Cold.
That was the first thing he felt.
Kairo pushed himself upright, the breath catching in his throat and fogging in the neon-lit mist that drifted through the narrow alley. The world buzzed with the distant machinery of heavy cargo trams, the hiss of steam vents, and the crackle of broken signs flickering overhead. Nexus City wrapped around him like a metallic labyrinth, alive and uncaring.
He touched his chest, half-expecting to feel the bullet hole which had ended his life.
Nothing.
His skin was smooth, unscarred. His heartbeat was steady, almost too steady, as though his body were calibrated, not grown.
This isn't reincarnation, he thought.
This is reconstruction.
A faint noise echoed nearby. Scraping metal. A watching shadow.
Kairo stood, steadying himself against the damp brick wall. His new body felt lighter, faster. But strength meant nothing without knowledge.
He scanned the alley: no landmarks he knew, no gang tags, no surveillance drones aloft. Odd. In Nexus City, even the alleys weren't free from the city's watchful eye.
Which meant…
This district is either abandoned or under protection.
Footsteps approached – cautious, small, deliberate.
A girl appeared at the mouth of the alley, holding a battered neon lantern. She could not have been more than thirteen, her clothes layered and worn, her dark hair tied back, her eyes sharpened with the instinct of one who had been surviving on the streets far too long.
Upon seeing him, she froze.
"…You're awake?" she whispered.
Kairo remained still. "How long was I out?"
"A few hours," she said, taking a step closer but keeping her distance. "I… thought you were dead."
You and me both, he almost said.
Instead: "You're not from this district."
Her eyes flickered. "…Neither are you."
Smart kid.
She extended the lantern a little, examining him. "What were you doing unconscious in this alley? No one comes here."
Kairo chose his next words with great care. "I'm… starting over."
She blinked, clearly unsure what that meant. "Well… you shouldn't stay. This area isn't safe."
"Why?" he asked.
A heavy clang echoed from deeper in the alley, followed by a mechanical hum.
The girl's face went pale. "Because of them."
Kairo turned.
From the darkness, a tall figure emerged: metallic limbs clicking softly, a visor aglow with a faint red. A local enforcement drone—but old, outdated, and reprogrammed. A rogue unit. These things weren't supposed to exist anymore.
It scanned the alley.
"Unauthorised presence detected," it announced in a flat voice.
"Targeting."
A chill ran down Kairo's spine. Not of fear. Of calculation.
This was the first test of his second life.
The girl grasped his sleeve. "Run!"
But Kairo didn't move.
He stepped forward, a movement which put him between her and the drone. His mind focused instinctively, pathways opening like old strategies reforming.
The drone levelled its arm-mounted stun lance.
Kairo breathed once—steady.
Measured.
Controlled.
He moved when it fired.
His body now responded like a machine honed for survival: ducking under the crackling blue arc, sweeping forward, catching the drone's arm, and twisting with precision. Metal snapped, and sparks scattered across the wet ground.
The drone staggered.
Kairo wrenched the broken arm free and drove it into the exposed joint in the drone's chest. The machine convulsed, its lights dimming.
One final blow, and down it went with a crash of fading sparks.
With a steady, effective, and deadly breath, Kairo stood over it.
The girl stared at him with wide eyes. "Who… what are you?"
Kairo looked at his hands, a younger man's hands, built from the ashes of his former life.
"I'm someone who got a second chance," he said quietly. "And I intend to use it."
The girl hesitated, then stepped closer. "My name is Ryn."
"Kairo," he replied.
The girl flinched. "Like… Kairo Vance? The one who—"
"Yes," he cut her off. "But that was my old life."
He looked up at the city towers rising around them – glittering, cold, powerful.
"This time," he whispered, "I will create something else." Ryn watched him warily, unsure whether she should trust or fear him. "Kairo…" she asked softly, "what do you plan to do now?" He looked down at the ruined drone, then at the endless city lights reflected in the wet pavement. "Simple," he said. "I'm going to redesign my destiny."