Dante knew he could trust no one but himself. Kael's call had been brief, but enough to make him understand that his friend was in far greater danger than they had imagined. He couldn't stay idle.
In the year 2147, land and air vehicles were not owned by individuals but by megacorporations that managed them as part of the "Autonomous Transport System." Every movement was logged, every destination monitored, and every passenger identified through biometric scanners.
Dante needed a "Nocturne," a stealth vehicle used by corporate security agents and mercenaries. It was a compact hovercraft, matte black with no visible windows, equipped with data camouflage technology.
He infiltrated a loading center where vehicles awaited assignment. He connected his "PhantomDrive," an illegal device that injected a virus into the vehicle's network, granting him full control.
[HACKING IN PROGRESS...]Fake authentication generated.Tracking disabled.Serial number erased.Destination: No data.
The Nocturne powered up in silent mode. The neon lights of the hangars flickered as Dante glided the vehicle toward the exit without triggering any alarms.
He drove through the city, avoiding main corridors and scanning zones. The nocturnal metropolis was a swarm of lights and shadows, where patrol drones soared through the sky and outcasts lurked in dark alleys.
When he arrived at the Crimson Whisper, he shut off the engine and parked in observation mode.
From inside the vehicle, he activated the optical sensors, allowing him to see through the building's walls in a thermal spectrum. He searched for Kael. He searched for Lira. He searched for any sign of movement that would indicate things had spiraled out of control.
Time passed. The tension grew.
Meanwhile, underground, the fight raged on. The room had become a slaughterhouse. Kael moved like a shadow of death—unstoppable, relentless. His unleashed rage, amplified by "Fallen's Judgment," turned him into a force of pure destruction. Every movement was lethal, every strike a sentence.
One of the thugs tried to run, but Kael grabbed him by the neck and slammed him to the floor with such force that the tiles cracked beneath his weight. Another pulled out a weapon and fired desperately, but Kael dodged with instinctive movements, almost as if he could foresee the future. With a brutal twist, he wrenched the gun from the man's hands and shattered his jaw with a single punch.
The gang leader, now pale and sweating, staggered backward, tripping over the corpses of his men.
—N-no… this can't be happening! —he stammered, his eyes wide with terror—. You… you shouldn't exist!
Kael advanced slowly, his silhouette wrapped in a dark aura—the very manifestation of his ability. His footsteps echoed like the hammering of an executioner.
—Is that what you think? —he replied, his voice low, almost a growl.
The leader turned to flee, but Kael was faster. With a single leap, he took him down, pinning him to the ground with a knee to his chest and gripping his throat.
—Wait, wait! —the man pleaded, coughing up blood—. We can talk, we can—
Kael tightened his grip, leaning in until their faces were inches apart.
—Talk? —he whispered with a cruel smile—. You didn't listen when she begged, did you?
The thug's eyes filled with absolute terror.
Kael raised his fist, ready to end it. But at that moment, "Fallen's Judgment" reached its limit. His body suddenly felt heavy, as if all his energy was being drained at once. His vision blurred, his strength faded.
The leader seized the moment and, with a desperate effort, pulled out a knife and drove it into Kael's side.
The pain was intense. Real.
Kael staggered, his ability now gone. The leader writhed beneath him and shoved him away, gasping for air.
—Kill him! Now! —he shouted with what little breath he had left.
The few survivors, still trembling, drew their weapons and surrounded him.
Kael took a deep breath, feeling the burn of his wound. But a smile formed on his lips.
—You still think you can stop me? —he murmured in a hoarse voice.
The thugs hesitated for a second, but one of them fired without thinking. Kael lunged to the side, dodging the bullet on pure instinct. He rolled across the floor, the pain in his side burning like liquid fire, but his mind remained sharp. He couldn't allow them to corner him.
With supreme effort, Kael surged forward and seized the wrist of the nearest gunman. A sharp twist, a strangled cry, and the weapon changed hands. Without hesitation, he aimed at the closest man and pulled the trigger.
The gunshot echoed through the warehouse. A body collapsed.
Panic spread among the remaining thugs. One tried to shoot, but Kael was already upon him, slamming the butt of the gun into his jaw before putting a bullet in his chest. Another turned to flee, but Kael shot him in the back without a second thought.
The leader, still on the ground, tried to crawl away from the carnage, panting and dripping blood. Kael saw him and limped toward him, leaving a dark trail in his wake.
—You… you're not… human —the Butcher stammered, eyes wide in horror.
Kael loomed over him and, without a word, pulled the trigger one last time. The echo of the gunshot dissolved into silence.
He took a deep breath. His body throbbed with pain and exhaustion. But he had no time to fall. He turned and ran toward Lira, who had lost consciousness once more, lifting her into his arms.
The strain was punishment to his battered body, but he did not stop.
Meanwhile, outside, Dante remained motionless inside the Nocturne, his hands steady on the control panel. His eyes scanned the holographic screen projecting a thermal analysis of the Crimson Whisper. The silhouettes of those inside flickered with fluctuating heat signatures, but he couldn't make out faces or precise identities.
Something was happening in there.
He saw erratic, chaotic movements. Bodies falling, others moving with unnatural speed. Then, a figure breaking something and launching itself at multiple targets at once.
—Kael? —Dante murmured, frowning as he zoomed in.
The sensors detected anomalous heat spikes. Intense flashes, superhuman movements. There was something different about that silhouette—something unnatural in the way it tore through the others.
Dante adjusted the filters and watched as the figure cut down its enemies with relentless brutality. One by one, the bodies dropped.
—What the hell is going on?
He knew his friend could fight, but this… this wasn't normal.
Dante increased the sensitivity of the vehicle's directional microphones and managed to catch muffled sounds—screams, heavy blows, the sickening crunch of bones.
A resounding impact shook the building's structure.
Dante gripped the controls tightly, ready to intervene. If things spiraled out of control, he would have to act fast.
Kael emerged from the building, flickering like a shadow beneath the streetlights. His clothes were stained with blood. Lira hung in his arms like a sleeping angel. Dante reacted instantly, opening the door and jumping from his seat.
—Kael! Over here!
Kael stumbled but kept moving, his determination outweighing his fading strength. He couldn't fall now. Not after everything.
He climbed into the Nocturne with Lira and collapsed in the back seat. Dante slammed the door shut, rushed to the driver's seat, and powered up the vehicle. The city lights flickered in the distance as they vanished into the night, leaving behind the Crimson Whisper and the trail of corpses.
—Shit, you're wrecked! —Dante exclaimed, glancing at him.
Kael didn't respond. His vision blurred, his breathing came in ragged gasps. His visor system flickered, its interface collapsing for a second before rebooting with a crimson glow.
A message appeared on his screen:
[Welcome, VortX.]
Kael barely had time to read it before the darkness swallowed him whole.
4o