Five days had passed since the night death nearly broke down our door. The Eclipse Agent never came. Whether the workshop's shield truly blinded its radar, or the Eclipse Agent caught another anomaly that diverted its attention, the threat passed over us like a storm cloud. However, that storm never truly left Noctis Reach. It just kept moving, sweeping district by district, ensnaring Noctis Reach in prolonged terror.The Garage had reopened its doors, but the atmosphere inside was no longer the same. The silence that hung in the air felt incredibly thick. The spare parts racks in the corner, which were usually emptied in a matter of days, were still full. The welding machines and cutting tools that always screamed noisily were now asleep. In the background, the screen on Cora's terminal continued to play emergency broadcasts at low volume, reporting on blockades, road closures, and sector blackouts across various levels.I wiped a wrench that was already clean, observing the reflecti

The lingering tension from yesterday's incident still hung in the air. I had turned the main lights of The Garage back on, but the illumination couldn't chase away the shadows of exhaustion on this family's faces. Risha sat leaning against the long bench in the rest area, her blue face still pale. Kael stood beside her with his arms crossed. Vex, Grox, Jax, and Cora sat gathered, forming a semicircle.I stood in their center. My decision had been made since last night."I will be leaving The Garage for a while," I said, breaking the silence.A momentary hush enveloped us. They stared at me as if I had just spoken in a foreign language."You mean you're going to scrounge for supplies in the lower levels?" Jax frowned."No," I denied quickly. "I am leaving this workshop. Taking my hoverbike, taking the farthest route from Level 1313. That figure is sweeping this area for a reason. If I leave and draw his attention, he will follow my trail and move away from this place. You all will be s

The Garage now felt like a submarine trapped at the bottom of the ocean. My orders to halt all access in and out and to kill the radio channels had turned this workshop into an isolation chamber. The sound of the cooling unit and the hum of the static dampening shield were the only rhythms left.I stood between two desks facing each other. On the right side, Cora sat at her terminal desk, her ocular implant flickering wildly as it swept through thousands of lines of code. I had tasked her with hacking the communications of the military force that ambushed Grox. On the left side, Vex leaned against a desk cluttered with tools, her helmet resting on top of a pile of equipment, while her hands were busy operating a datapad exclusive to Bounty Hunter Guild members.The tension inside this workshop felt thick. Two enemies with completely contrasting hunting methods were both hunting me. The Eclipse Agent hunting my energy resonance trace, and the paramilitary group that knew everything abo

The hum of the static dampening shield generator felt like an artificial heartbeat keeping The Garage alive. Twelve hours had passed since the firefight that destroyed the intersection on the next block. Noctis Reach's artificial morning greeted us through the narrow slits of the workshop's ventilation, bringing with it a deceptive glimmer of hope. The air inside the workshop felt incredibly heavy, filled with the smell of burnt ozone, synthetic lubricant, and the sweat of six trapped people.In the rest area, Risha sat leaning against the sofa. The Aurelith girl sipped a cup of hot coffee with both hands, which still trembled occasionally. Her blue skin tone was beginning to return to normal; the trauma from the previous sweeping incident fading slightly, replaced by exhaustion. Kael sat cross-legged on the floor, tinkering with Spark's circuits. The small synth unit let out a soft beep every time Kael soldered a broken wire.Grox, who was chewing on a ration pack while sitting with

Our breath seemed to be sucked away by the tension settling in the air. Inside The Garage, time lost its meaning. The hum of the static dampening shield sounded like a mechanical heartbeat racing wildly. I stood a few steps behind Cora, my eyes locked on the single monitor still projecting the district gate area on Level 1313.Acid rain fell increasingly hard, soaking the dim streets. On that screen, the Eclipse Agent stepped into view. The rhythm of his feet wasn't hurried, yet every step radiated a lethal aura. The tracking device in his hand glowed red. He had locked onto our coordinates."He's three hundred meters from the door," Cora reported, her voice extremely soft, almost like a whisper of wind.I felt the hilt of the arcblade beneath my jacket. The metal felt cold penetrating my jacket. I would not let anyone touch this door without a fight.Vex placed her hand on the detonator. Grox stood beside the barricade, his four arms gripping two double-barreled rifles, his veins bul