Novels by Mouhana

The shadows that had lunged into the lab were gone, shredded by the kinetic pulse Santiago had released upon impact, but the silence that replaced the violence was heavier than any shout. The laboratory smelled of scorched copper and ozone. Santiago leaned against the workbench, his left hand still wreathed in the flickering, erratic glow of the white-violet fusion."Is everyone dead?" Santiago asked, his breath hitching as he checked the hallway.Aisyah didn't look up from her monitor. She was frantically typing, her eyes darting across a sea of red error messages. "No. They’re regrouping. We have maybe ten minutes before the second wave hits."Santiago looked down at the iron box. The violet core inside was pulsating, the rhythmic thrumming vibrating through the tabletop and into his bones. "Can we use this? The outline said it was raw matter, but it feels like it’s trying to chew through the container.""It’s not raw matter," Aisyah snapped, her voice tight with panic. "It’s a dege

The scalpel bit into his skin with a sharp, stinging cold, but Santiago didn't flinch. He watched with a detached, clinical fascination as the blade traced a precise line across his forearm, drawing blood that shimmered with a faint, iridescent gold. Vane whistled low, his fingers trembling as he harvested the sample into a lead-lined vial."You’re a freak of nature, kid," Vane muttered, stowing the sample away. "But a profitable one."Santiago stood, his arm throbbing with a dull, echoing ache. "The clay. Hand it over."Vane gestured to a dusty, heavy iron box on his desk. "The clay? Oh, I’m afraid that was just the bait. I’m a businessman, remember? If I gave you the goods for a little skin, I’d be out of business by morning. You want the high-grade stuff? You win the fight tonight."Santiago felt his muscles coil. "What fight?""The Pit," Vane said, grinning. "It’s ten minutes from here. You walk in, you survive the gauntlet, you take home the box. It’s simple, right?""You're tryi

The blinding white light of the calibration sequence receded, leaving Santiago slumped in the chair, his chest heaving. The metallic hum in his left arm had settled into a steady, rhythmic throb that pulsed in perfect sync with his own heartbeat. Aisyah didn't wait for him to catch his breath. She was already pivoting, her tablet screen cast against the dim, flickering light of the monitors."You’re adapting," she said, her voice tight with suppressed excitement. "The neural bridge is holding. But look at these telemetry readings. Your leg muscles are lagging behind the structural density of your arm. If you try to run at the speed that arm can generate, you’ll tear your own hamstrings."Santiago wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, his right hand still shaking slightly from the feedback loop. "So, what’s the fix? More reinforcement?"Aisyah tapped the screen, projecting a complex, glowing blueprint of a human leg. It wasn't organic anymore; it was a lattice of tension springs and

The rain hadn't let up. It drummed a frantic, hollow rhythm against the metal siding of the industrial warehouse district where Aisyah Putri kept her sanctuary. Santiago stood under the dripping eaves of a nearby supply shed, his breath hitching in his chest, the metallic tang of ozone still clinging to his jacket from the last encounter.He waited for her to arrive. He hadn't told her he was coming, but he knew she’d be checking the perimeter. He saw her silhouette before he heard her—a sharp, angular figure moving with the efficiency of someone who lived by logic and cold data."You're late," Santiago said, stepping out of the shadows as she approached the heavy iron door of her workshop.Aisyah jumped, her hand reflexively going to a canister of chemical mace she kept clipped to her belt. When she saw it was him, her posture slumped, though her eyes remained sharp, scouring him for injuries. "Don't do that. I have a security system that would have turned you into swiss cheese if yo

The leader’s breath hitched, a ragged sound that punctuated the oppressive silence of the room. He stumbled back, his boots scuffing against the grime-covered floorboards as Santiago advanced, his left hand glowing with that sickening, celestial rhythm."You’re not human, are you?" the leader wheezed, his eyes darting toward the only exit. "What in the hell did you let them do to you?"Santiago didn't stop. He stepped into the man’s personal space, his shadow stretching long and distorted against the peeling wallpaper. "Does it matter? You came here to break me. You came here for an easy payout.""I... I was just following orders," the leader stammered, his bravado utterly evaporated. "The Syndicate, they don't like loose ends. You stole something that isn't yours. They’ll come for you, man. They’ll come for you, and they won't bring just three guys."Santiago tilted his head, his expression cold, almost detached. "Then let them come. Are you going to tell them you found me? Or are yo

The cold air of the street clung to Santiago’s skin, a sharp contrast to the controlled, sterile environment of Aisyah’s hidden workshop. He kept his left hand deep in his hoodie pocket, his gait measured. He could feel the residual hum of the system, a soft, vibrating warmth that tethered his nerves to the refined crystalline structure now fused to his bone.He was three blocks from his apartment when the hair on the back of his neck stood up. It wasn't a sixth sense, exactly; it was a shift in the ambient frequency of the city. Three sets of boots, uneven and heavy, were tracking his rhythm."Keep walking, Santi," he whispered to himself, his voice barely audible over the distant roar of a hover-train. "Don't look back. Don't acknowledge them."He turned the corner, his heart rate steadying. The alleyway lights flickered, casting long, jaundiced shadows against the brick. He reached the entrance of his building, a crumbling structure that looked like it might collapse if the wind hi