The alarms howled through the underground facility, red lights pulsing along the corroded walls. Every flash drowned the corridors in a bloody glow, stretching the shadows long and deep like claws reaching out from the dark.
Jack ran at the front, Lena struggling to keep pace behind him. Footsteps echoed in pursuit — the Red Circle soldiers had found them. Their shouts and clattering weapons grew louder, closing in fast.
> "We won't outrun them like this!" Lena gasped. "They know this place better than us!"
Jack knew she was right. Every corridor looked the same — decayed metal, peeling paint, and broken panels. No clear exit, no sanctuary. They were trapped.
At the next junction, bullets tore past them, slamming into the walls, sparks flying inches from Jack's head.
He dove behind an overturned console, dragging Lena with him.
Three soldiers advanced — sleek body armor, visors glowing crimson. Their steps were deliberate, unhurried. They knew their prey was cornered.
Jack gritted his teeth. He had nothing that could match their firepower. His daggers wouldn't be enough this time.
And then he felt it — the pulse.
It was the same rhythmic thrum he'd felt in the containment chamber, but now it was stronger, deeper. It matched his heartbeat, calling to him.
A whisper echoed in his mind.
> "Release me..."
Jack clenched his fists, fighting the voice. Was it real? A trick? A hallucination from fear? But deep down, he knew — whatever was inside him, it was waking up.
> "How? How do I release you?" Jack thought.
The voice responded, soft but insistent:
> "Let me in. And I will show you."
He glanced at Lena, who was watching him with wide, fearful eyes.
> "Stay down," he told her. "No matter what happens, stay covered."
> "Jack, what are you—"
> "Trust me."
Jack closed his eyes for a heartbeat... and let go.
Something unlatched deep inside him. A door that had always been there, waiting. Power flooded through his veins — not like fire, but like cold ash, ancient and heavy. His body burned, but his mind cleared.
He opened his eyes — and the world slowed.
He could see the bullets slicing through the air, the soldiers' muscles tensing just before pulling their triggers. But more than that, he could see weaknesses, glowing fractures along their armor and movements, as if the world itself had revealed its flaws to him.
Jack stood, moving faster than thought. He crossed the distance in a blink, his dagger plunging cleanly into the first soldier's throat. Blood sprayed silently, the man collapsing before his body even realized it was dead.
The second soldier turned, raising his rifle — but Jack was already there, sliding low, his blade slicing through the back of the knee, severing the joint. The man crumpled with a strangled cry.
The third soldier stumbled back, eyes wide behind his visor, fumbling to shoot. Jack moved with precision, slamming a fist into his jaw, enhanced strength cracking bone like porcelain. The man dropped, unconscious.
Silence returned, broken only by the facility's distant alarms.
Jack stood amidst the bodies, chest heaving, the air shimmering faintly around him. His skin felt cold, his heartbeat steady but distant.
Lena emerged from her hiding spot, staring at him in awe and fear.
> "Jack... your eyes. They're—"
She stopped, unable to describe it.
Jack touched his face. The energy inside was fading, but he could still feel it lurking, dormant but awake now.
> "I don't know what that was," he muttered. "But that... that's the Echo of the Eclipse."
Lena swallowed, her voice small.
> "Are you... still you?"
Jack looked at her, his gaze softening.
> "Yeah. For now."
He scavenged weapons and ammo from the fallen soldiers, strapping them to his belt. The power had left him weakened, but the path forward was clearer now.
> "We have to move. More will come."
Lena nodded, still shaken but trusting him.
Jack took one last breath. He wasn't just prey anymore — the hunters didn't realize it yet, but something inside him had changed.
And next time...
he'd be ready.