Location: Vel Talem – South Dock Sector
The rain came down in sheets, hammering the steel platforms of the South Docks. Cargo cranes loomed like skeletal giants, their lights cutting thin beams through the mist.
Perfect for an ambush.
Perfect for a mistake.
Kael crouched behind a stack of freight containers, his lightning faint and low, the gravity around him tuned to dampen his presence. Beside him, Riven tightened her gloves, her eyes glowing faintly.
"You're sure it'll come here?" she whispered.
"The last three attacks were on black market smugglers. This dockyard is their main hub," Kael replied. "And we made sure word got out that I'd be here… alone."
Further out, Reina and Ryze moved into position on the rooftop gantries. Seris had already sealed off the exits with a gravity ward Kael had taught her—a smaller, less refined version of his.
It was airtight.
On paper.
Twenty minutes later
The first sign came not as footsteps, but as a bend. The rain shifted angle midair, droplets falling sideways before slamming into the dock floor.
Riven's jaw tightened.
"It's here."
From the mist, the clone emerged. The violet glow of its eyes cut through the rain like knives. It wore no hood this time. No attempt to hide.
It looked at Kael directly.
And smiled.
The Confrontation
"You're hard to find," Kael said, stepping into the open.
"I didn't want to be found," the clone replied, voice identical but wrong. "But I'm glad you came. I wanted to see if the stories were true."
"Stories?"
The clone tilted its head.
"That you're soft."
Without warning, the air snapped. Gravity slammed into Kael, crushing him into the steel decking before he could react.
From above, Ryze fired a shock lance—only for the clone to twist space and send it arcing straight into Reina's position. The explosion lit the rain in orange for a heartbeat.
"It's countering our moves before we make them!" Seris shouted over comms.
Kael gritted his teeth, forcing his gravity outward to break free.
"It's reading me. Predicting me. Which means—"
Before he could finish, the clone vanished from sight and reappeared behind Riven, hand poised like a blade at her throat.
"—it knows who to hurt to get to me."
The Reversal
Kael surged forward, electricity erupting from his skin in a storm. He didn't aim for the clone—he aimed for the ground, overloading the entire dockyard with an electromagnetic pulse. Cranes groaned, lights burst, and the clone was forced to release Riven as static ripped through its form.
"Clever," the clone said, shaking off the sparks. "But you still think like a human."
It turned to Riven, smirking.
"That will get her killed."
Before Kael could reach them, the clone stepped backward—
—straight into a fold in space.
And it was gone.
Aftermath
Riven leaned against a container, breathing hard.
"It could've killed me."
Kael's fists clenched.
"It didn't. That means it's playing a game."
Ryze landed beside them, looking grim.
"Then the question is… how long until it stops playing?"
The rain answered with silence.
Final Scene – Elsewhere
The clone stood in a dark room, a small object in its hand—a thin silver chain.
Riven's necklace.
"Next time," it murmured, "I take more than a keepsake."