2026-08-20 00:42:55
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15
"Get your gear, Lucas, or they’ll kill him before midnight."Esther’s voice cracked in the damp chill of the abandoned subway station. She shoved her cracked phone into his face, her hands trembling so violently the glowing screen blurred against the dark concrete walls.Lucas didn’t look at the screen immediately. He kept his eyes on the rusted steel tracks running into the pitch-black tunnel. The air smelled of stagnant water, old copper, and ozone—the lingering residue of his own dark energy. The black veins along his forearms throbbed with every pulse of his heart, pulsing in sync with the cold, mechanical hum deep inside his skull."Look at it!" Esther screamed, her fingers digging into his worn leather jacket. "Look at what they’re doing to my brother!"Lucas finally dropped his gaze to the glowing display. The live feed was pixelated, transmitted through an encrypted satellite relay that bypassed the city’s grid. On screen, a teenage boy was tied to a steel chair in a room made
14
“Run, Lucas! They’re looking at their phones!” Esther shoved his shoulder, her nails digging into his leather jacket as the flashing lights of the Neon District painted the alley in red and blue.Lucas didn't slow down. His boots slammed against the wet asphalt, sending cold rainwater splashing against his ankles. The digital billboards overhead, which had been playing his arena victories on a loop just three hours ago, suddenly flickered. The bright golden letters of his name glitched, fading into a jagged red target symbol.Around them, civilians stepped out of late-night noodles shops and cyber-bars. They weren't looking at the neon signs. They were staring at their handheld slates, their faces illuminated by the blue light of the City Network broadcast."Is that him?" a man in a grease-stained mechanic jumpsuit whispered, stepping backward toward a heavy iron trash bin. "That's the guy from the arena. The broadcast said he's unstable. He's infected with rogue mana.""Look at the r
13
"Clear the room or die!"The glass dome above the main clinic lobby exploded downward in a rain of jagged shards and bent iron.Lucas shoved a nurse behind a concrete pillar a fraction of a second before a heavy steel boots landed directly where she had been standing. Dust billowed out, thick and choking, mixed with the sharp bite of ozone.Three men in matte-black armor straightened up from their landing crouches. They carried short, thick suppressed rifles and heavy combat knives etched with glowing red runes.Patients screamed. Wheelchairs flipped over. Intravenous drips crashed to the linoleum floor, spilling clear liquid and red blood into the growing chaos. People trampled each other trying to reach the narrow double doors of the exit."Target identified," the lead hunter rasped through a mechanical voice filter. "Zekaron bloodline residue confirmed. Kill the boy. Capture the girl if possible."Lucas backed up, his hand dropping to the stolen scalpel he kept tucked in his sleeve
12
"Stop breathing so loudly, Esther," Lucas grunted, staring up at the peeling white ceiling of the clinic."You have a literal rune burning through your breastbone, Lucas," Esther said, her fingers trembling as she pressed a cold glass vial against his skin. "Pardon me if I am a little nervous.""It is fine," Lucas said. "The pain means I am still breathing.""You should not be," Esther whispered. Her face was pale, sweat slicking her hairline as she dragged a glowing blue ointment across the charred tissue. "The Zekaron mark is supposed to melt human flesh down to the ribs. Your body is holding it together through sheer refusal to die."Lucas shifted, the paper on the examination table crinkling under his shoulders. The air smelled of burnt ozone, copper, and cheap antiseptic. Every micro-movement pulled at the edges of the newly carved brand over his heart.A sharp, blue holographic glare burst into his vision, forcing his pupils to dilate.[MAIN QUEST TRIGGERED: BLOODLINE HUNT][OBJ
11
“Keep the lens steady, Damon.”Lucas did not raise his voice, but the weight behind the words pinned the shattered former heir to the carpet. The glowing red indicator on the tripod blinked in the quiet room, broadcasting every shuddering breath to three hundred thousand live viewers across the city grid.Damon’s jaw trembled. Sweat dripped down his nose, soaking into the ruined collar of his suit. "You can't do this, Lucas. The Vanguard network... they'll execute us both if this broadcast stays live.""Then speak fast," Lucas said, his eyes cold and unblinking. "Start from the night at the docks. Every contract. Every forged signature."The chat sidebar on the live stream roared at a blinding speed. Thousands of comments flooded the screen every second. The citizens of the lower sector were watching their golden boy, the high-ranking executive of the Lancelot Corporation, kneeling on a blood-stained floor.In the doorway, five armored guards sent by the corporate board stood frozen.
C10
"You think you can just walk away with everything, Lucas?" Damon roared, his finger pressing hard against the trigger of the silver pistol.The gunshot shattered the air inside the dimly lit office.Lucas did not even flinch. He leaned his torso two inches to the left as the lead bullet ripped through his dark jacket, grazing the skin of his right shoulder with a searing heat. A thin line of blood welled up, burning hot, but the System’s blue notification flickered instantly at the edge of his vision.[Damage Taken: 2 HP. Passive Skill: Physical Hardening Activated.]Before the spent shell casing could even hit the carpet, Lucas surged forward like a coiled spring.Step one: Lucas closed the five-foot gap instantly, his left hand clapping against Damon’s wrist to lock the firearm’s direction away from his chest.Step two: He drove his right palm hard into Damon’s elbow joint with a dull, sickening crack, forcing the gun to drop into his free hand.Step three: Lucas slammed his boot in
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