Chapter 6: The Hunter and the Flooded Sector
Rain hammered the wreckage of the Underground, hissing against broken steel and scattered circuitry. Kai and Vex pushed through the flooded corridor, knee-deep in oily water that shimmered with reflections of orange fire from the burning lab behind them. Every few seconds, a low metallic groan rolled through the ruins as the ceiling shifted above their heads.
"Keep moving," Vex said, his synthetic eye flickering erratically. "BioCrown will lock down the lower levels any minute. Once they cut power to the tunnel grid, we'll be trapped."
Kai's claws flickered faintly as he steadied himself against a wall, the golden glow from his veins cutting through the darkness. "What about the others?" he asked, though his voice lacked conviction. He already knew the answer. The blast had buried half the Underground. The rest were gone—or worse.
Vex didn't reply. His breathing was heavy, mechanical, each exhale releasing a faint hiss of coolant vapor. "There's a supply outpost on the other side of the canal. If we reach it, I can scramble your genetic signal long enough to hide you."
Kai nodded. His body still pulsed with that strange heat, the Evolution Protocol whispering beneath his skin like static. Every step felt wrong and powerful at once. His senses were alive—he could hear the faint hum of electricity in the walls, smell the chemicals in the water, even taste the fear rolling off Vex like metal on his tongue.
He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to lose control.
They emerged into a wider passage that opened into the old cargo docks. Half of the platform was submerged. Cranes hung from the ceiling, twisted into jagged silhouettes. The remains of old CODE tanks floated beside shattered containers marked with BioCrown's insignia.
Vex moved quickly to a nearby control console and began typing, the keys clattering like rain. "If I can get the floodgates open, we can ride a maintenance boat to the next sector. But it'll take time."
Kai stared out over the water. "We don't have time."
Vex glanced up. "Why?"
Kai didn't answer. His golden eyes had already shifted toward the shadows above the dock.
Something was moving there.
At first, it was just a faint shimmer—a distortion, like light bending through heat. Then came the sound: a rhythmic, heavy step echoing through the metallic chamber. The air grew colder. Even the rain seemed to hesitate.
A shape dropped from the ceiling—silent, precise. Metal boots hit the platform with a dull clang. The figure rose slowly, towering over Kai and Vex.
It was humanoid, but every inch of its body was sculpted from black armor streaked with glowing neural lines. Its face was hidden beneath a smooth mask of mirrored glass. Two eyes ignited behind it, blazing bright gold.
"Target confirmed," the voice said—calm, resonant, and mechanical. "Subject Kai Draven. Authorization: LUCID-01."
Vex swore under his breath. "S-Class Hunter…"
Lucid raised one arm, and blades unfolded from its wrist with a mechanical hum. "Orders: Retrieve subject alive. Secondary targets—disposable."
Kai stepped forward, claws emerging from his fingers in a hiss of gold light. "You'll have to do better than that."
Lucid moved first. It was like fighting lightning. Kai barely had time to block before a slash tore through the air, carving a trail of sparks. The impact threw him backward into a rusted container. Metal dented. Water splashed.
Vex dove for cover, pulling a shock grenade from his belt. He hurled it, the blast lighting up the dock in a burst of blue arcs. Lucid staggered but didn't fall. It turned its mask toward Vex. "Collateral interference detected."
Kai lunged, slamming into the Hunter before it could fire. They crashed into the water with a roar. Bubbles and sparks churned as claws met alloy, gold meeting steel in a blur of motion. Every strike Kai made, Lucid adapted. Every hit Lucid landed, Kai's body countered faster.
[Adapting Neural Pathway: Reflex Acceleration +12%]
[Muscular Response Enhanced]
Kai's body was learning mid-battle again, but so was Lucid.
Lucid caught him by the throat, lifting him from the water. "You are incomplete," it said. "The Algorithm rejects instability."
Kai's vision blurred. He felt the code in his veins roar to life, wild and unstable. "Then let's see how instability fights back!"
He slammed his palm against Lucid's chest. Energy exploded outward—a pulse of pure golden data tearing through the water and shattering nearby glass. The shockwave threw both of them across the dock. Lucid hit the wall, armor cracked and sparking. Kai dropped to one knee, gasping, smoke rising from his skin.
Vex crawled out from behind the console, staring wide-eyed. "You just overloaded its neural core."
Kai stood slowly, still trembling, his reflection glowing faintly in the flooded floor. "Didn't mean to."
Lucid rose again, slower this time. Its voice distorted. "System damage—severe. Recalibrating…"
"Stay down," Kai warned.
Lucid looked up. The golden light behind its mask flickered—like a human heartbeat. "You are… evolving," it said, almost in awe. "Just like her."
Kai frowned. "Her who?"
But before Lucid could answer, it launched backward through the broken ceiling, vanishing into the storm above.
Silence followed, broken only by dripping water and Vex's unsteady breathing.
Kai stared at the hole Lucid had left behind, rain pouring through like a waterfall. "Just like her," he repeated quietly. He turned to Vex. "Who the hell is 'her'?"
Vex avoided his gaze, already packing his tools. "Someone you were never supposed to remember."
Kai's eyes narrowed. "Then it's time I start remembering."
He looked at his reflection one more time—eyes gold, veins glowing, human no longer certain—and stepped into the storm.