The alley reeked of burnt wiring and sour rain. Neon from the upper market levels bled down through cracks in the megacity floor, turning puddles into glowing pink and green mirrors. Kairos Voss lay on his back in one of those puddles, white hair fanned out in the muck, golden eyes staring straight up at the revolver barrel digging into his forehead.
The Iron Veil enforcer holding the gun was built like a loading drone—wide shoulders, cyber-plated jaw glowing dull red, subdermal lights pulsing under scarred skin. He leaned in close enough that Kai could smell the cheap coolant leaking from his neck ports
"Node shard," the man said. Voice low, mechanical. "Where.
Kai didn't blink. "Sold it. Two hours ago. You're late.
A short, wet laugh came from the enforcer's throat. "Then we take payment another way.
Behind him, twenty meters down the narrow artery between stall husks and collapsed shipping crates, two more thugs had Renn pinned. One gripped the kid by the throat, lifting him so his boots scraped air. Renn's face was already turning purple. His cheap stun-rod lay broken in half on the ground, sparks still jumping from the cracked casing
The second thug—a skinny one with a glowing green eye implant—kicked the broken rod away. "Boss said shard or core. Pretty boy here looks like he's got a nice shiny core under all that scavenger trash.
Renn choked out words. "Kai… don't tell them—
"Shut the kid up," the enforcer snapped without looking back
Green-eye slammed a fist into Renn's stomach. The boy folded with a sharp wheeze, legs kicking uselessly
Kai's voice stayed even. "Let him breathe. I'll talk.
Enforcer pressed the barrel harder. Skin split. Warm trickle ran down Kai's temple. "Talk fast.
"I sold the shard to a runner from the Black Circuit crew. Lower docks. Red coat, missing two fingers on the left hand. That's all I know.
"Liar," the enforcer said. "We already checked the docks. No red coat. No fingers.
Kai's lips twitched—just a fraction. "Then your intel sucks worse than your aim.
The hammer clicked back louder
Renn managed another gasp. "Kai—
"Quiet," Green-eye snarled, squeezing harder
Kai's left arm was pinned under his own weight. Right hand flat on concrete, fingers less than ten centimeters from Echo-7's grip. The pistol lay there like it had been dropped during the initial tackle. Magazine empty. Six standard rounds gone in the earlier chase. One overcharge round chambered—the cracked ley-crystal one he'd scavenged from the orbital drop zone last week. Primer was fractured. Should have been dead weight
But the core in Kai's chest—the piece of Node fragment that had lodged there when he was twelve—stuttered. Sharp. Electric. Like a wire finally touching ground after years of dangling
Enforcer's finger tightened on the trigger
"Last words?
Kai met the man's eyes. Golden irises reflected the red subdermal glow
"Shoot.
Trigger broke
Click
Dry
The enforcer blinked. Finger flexed again. Another empty click
"What the hell—
Echo-7's chamber lit up violet
No warning. No whine. Just sudden, violent light
The cracked overcharge round ignited anyway. Barrel flexed like breathing metal. Recoil slammed Kai's right arm back so hard the elbow joint popped. Pain flashed white
The shot didn't go forward
It tore upward in a spiraling violet corkscrew
Past the enforcer's ear—close enough to singe hair. Past his shocked face. Straight into the bundle of live power cables thirty meters overhead
Blue-white lightning detonated
Arcs as thick as fingers rained straight down like spears
First arc struck the revolver. Metal fused to flesh in an instant. Enforcer's hand locked rigid. He screamed—high, mechanical distortion
Second arc jumped to the cyber-jaw plates. Lights flared supernova white. Then exploded. Molten alloy and shattered teeth sprayed outward. One shard punched through the man's own cheek and kept going
He toppled forward like a felled tree. Skull cracked pavement right beside Kai's head. The revolver clattered free, still fused to smoking fingers
Kai rolled right. Slim body slid through muck and coolant. He came up on one knee, left hand scooping Echo-7 in the same motion
The other two thugs reacted late
"Kill him!" Green-eye yelled
Both raised SMGs—cheap drum-fed models, barrels already glowing from earlier firing
Kai didn't stand. He stayed low
Echo-7 bucked once
Violet bolt punched through Green-eye's throat guard. Blood misted backward in a perfect cone. The man gurgled, SMG dropping from nerveless fingers. He collapsed sideways, legs kicking once
Echo-7 bucked again—half a heartbeat later
The second thug—the one who'd been choking Renn—got the round through his left eye. Violet flash lit the socket from inside. Bolt exited the back of the skull, punched into the alley wall with a wet crunch of concrete and bone. Body dropped straight down like strings cut
Renn hit the ground coughing hard. Hands clawing at his throat. Air rasping in
Silence crashed in
Rain hissed on cooling barrels. Neon flickered overhead. Broken cables thirty meters up still spat blue arcs that lit the alley in stuttering flashes
Kai stood slowly. White hair dripped black water. Golden eyes brighter now—almost glowing against the dark. Echo-7 smoked in his right hand. Thin violet thread snaked from the muzzle, wrapped once around his wrist like a living vein, then sank into the skin of his palm. Tingling heat spread up his arm, into his chest
Bond sealed
His fractured core pulsed again—harder, deeper. Something answered from inside
More
Faster
Again
Kai looked at the four bodies
Looked at Echo-7—barrel still faintly glowing violet
Looked at Renn
The kid was on hands and knees, coughing up spit and blood. He raised his head. Eyes wide
"You… you just—
"Next time I say hide in the vent," Kai said, voice flat, "you hide in the vent.
Renn nodded fast. Still coughing
Kai ejected the empty magazine. It clattered on concrete. He bent, patted down the nearest corpse, found a half-full mag in a thigh pouch. Slapped it in. Racked the slide once. The action sounded clean despite the smoke
Above them the cables continued to spit sparks. One arc jumped to a water pipe—steam exploded outward in a white cloud
Kai stepped over the first body. Boot nudged the fused revolver aside
"Get up," he told Renn. "We're moving. They'll send sweepers when these don't report back.
Renn pushed to his feet. Legs shook. He wiped blood from his lip
"Where?
"Deeper under. Black Circuit territory. If I really sold the shard to them, we need distance before Iron Veil figures out I lied.
Renn stared. "You lied?
Kai started walking. Slim silhouette cutting through steam and neon
"Always lie first. Truth gets you shot faster.
Renn hurried after him. "That shot… the gun was empty. How—
Kai glanced at Echo-7. The violet glow had faded, but the metal felt warmer than it should
"Don't know," he said. "But it listened.
They reached the end of the alley. A rusted maintenance hatch waited—half-hidden behind collapsed crates. Kai pried it open with one hand. Darkness and stale air rushed out
He looked back once
The four bodies lay where they fell. Rain washed blood into glowing puddles
Somewhere high in Neo-Lumin's spires, an Aether Node pulsed—once, slow, curious
And in the underlevels, a scavenger with white hair and burning golden eyes had just made noise the city couldn't ignore.