The city at night had never looked so alien. Shadows stretched unnaturally along cracked concrete, and the hum of electricity carried a subtle dissonance, almost like a warning from the universe itself. Kael's boots hit the pavement with quiet purpose, the device Aria had given him pulsing faintly against his chest, keeping his connection to the Nexus stable.
The whispers inside his head grew stronger, forming patterns he could almost read, like a code embedded in his neurons. They guided him, pointing toward a narrow alleyway where the first sentinel had been spotted. Kael's heart raced—not from fear, but anticipation. This was his first real test. If he failed, it wouldn't just be his life at stake.
The alley was dark, littered with debris and the remnants of forgotten lives. And then he saw it—a humanoid figure, yet impossibly wrong. Its limbs were elongated, fingers stretching like steel wires, and its eyes were voids of pure black. It didn't breathe, didn't blink. It simply watched.
Kael slowed his breathing, centering himself. The whispers instructed him on how to move, how to anticipate the sentinel's attack. His hand brushed against the device, sending a surge of energy through his veins. The mark on his chest flared, burning with a cold intensity, and a sudden power surged in his limbs.
The sentinel lunged. Its speed was inhuman, but Kael moved faster. Time seemed to bend, perception stretching as his body reacted instinctively. He dodged, pivoted, and slammed the device into the concrete, releasing a pulse of light that forced the creature back. It hissed, an unnatural sound like metal scraping against bone, and then vanished into a shadow, only to reappear behind him.
Kael's breath was steady. Focus, the whispers urged. The Nexus is with you.
He swung a metal pipe he found on the ground, striking the sentinel's arm. Sparks erupted as the shadowy form recoiled, leaving a fleeting silhouette of the creature's true shape—something both alien and terrifying. His pulse quickened, but so did his awareness. He could feel the sentinel's intentions before it moved, his body guided by some instinct not entirely his own.