A pair of large lidless yellow eyes blinked slowly in the dark followed by a massive jaw gaping open. Acid saliva dripped from its fangs eating through the tile floor with a soft hiss. The stench of rotting meat and molten metal filled the corridor turning Axel’s stomach. This was Goliath-K a biological security construct of the Order deliberately left to starve down here. Its powerful frame was crisscrossed with old scars and bolted metal patches like some figure stitched together from the remains of other creatures."Do not use heavy energy," Axel whispered his hand already wrapped tight around the hilt of his gray spear. "If external radar picks up any power surge we will be surrounded in minutes. We have to stay quiet."The monster leaped nimbly from wall to wall. Its claws raked through Axel’s coat leaving stinging gashes across his back but he did not flinch. He dodged and kicked hard at its knee yet pure physical blows did nothing. Its hide was as hard as solid steel. His kick

Gavan stood tall in the doorway his massive axe spinning slow in his grip. The motion stirred a thin wind through the room carrying the sharp tang of gunpowder and heated metal. Behind him a dozen steel-masked soldiers stood motionless weapons drawn eyes unblinking behind narrow visors."Found you at last Rian. Oops I mean the rebel in hunter’s clothes," Gavan jeered never slowing the axe’s turn. Its edge glinted under the strobing emergency lights casting red streaks across every wall. "I have waited for this moment. Years of it. Ever since you were a boy and I was ordered to watch over you I knew you would turn one day. It was only ever a matter of time."Powder smoke coiled around him. No trace of the old friendship remained. No smile of the teammate Axel once knew. Only cold deadness the same empty look Henderson wore when he gave an order."Gavan listen to me," Axel said his spear held ready his body half-shielding Rena as she worked the door panel behind him. Cold sweat trickled

Absolute darkness sweeps through the smoke, severing Gavan’s brutal assault in an instant. The clash of metal that filled the room falls silent, replaced by the low hum of generators grinding to a halt. Axel feels a strange stillness, as if the world has paused just to grant them a breath of reprieve.In the corner, Rena crawls forward, gasping for air. Her palms still burn from overriding the system with 𝘝𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵-𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘪𝘵. "Hurry... Axel. They will not stay blind forever. I can only hold this for a few minutes."Axel wastes no time. He moves like a shadow, weaving fluidly behind concrete pillars. His movements flow far more freely now, unshackled from the rigid teachings of the Order that bound him for so long. He feels the grey spear thrum in his grip, answering every shift of his body as if it were an extension of his own flesh."Rian! Show yourself, coward!" Gavan shouts, his voice raw and frayed with panic. Blinded by the dark he loses his sense of direction and

A one meter thick slab of concrete crashes down from the ceiling with a roar, sending waves of dust and debris slamming into Axel’s back like the strike of a giant hammer. The impact builds a solid new wall that blocks their path deep beneath the ground. Behind them the black fire keeps spreading, eating away at what remains of the collapsing facility.“Hold on Axel!” Rena shouts, her voice raw and nearly swallowed by the thunder of falling rock. She tries to weave a shadow shield over them both but her hands shake uncontrollably from exhaustion.Axel drives his grey spear into a crack in the concrete to hold back the ceiling pressing down. His shoulder muscles strain to their limit, veins bulging at his temples yet the weight is far too great. He feels his bones shudder and fresh blood seeps from his old wound. Rena pours every last drop of strength into reinforcing the shield but the foundation above groans and cracks and gives way little by little.“This will not hold much longer,”

Axel and Rena’s faces blazed in ultra high definition across the massive digital billboard at Bundaran HI. A flashing red banner blared right beneath their surveillance stills: MOST WANTED TERRORISTS. Axel looked worn and bloodied while Rena appeared pale with a fresh gash across her shoulder. Smaller text read: Armed and extremely dangerous. Contact the Order hotline immediately if spotted.Axel collapsed in a narrow alley gasping for breath. Damp brick walls glistened with morning dew and the stench of rotting waste hung thick in the air. Rena slumped beside him still reeling from the jump between dimensions. Her whole body shook and a drop of black blood trickled slowly from the corner of her mouth.“Look at that,” Axel nodded toward the flickering glow visible even this deep in the alley. “Their story travels faster than a bullet. They say we bombed the hospital and massacred the medical staff. The same hospital they blew up themselves.”Rena let out a bitter laugh her voice raw a