The Martian wind howled through the canyon, dust swirling in chaotic spirals as the night deepened. Albert stood his ground, gripping his kinetic blades as the Architects encircled him. Their movements were precise—too precise. Not mere mercenaries, not ordinary assassins.
They moved like predators.
His bloodline pulsed. Aetherion circuits hummed beneath his skin, responding to the rising threat. He scanned them quickly—twelve figures, each radiating an unfamiliar quantum signature. Their armor gleamed in the dim light, etched with shifting fractal patterns, adaptive to the environment.
The lead Architect, silver-eyed and composed, took a step forward.
"You've meddled in something beyond your understanding," they said, voice as smooth as polished steel. "Surrender the data, and you may leave alive."
Albert smirked, twirling one of his blades. "That's funny. You expect me to just hand over my mother's research?"
The Architect's gaze remained unreadable. Then, in an instant—
They moved.
Albert barely had time to react before the first strike came—a quantum burst rippling through the air. He twisted, narrowly avoiding a crushing force aimed at his ribs. The sheer impact sent cracks splintering through the ground where he had just stood.
Not normal attacks. These were reality-folding techniques.
Aetherion combat.
Albert activated his Veil Step, flickering out of sight just as another strike carved a jagged rift through the air. He reappeared behind one of the Architects, driving his blade toward their exposed flank—
A gloved hand caught his wrist.
Cold realization struck as the Architect twisted his arm with inhuman precision, flipping him over and slamming him into the canyon wall. Albert gritted his teeth as pain flared through his back.
Too strong.
Their power wasn't just cultivated—it was engineered.
The lead Architect stepped closer, voice calm. "This is your last chance. Give us the data."
Albert wiped the blood from his lips. He had fought powerful enemies before, but this was different. His enemies weren't just strong—they were deliberate, calculating, and unrelenting.
And then—
The shadows stirred.
A pulse of energy erupted behind the Architects, a crimson distortion in the air as a new presence materialized. Aetherion surged wildly, and the air warped as a second figure entered the battlefield.
A woman, clad in dark armor interwoven with quantum threads, her presence exuding an overwhelming, suffocating force.
Albert's breath hitched.
Not Liana. Not Quantum Shroud.
Something else entirely.
The Architects shifted their stance, wary now. Even they had not expected this arrival.
The woman's voice was low, laced with something ancient. "You're in my way."
Then—
Chaos erupted.
Blades of pure energy tore through the dust-choked air as she moved like a phantom, cleaving through two of the Architects before they could react. Their bodies flickered, quantum shields barely holding as they staggered back.
Albert wasted no time. His Aetherion surged, circuits blazing as he reinforced his muscles with quantum infusion. He launched forward, intercepting an incoming strike from one of the Architects, his blade clashing against their reality-warped edge. Sparks flew.
The woman fought like a storm, weaving between strikes with terrifying ease. Whoever she was, she wasn't an ally. But for now—
She was the distraction he needed.
Albert's eyes darted toward the facility. The data. He had what he came for.
Now, he needed to escape.
But the Architects weren't finished.
The lead operative extended their hand, and suddenly the entire canyon shifted—reality itself bending to their will.
Aetherion Compression Field.
Albert's movements slowed. The very air thickened, gravity doubling, tripling. His limbs felt like lead, his vision darkening at the edges as the Architects prepared to finish the job.
No—
Not like this.
Albert's bloodline roared.
Deep within, something ancient stirred. A force dormant since his last breakthrough. The weight crushing him shattered in an instant as his core ignited, pushing his Aetherion circuits beyond their limit.
Aetherion Overdrive.
Power unlike anything he had felt before exploded outward, his very presence distorting space around him. The Architects faltered for the first time.
Albert didn't hesitate.
With a single movement, he triggered his quantum translocator, his form collapsing into a streak of light—
And in the next instant, he was gone.
---
A Rift Left Behind
Far above, within the silent corridors of a drifting station, a lone figure watched the battle's aftermath through a shimmering holographic feed.
A faint smile touched their lips.
"The son of Helena Faustin…"
The voice was barely a whisper, laced with intrigue.
"This is only the beginning."
The transmission cut.