The Night Vendors' Quarter throbbed with neon and danger as we sprinted through tight alleys and shifting crowds.
Shouts.
Steam.
Sparks from broken wiring.
The smell of oil and fear.
Voss Calder was somewhere behind us — his presence turning the district into a battlefield without a single bullet fired.
Lira pulled the group into a narrow, metal-lined corridor behind a storage stall.
"Headcount," she whispered.
The survivors shuffled nervously.
The kid raised his hand. "I'm here."
Lira smirked. "I can see that."
He straightened. "Actually… uh… I should probably tell you guys—my name's not just 'kid.' It's Kai-23. But just Kai is fine."
Lira nodded once.
"Good. Kai, stay close to me."
He puffed out his chest like she handed him a medal.
Behind him, a tall, battle-scarred female android stepped forward — plating cracked, one eye flickering, posture proud.
"K-17," she said, voice sharp and controlled.
"I'm Raven-7. Units used to call me Rave."
Her tone held no fear.
Just respect.
She looked me dead in the eyes.
"I'll follow your lead," she said. "But if you fall… I carry Kai. Don't make me do that."
Kai blinked.
"Uh—thanks… I think?"
I couldn't help it — I respected her instantly.
"Stay close," I said.
Rave nodded, gripping a jagged scrap-metal blade like she'd cut a tank open with it.
Lira crouched and drew a rough map into the dust with her knife.
"Listen up. This is Erebus City. You need to know this if you don't want to die."
She marked six rough sectors:
1. Lower Market — trash-tier commerce & scanners
2. Night Vendors' Quarter — chaos & illegal trades (we're here)
3. Neon Spine District — gangs, smugglers, anonymity
4. Scrapper Alleys — android salvage pits
5. Dominion Fortress Ring — soldiers + labs
6. The Core Sector — government, security grid, Voss's headquarters
She stabbed her knife into Sector 3.
"We go here — Neon Spine. It's loud enough to hide a bomb going off."
"That's good," Kai muttered. "Because K-17 almost is."
Rave elbowed him lightly. "Shh."
Lira lifted her head, eyes narrowing.
"Move now. Quiet."
A sound rolled through the district.
Not boots.
Not drones.
Something colder.
Metal.
Dragging.
Slow.
Controlled.
Lira stiffened.
"Voss Calder…" she whispered.
"What is he doing?" Kai asked.
I answered, because I heard it too.
"Sharpening his glove."
Voss had a signature habit — a terrifying one.
The fingertips of his black combat glove had razor-thin surgical scalpels built into them.
Whenever he was hunting something interesting…
He sharpened the blades against each other.
Shk—shk—shk.
Slow.
Precise.
Like a surgeon preparing a dissection.
Lira swallowed.
"I heard he only does that when he's excited."
Rave muttered, expression dark.
"He's excited now."
We moved fast through the neon maze.
Smoke.
Voices.
Blinding lights.
Then—
A Dominion drone dropped from above, red eye scanning.
"DOWN!" Lira hissed.
Everyone scattered behind crates.
Rave pulled Kai behind a fallen vendor stall.
I crouched behind a generator vent, heat flickering off my skin.
But the drone's sensor turned directly toward us.
Beep.
Beep.
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP.
Shit.
Lira shot me a look — absolute terror.
"K-17. Dim down. NOW."
"I can't. The Cycle's still active."
"You want all of us to die?"
The drone floated closer.
Rave tensed.
Kai shook so hard his plating rattled.
I had one second to decide.
I forced the Sun-Core down —
pushing it, crushing it, suffocating it.
Pain ripped through my ribs.
The fractures darkened.
The beast in my shadow writhed.
The drone scanned again.
Beep.
Beep.
Green.
Lira exhaled.
"Move. Quickly."
We slipped into a ventilation channel behind a neon spice stand, breathing hard.
From outside, we heard Voss's voice — calm, cold, sharpened like his glove.
"Sector sweep. He's near. I can smell the heat."
Soldiers followed.
"Yes, General Calder!"
Shk—shk—shk.
That sound knifed through the district.
Even Rave flinched.
Kai whispered into my ear:
"Bro… he sharpening those finger-knives for YOU."
Lira didn't deny it.
She grabbed my chest plating, yanked me close, and whispered:
"Don't flare. Don't break. Don't change. Voss cannot see what you are."
Her breath hit my throat.
My fractures hummed.
She didn't step back.
"We are NOT losing you here."
For a moment —
the chaos faded.
The heat inside me calmed.
Then the ventilation shaft shook.
BOOM.
A fist slammed into the metal panel outside.
Voss's voice:
"He's close."
The shaft rattled again.
Kai mouthed silently:
"Ohshitohshitohshit—"
Rave grabbed her blade.
Lira held her rifle tight.
I stepped forward instinctively.
And the Sun-Beast inside me whispered:
"Let me out."