Kai didn't sleep.
Even after Lina dozed off, her head resting gently on his arm, he stayed awake. He sat there against the supply closet wall, staring into the low tunnel light, listening to the slow drip of water and the quiet hum of nothing.
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
The kind of quiet that didn't feel peaceful. The kind that made your skin crawl.
Lina shifted in her sleep and mumbled something about drawings. He brushed a curl from her forehead and whispered, "I'm here."
But something about the tunnel beyond their shelter had changed.
It was hard to explain, but the air felt heavier. Colder. Not like the earlier chill of the station — this felt sharp, like ice forming in your spine. He glanced toward the far hallway, the one that led to the deeper tunnel network.
The light down there was flickering, but not like usual. Not fast. It was pulsing.
Like it was breathing.
He carefully laid Lina against a folded blanket, then picked up the steel rod he had sharpened earlier and rose to his feet.
He stepped quietly past the broken bench, through the old station, and toward the far end of the tunnel. His boots made soft sounds on the cracked tile. He kept to the edges where the noise wouldn't echo.
When he reached the hallway entrance, he stopped.
The air here was even colder. His breath came out in faint puffs. The light flickered once, then held still. He could hear something now.
It wasn't water. Or machines. It was… breathing.
Not his own.
A slow inhale. A broken, shaky exhale. Hiding.
Kai gripped the rod tighter and spoke quietly.
"If you can hear me, and you're human, talk."
At first, silence.
Then a voice answered. It was a girl. Weak. Afraid.
"Don't come closer…"
Kai narrowed his eyes. "I won't hurt you unless you try to hurt me first."
There was a pause, then the voice again, soft and shaky.
"I'm not a monster. Not yet. But I'm infected…"
She sounded like she'd been crying for hours. Like every word hurt her.
Something flickered in Kai's vision.
[Scan Starting…]
[Seed Detected – Status: UNSTABLE]
[Mutation Risk: 91% – Collapse Soon]
[Subject Health: Poor]
He stepped closer, slowly.
"I might be able to help," he said.
"You can't," she snapped. "You'll just kill me like the patrols do."
"I'm not with them," he replied.
A weak laugh escaped the darkness. Then the voice softened.
"Name is Marra."
Kai could see her now.
"Kai" he replied.
She was hiding inside a broken vent near the floor. Her legs were curled under her, her body shaking. Her skin had strange patches that looked like glass — clear, shiny, and wrong. Her eyes shimmered with light that didn't belong.
The system flared again in his mind.
[Mutation Source: Trait Conflict]
[Echo Skin — Incompatible with Host]
[System Suggestion: Correct trait merge]
[Option: Convert to Phase-Lace (Dampened)]
[Success Chance: 72%]
[Proceed?]
He studied the blueprint in his mind. It was like a 3D model of Marra's body, filled with glowing lines and warning signs. The Echo Skin trait was tearing her nerves apart, feeding back into her Seed and causing pain.
He focused.
"Yes," he whispered in his thoughts.
The system responded instantly.
Marra gasped, her body suddenly stiff. Her back arched. Her eyes flashed white for one moment. Then the light faded, and she collapsed forward, panting.
The glass-like shimmer on her skin vanished. Her arms stopped shaking. Her breathing slowed.
Kai lowered his weapon.
[Trait Repaired: Echo Skin → Phase-Lace (Dampened)]
[Subject Stabilized]
He stepped forward slowly. "How do you feel?"
Marra looked up at him, wide-eyed. "You… fixed it. What did you do?"
"I don't know exactly," he said.
He offered his hand. She hesitated, then took it.
Her grip was weak but real.
They walked slowly back to the platform. Lina was still curled up under the coat, but her eyes opened as they returned. She sat up quickly when she saw the new girl.
"Who's she?"
"She was turning into something like that guy" Kai said quietly. "But I stopped it somehow."
"You mean she's okay now?"
"She is."
Marra nodded. "Thanks to him."
Lina studied her for a moment, then offered one of their wrapped protein bars. "Here. You look like you could use food more than me."
Marra took it with both hands, her fingers trembling. "You're… very kind."
"I'm Lina," she said with a small smile. "Professional artist. Amateur noodle queen."
Marra blinked. "I heard you earlier… something about a noodle king?"
"I say weird stuff when I'm scared," Lina muttered, cheeks red.
Marra gave a weak laugh. "That's okay. I often talk to walls."
Kai sat nearby, watching them both. The tension in his chest eased a little.
They were safe.
For now.
As the lights dimmed slightly above them, the system stayed quiet in his mind. He stared at the far wall, thoughts racing.
Whatever this power inside him was… it didn't just help him evolve.
It could save others too.
It could fix broken Seeds.
But what are seeds??
Maybe, just maybe, it could fix this world.
He didn't know what the future looked like.
But for the first time in a long while… it didn't look hopeless.