The air inside the control hub was cold and heavy, lit by the ghostly glow of hovering holo-screens. Raixin leaned forward over the projection table, eyes reflecting the flickering light of thermal feeds and kinetic readouts. The forest canopy rippled in green overlays — heat signatures shifting, pulsing, colliding.
A single massive signature blinked red. Then another smaller, humanoid one appeared near it. Raixin's gloved fingers tapped the interface, zooming in. The drone's camera refocused just in time to capture the end of the clash — a giant creature collapsing beneath twin figures, one human and one beast.
The Giganotosaurus Prime — dead.
"Target located," Raixin murmured, voice like gravel under pressure.
His gaze tightened. The human stood beside the carcass, chest rising and falling. His movements — balanced, efficient, unnaturally fluid.
He doesn't move like a normal human, Raixin thought. Faster. Lighter.
He adjusted the plasma rifle mounted to his exosuit's arm and tapped into the drone's secondary feed.
"Drone Alpha, continue lock-on. Beta and Gamma — perimeter sweep, triangulate his direction. He's not escaping."
The mechanical hum of his exosuit deepened as he stepped out of the camouflaged transport. Outside, the air of Terra Vallis was thick — humid, tinged with the iron scent of life and decay. Overhead, the dome's artificial sun was dimming, casting long amber streaks across the landscape.
Raixin flexed his armored fingers, the plates shifting like the scales of a serpent. His right arm transformed as he activated the plasma rifle mode — a sleek, matte weapon integrated seamlessly into his exosuit.
"Time to finish what should've been done months ago."
Far across the biodome, Zander stood beside the fallen Giganotosaurus, breathing hard, sweat glistening along his temple. His clothes were torn, smeared with mud and blood — some his, most not. The ground around them was shattered, trees splintered and smoldering.
Aethros limped slightly, the crimson of his fur streaked with darker shades where plasma burns and claw marks marred his body. He growled low, satisfied yet uneasy.
"Not bad," Zander muttered, placing a hand on his dual blades. "Guess that makes us both the apex here, huh?"
Aethros's rumbling growl was almost amused. He sniffed the air suddenly, pupils narrowing.
"What is it?" Zander asked.
Before Aethros could respond, the world behind them erupted.
A beam of plasma tore through the air with a shrieking hiss — grazing Aethros's flank and carving molten glass into the forest floor. The smell of ozone and burnt bark exploded into the air.
Zander immediately dove behind a fallen trunk, instincts screaming. His heartbeat thundered.
Plasma fire… No animal could shoot like that.
He glanced up — scanning the ridge line.
And there — faint shimmer, a figure in dark armor moving between trees.
Raixin.
Zander's gut tightened.
Another plasma shot screamed through the canopy. He flipped sideways, barely avoiding the molten edge of light as it ripped through his previous cover, splitting it in two.
"Move!" he shouted.
Aethros roared, bounding ahead despite the limp, tearing through brush with explosive power. Zander darted in the opposite direction, using the chaos to obscure their positions.
The drone on his hip detached automatically — whirring to life with a faint hum and flashing blue lights. It hovered beside him.
"Distraction mode," Zander whispered.
It zipped ahead, unleashing small plasma bursts of its own — rapid, annoying flashes that pelted the air around Raixin's position.
High on the ridge, Raixin watched calmly.
He tilted his head, tracking Zander's evasive pattern through multiple HUD displays.
"Adaptive… unpredictable," he muttered, adjusting his aim. "Let's see how fast you really are."
He squeezed the trigger.
The plasma shot streaked across the valley — a bolt of blue-white death — and Zander leaped.
His muscles coiled and released in one explosive motion, flipping backward through the air. The shot passed beneath him, searing the hem of his jacket. He landed in a crouch, twin blades flashing into his hands, slicing down a burning branch as it fell toward him.
For a moment, he looked up — eyes locking on the distant silhouette of Raixin.
