The Glitch Sovereign: Neural Forge

Chapter 4: Return of the Glitch

The neon lights of the Aurelian Sector flickered through the toxic smog. I pulled my hood lower, feeling the Diamond-Neural Mesh humming under my skin.

"System, mask the energy signature," I whispered.

[Concealment Active. Internal heat levels stabilized.]

"Hey! You there! Halt!" A voice barked from the shadows.

I turned slowly. Two Academy Enforcers stood by a supply depot. Their chrome chest plates caught the artificial light.

"Identify yourself, Drifter," the taller one commanded.

"I am just looking for scraps," I said. My voice was raspy.

"Scraps are for citizens," the shorter one sneered. "You look like a glitch. Turn around. Hands on the wall."

"I don't think so," I replied.

"What did you say?" The Enforcer stepped forward, his hand on his stun-baton.

"I said no," I stated.

"You have a death wish?" The Enforcer laughed. "Do you know who we are?"

"You are speed bumps," I said.

Before he could react, I was gone. I moved like a ghost. I didn't kill them. I didn't need to. I just snatched the energy cells from their belts and vanished into the alley.

"Where did he go?" I heard one scream behind me.

"He's a ghost! Call it in!" The other yelled.

I kept moving. I needed more than just batteries. I needed information. I reached the lower markets. The air smelled of grease and ozone.

Suddenly, a woman's scream pierced the noise of the machinery. I looked toward a dead-end street.

Three Enforcers had a girl pinned against a dumpster. Her silver hair was matted with dirt. Nyxra Vesper. I recognized her. She was a top-tier scholar, but she had no combat Soul-Code.

"Please," Nyxra gasped. "I have the permits! Look!"

"Permits don't matter in the dark, Scholar," the lead Enforcer hissed. He ripped a data-tablet from her hand. "This looks expensive. I think we will keep it as a fine."

"That is my research!" Nyxra cried out. "You can't take that!"

"I can do whatever I want," the man laughed. "Who is going to stop me? You?"

"Let her go," I said, stepping into the light of a buzzing streetlamp.

The three men turned. They looked at my tattered cloak and laughed.

"Another one?" The leader asked. "Is it Loser Night in the Sector?"

"Vaxien?" Nyxra whispered, her eyes widening. "Is that you? You're supposed to be... they said you fell!"

"I am a fast learner," I told her.

"Run, Vaxien!" Nyxra shouted. "They'll kill you for real this time!"

"Kill him?" The Enforcer mocked. "I'm going to break his legs first. Boys, show him the Academy way."

The two lackeys lunged at me. They were slow. To my eyes, they were moving through honey. I took a deep breath.

[Vein-Rush: Stage 1 Engaged.]

I blurred. I tapped the first man's wrist. The bone snapped. I kicked the second man's knee. He collapsed with a howl. It took less than a second.

"What?" the leader gasped. He dropped Nyxra's tablet. "What are you?"

"I'm the guy who is taking that tablet back," I said.

"You're a glitch!" The leader screamed. He pulled a pulse-pistol. "Die!"

He fired three times. The blue bolts hit my chest. Nyxra screamed.

"Vaxien! No!" She wailed.

The smoke cleared. I was still standing. My skin shimmered with a dull, diamond luster.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"Impossible!" The leader stammered. "Those were lethal rounds! You don't even have an aura!"

"I don't need an aura," I said.

I stepped forward and grabbed the barrel of his gun. I squeezed. The metal groaned and flattened like paper. I punched him in the face. He flew ten feet and hit the dumpster with a loud clang.

"You... you saved me," Nyxra breathed. She was shaking.

"Take your tablet," I said, picking it up.

"How are you doing this?" She asked, clutching the device. "Your Soul-Code was trash. Everyone saw the screen!"

"The screen lied," I said.

"They're coming, Vaxien!" Nyxra pointed to the end of the street. "I hear the sirens! More Enforcers!"

"I know," I said. "Can you run?"

"Not like that!" she cried. "I'm just a scholar!"

"Hold on," I commanded.

I grabbed her waist and hoisted her over my shoulder.

"Wait! What are you doing?" she shrieked.

"Saving your life," I said.

I kicked off the ground. The pavement cracked under my boots. We shot up toward the fire escape of a nearby skyscraper.

"Oh my god!" Nyxra screamed as we flew through the air.

We landed on the roof. Below us, six hover-cars swarmed the alleyway.

"Target is gone!" A voice boomed from a loudspeaker. "Search the perimeter! He's a Class-A anomaly!"

"An anomaly?" Nyxra whispered, looking down at the chaos. "They're hunting you like a monster."

"They're right to be afraid," I said.

"Vaxien, look at me," she said, her voice trembling. "What did you do in the Wastes? Nobody survives the fall."

"I found a way to breathe," I replied.

"Your skin," she reached out, touching my arm. "It feels like cold steel. This isn't a natural manifestation. What is this?"

"It's a harvest," I said.

"We have to get out of the city," Nyxra said. "If Malakor finds out you're alive, he'll burn this entire Sector to find you."

"Let him try," I said.

"No, you don't understand!" She gripped my cloak. "He has the S-Rank guards! He has the World-Eaters!"

"Good," I said. "I need their components."

Nyxra backed away, her face pale. "You aren't the Vaxien I knew. You're... you're something else."

"I'm the glitch in their system," I said. "And I'm about to crash it."

A searchlight swept across the roof. I pulled her into the shadows.

"Stay quiet," I hissed.

"They found us!" She whispered.

A massive combat drone rose from the edge of the building. Its red sensors locked onto my chest.

"Vaxien Valerost," the drone's mechanical voice droned. "Surrender or be dismantled."

"System," I muttered. "Can I extract from machines?"

[Analyzing...]

[Target: MK-IV Combat Drone. Component: Plasma Core Detected.]

"Nyxra, get behind me," I said.

"It has a railgun, Vaxien!" She screamed.

"I have a hungry lungs," I replied.

The drone's weapon hummed, glowing with white light.

"Fire," I dared it.