The silence of the ruin was different now. Before, it was the heavy silence of a tomb. Now, it was the charged silence of a predator's den. Valen stood motionless, a living statue of vengeance, his new eyes scanning the scene of his own murder.
His mind was unnaturally calm. The fire of rage had been banked, cooled by the Codex's flawless logic into a hard, sharp diamond of purpose. Emotion was a liability. Data was a weapon.
Codex, he thought, testing the interface, the words forming in his mind without being spoken. Analyze the scene. Tell me what happened after I fell.
The world flickered. His vision, already enhanced, sharpened further. Overlays of light and data points painted the environment. The scuff marks near the chasm glowed, an algorithm tracing their vectors. The bloodstain on the floor was bracketed, its chemical composition analyzed from residual particles in the air.
[Acknowledged. Analyzing environmental data.]
[Trace analysis of scuff marks indicates a single body, approximate mass 78kg, was dragged to the chasm edge. Consistent with Host profile.]
[Blood analysis indicates two genetic signatures. Signature Alpha matches Host. Signature Beta matches Scavenger Joric. High-velocity spatter pattern suggests fatal cranial trauma via blunt-force impact.]
Valen's jaw tightened. Joric. Young, scared, probably argued against Ryker's plan. A loose end. Ryker was never one for loose ends.
[Boot print analysis identifies four individuals moving towards the ruin's eastern exit. Time elapsed since departure: approx. 7 hours, 14 minutes, based on dust displacement and atmospheric particulate decay.]
[Probable destination: Rusthaven Outpost. Distance: 32 kilometers. It is the only scavenger-friendly settlement within a 100-kilometer radius.]
Rusthaven. A wretched hive of scavengers, mechanics, and information brokers, built into the husk of a derelict Architect terraformer. It was the only place Ryker's crew could fence a Relic and disappear.
They have a seven-hour head start, Valen thought. It didn't matter. He was no longer bound by human limitations.
He took a step, and his boot crunched on something. Looking down, he saw the shattered remains of his old kinetic knife, its power cell cracked. His meager supplies, his water flask, his gear—all gone. He was a weapon, but a bare one.
[Host inventory is sub-optimal for sustained operations.]
[Recommendation: Acquire basic equipment.]
Just then, a new icon blinked into existence at the edge of his vision—a soft, pulsing signal.
[Minor Architect energy signature detected. Location: 11 meters, beneath collapsed bulkhead.]
Valen walked to the location, a pile of rusted girders and rock. The old Valen would have needed a pry bar and an hour of back-breaking labor. He simply slid his fingers into a gap between a girder and a slab of ferrocrete and lifted.
The muscles in his back and arms coiled, the optimized fibers contracting with silent, overwhelming force. The half-ton slab of debris moved, groaning in protest, until he could push it aside.
There, nestled in the dust, was a small, grey cylinder, no bigger than his thumb. It hummed with a faint, internal light. It was a standard Architect power cell, probably dropped from a long-dead drone. To most scavengers, it was junk, its energy output too erratic for their cobbled-together tech.
He picked it up.
[Architect Relic identified: Mark IV Micro-Fusion Cell. Condition: 91%. Output unstable.]
[This unit is compatible with the Genesis Codex.]
[Recommendation: Integrate Relic to replenish Host energy reserves and bolster bio-augmentation functions. This will increase Codex sync rate.]
Integrate?
[Affirmative. Place the cell against your left forearm.]
He did as instructed. The moment the cylinder touched his skin, it dissolved into a cascade of blue light and metallic dust. The light flowed into his arm, a painless, electric warmth that spread through his entire body. He felt a new wave of power, deeper and more stable than the initial reconstruction.
The status display in his vision updated.
[SYNC RATE WITH CODEX: 12.7% -> 15.2%]
[New Function Unlocked: Kinetic Augmentation.]
[Description: The Codex can now absorb and redirect kinetic energy, temporarily reinforcing physical strikes or creating localized defensive barriers.]
Valen looked at his empty hands, then balled one into a fist. He could feel the new potential humming just beneath his skin—a coiled spring waiting to be released.
Ryker and his crew had a seven-hour head start. They had weapons, supplies, and a sense of security.
Valen had the Codex.
It would be more than enough. He turned and began to walk towards the eastern exit, his steps silent and measured. The hunt had officially begun.