research data and artifact fragments he could, as the ice caverns began to groan and collapse around them. They reached their grav-hovercraft just as the entire section of the glacier housing the Frozen Throne calved off into the Arctic Ocean with a sound like thunder, entombing the alien artifact and Hydra's ambitions beneath millions of tons of ice and freezing water – dormant, for now.

Elias Thorne, receiving the news and the massive influx of Prime Essence Shards, felt a wave of icy triumph. Logan, Miller, and O'Malley had not only survived but had dealt Hydra another devastating blow and secured resources that would accelerate his plans exponentially.

With [6.9 Prime Essence Shards], he no longer had to choose between projects. He could do it all.

His first act was to authorize the genesis of Legionnaire Primus Marcus Thorne's first "brother." He selected the brilliant, loyal engineer from Blackwood Advanced Designs, David Ishiguro, who had aced all of Anya's and Finch's screenings. The empowerment was successful, consuming [1.0 Prime Essence Shard (Catalyst for Prime Template Initialization)] and [350 System Energy Units]. Legionnaire "Secundus" David emerged, possessing the same golden-eyed perfection, raw power, and unwavering Praetorian loyalty as Marcus, though with a distinct, almost intuitive knack for understanding and interfacing with advanced technology – a clear reflection of his innate talents amplified. Elias now had two True Legionnaires.

His Shard count stood at [5.9/???]. Enough for several more Legionnaires at the reduced cost of [0.5 Shards] each, or...

He looked at the Feral Legionnaire Hybrids – his Adamantium Guard. Dubois, Macgregor, Lemaire, Beaulieu. They were Tier 2 Apex, formidable. But they were not True Legionnaires. Could he... upgrade them? Take their existing, evolved Feral templates and overwrite or fuse them with the True Legionnaire blueprint?

System, Elias queried, analyze feasibility of upgrading existing "Alpha Legion" Feral Striker Hybrids to Full Tier 3 Prime Legionnaire status using the established True Legionnaire blueprint. Resources required: Prime Essence Shards, significant Host Energy, existing Feral Legionnaire units as base.

[FEASIBILITY: HIGH (75% PER UNIT). "ALPHA LEGION" TEMPLATE POSSESSES COMPATIBLE BIO-ENERGETIC SIGNATURES FOR FULL LEGIONNAIRE INTEGRATION. PROCESS: "TEMPLATE OVERWRITE & AUGMENTATION." REQUIRES: 2.5 PRIME ESSENCE SHARDS PER UNIT (TO RECONSTRUCT AND ELEVATE EXISTING ENHANCED PHYSIOLOGY TO TIER 3 PRIME STANDARDS). HOST ENERGY COST: 300 UNITS PER UNIT. DURATION: 72 HOURS PER UNIT. WARNING: PROCESS IS EXTREMELY TRAUMATIC FOR SUBJECT, INVOLVING TEMPORARY DECONSTRUCTION/RECONSTRUCTION OF EXISTING ENHANCEMENTS. HIGH PAIN THRESHOLD AND ABSOLUTE LOYALTY ARE CRITICAL FOR SURVIVAL/STABILITY.]

Two and a half Shards per upgrade. He had enough to upgrade two of them immediately, leaving him with [0.9 Shards]. The cost was steep, the process brutal. But the result... four True Legionnaires (Marcus, David, plus two upgraded Alphas) to complement Logan and Miller. A true superhuman strike force.

He made the call to Thomas MacIntyre, still commanding the Sea Serpent in the Pacific (mopping up remaining Japanese esoteric threats, Namor having temporarily withdrawn to address urgent Atlantean matters after the Kairyu-Shin and Amaterasu incidents).

"Thomas," Elias said, his voice resonating with newfound power and purpose. "Prepare Dubois and Macgregor. They are being recalled to Montreal. It is time for them to shed their feral skin and embrace their true legionary birthright."

The Greenland ice had yielded a bloody bounty. A new era was dawning for Elias Thorne's empire, an era heralded by the unwavering, golden eyes of his True Legion. The shadows were deeper, the stakes higher, but so too was his power. The world was his. He just had to formally claim it.