, directly into the vacuum vortex created by the device. Marcus's body, forged from nanomaterials and pure energy, shuddered violently, distorting like a reflection on disturbed water. Aoi screamed, her voice raspy as it tore through the deafening roar of static. She tried to reach for Marcus's hand, but her fingers simply passed through empty air now highly charged with electricity."Don't leave me!" Aoi lunged forward, ignoring the sparks searing her skin. She caught Marcus's arm, but instead of pulling him back, she was dragged into the overwhelming magnetic pull along with him.Amidst the chaos, their enemy, the mysterious figure holding the detonator, laughed with a sound like a blade scraping across a mirror. The red light emanating from the detonator enveloped Marcus and Aoi, dragging them both into an unstable corridor of digital space-time."System reaching 99.9 percent synchronization," the voice in Marcus's head echoed, though now it was fractured, distorted, and filled wit

The light spilling from the hallway was so blinding that Marcus had to shield his eyes, his optical sensors flashing erratically as they struggled to calibrate to the strange frequency. Slowly, the figure standing in the doorway came into focus. Hina Sophia. She stood tall in a crisp tactical uniform that looked untouched, standing in stark contrast to Marcus and Aoi, who were drenched in cable grime, dust, and splattered silver fluid.Hina wasn't carrying a weapon. Instead, she held a small tablet that cast a steady, cool blue glow. "I have been waiting for you, Marcus," she said. Her voice was soft, yet it carried a sharp, cutting chill. "It feels like an eternity since we last shared data at the Kiyomizu, dera temple, doesn't it?"Marcus tried to stand, but his body felt like freshly cast metal, heavy, rigid, and surging with unstable electrical tension. He felt Aoi beside him; she was still shaking, her hand gripping his arm as if he were the only anchor left in a world that had s