Forced to watch his brother Zane receive a coveted power implant, Xavier is dismissed as useless by their father and pressured to choose a lesser core. In defiance and claiming the core possesses hidden power, Xavier deliberately selects a banned, dangerous core that links directly to the brain. He undergoes a harrowing implantation as others believe he will die. To everyone's shock, Xavier survives the fusion. His father, enraged, disowns him and exiles him to a deadly wasteland. Accepting his exile, Xavier leaves his brother with a chilling promise to watch him 'play the hero' against the Swarm.