They moved like wolves silent, synchronized, ruthless.
The Syndicate retrieval squad descended through the rift above, black armor gleaming with synthetic muscle coils and crimson visors scanning the ruins. Each soldier carried a shockpulse rifle and an EM baton strapped to their back designed for subduing dangerous assets. Living weapons. People like Kael.
People like her.
Kael counted eight before they even touched the ground. Too many. Too fast.
Lira staggered behind him, her body still trembling with aftershocks. He could feel her pulse surging erratically, tugging at the air like static on the verge of becoming a storm.
"I need you to stay calm," Kael said without turning.
She didn't answer just nodded.
The drones hovered above, lenses trained on them like vultures waiting for a final breath.
The lead soldier stepped forward. His voice echoed through a built-in speaker, metallic and cold.
"Asset 03, your awakening has been recorded. By order of the SynTech Directive, you are to be returned to containment. Immediately."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "She's not going anywhere with you."
The soldier tilted his head, as if surprised someone dared speak.
"Unregistered anomaly detected," the voice said. "Scanning… Subject identified: Kael Rhys. Status: Class Black. Kill on sight."
Kael grinned, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Always nice to feel wanted."
Then he moved.
The ground cracked. Gravity slammed downward like an invisible hammer. Three soldiers stumbled as their boots skidded against the sudden pressure shift. Kael launched forward, electricity arcing from his fists, turning the air around him into a searing blue haze.
His punch collided with a soldier's chestplate, and the force folded metal like paper. The man flew back twenty feet, embedding into a rusted pillar.
The second raised his rifle too slow.
Kael spun, ducked, and sent a surge of current into the weapon, causing it to explode in a burst of sparks. The soldier screamed as the blast flung him backward.
A baton cracked against Kael's shoulder. Pain flared. He gritted his teeth and twisted, slamming his elbow into the attacker's throat. Another crumpled body.
But there were still five more.
Lira screamed. Not in fear in power.
The world shivered.
Suddenly, reality around her fractured like broken film. For a split second, Kael saw ten versions of her one reaching forward, another hiding, another weeping, another glowing with violet light.
And then it snapped back.
The Syndicate soldiers hesitated, clearly shaken. One clutched his helmet and fell to his knees, gasping.
"P-protocol breach!" another shouted. "Asset's destabilizing reality threads—"
Kael didn't wait. He took the distraction, grabbed Lira's arm, and ran.
They crashed through a wall of scorched debris, down a narrow service tunnel that led beneath the city's crust one of the old supply routes abandoned after the riots. Behind them, the tunnel began to collapse as gravity warped the supports.
Lira gasped, her hand glowing faintly. "I—I didn't mean to—"
"I know," Kael said. "You're new to this. But they won't care."
He turned to her in the darkness.
"They don't see a person. They see an asset, a number. And people like us? They don't let us walk free. Ever."
Lira stared at him. Her lips trembled. "What am I?"
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Something dangerous," he said. "Something powerful."
Then softer, almost a whisper:
"Something they'll kill to control."