"Persistent bastard," Zander hissed.
He grabbed a rock and hurled it with force enhanced by his core. The stone shattered midair against an invisible shield around Raixin, sending sparks across his armor.
Raixin's lips twitched faintly — almost a smile.
"Good reflexes," he said softly. "But still a child playing hero."
He took a step forward, firing again — this time three quick plasma rounds in succession.
Zander dashed sideways, slicing one bolt in half midair with a blur of motion. The second scorched the earth near his foot. The third — he twisted, rolling behind a stone outcrop as it detonated against the ground, showering him in sparks.
From behind, Aethros's roar tore through the forest — commanding what remained of his pack to return. Several wounded sabertooths emerged, snarling, leaping toward the ridge line.
Raixin switched to burst mode. His plasma rifle flared again, cutting down the first two beasts in radiant blue fire.
But their deaths bought time.
Zander darted forward again, using the trees as cover, sprinting through tangled roots and ash.
He turned toward Aethros, shouting over the chaos, "He's after me, not you! Split up!"
Aethros growled in refusal, yellow eyes flashing.
"Go!" Zander yelled, blocking another plasma burst with a crossed strike of his blades — redirecting the impact just enough for it to detonate to his side instead of his chest. "You'll recover. I'll escape. We'll fight that bastard together!"
Aethros hesitated, then nodded — roaring once before vanishing into the dense thicket.
Raixin's visor tracked the larger heat signature splitting away. "Two targets. Prioritize the human," he ordered the drones.
The first drone banked hard toward Zander, firing small, rapid plasma pellets.
Zander ducked, rolled, and slashed upward — his blade catching the drone dead center, slicing it in half. Sparks scattered through the twilight.
"Two more to go," he muttered, breaking into a sprint toward the open plains ahead.
Another plasma bolt screamed past, grazing his shoulder — burning flesh, white pain flashing through his arm.
He didn't stop.
His breathing steadied, movements instinctive — flowing through trees, vaulting off fallen trunks, sliding under low branches, each motion guided by raw instinct.
The chase became a blur of survival.
He reached a clearing — and there it was: the great lake at the center of the biodome. Its waters shimmered like molten silver under the dimming light, stretching endlessly.
That's my shot.
Behind him, the rhythmic hum of plasma discharges drew closer. Raixin was advancing — step by step, unwavering.
A plasma bolt exploded near Zander's feet, sending him flipping backward — landing hard, rolling, then kicking off the ground again.
He turned briefly, eyes narrowing.
"Come on!" he shouted, half to himself, half to the enemy. "You'll have to do better than that!"
Raixin fired again — a precise sniper shot.
Zander leaped — twisting midair — the bolt slicing through his jacket, searing across his ribs. He landed in a kneel, gasping, the smell of ozone thick around him.
Blood trickled, but he gritted his teeth, forcing his body to move.
He sprinted again, throwing another rock — futilely — just as another bolt seared past.
The lake's edge approached fast.
He could hear Aethros's distant roar echoing — defiant and fading as he drew the remaining hunters away.
Another shot — this one grazing Aethros's belly somewhere far behind — echoed as a dull thunderclap through the valley.
Zander's chest tightened, but he couldn't stop now.
The water glimmered before him — vast, cold, unknown.
He took one last breath — blades in hand — and whispered, "Time to disappear."
Then he leaped.
The plasma rifle's next bolt struck the exact spot where he'd stood an instant before, detonating into a wall of steam.
Zander hit the water like a falling star, plunging deep into its silver-blue depths.
Raixin reached the edge seconds later, visor scanning, heat sensors flashing with static interference from the water.
He lowered his rifle, watching the ripples fade.
"Run as far as you like," he said quietly, voice almost lost in the wind. "The hunt's only begun."
The water settled. The forest stilled.
And far beneath the surface, Zander dove deeper — toward the silent, shadowed heart of Terra Vallis.