The asteroid field was a chaos of spinning rock and metal. Small meteors whizzed by, and larger pieces of debris collided with each other in a slow, destructive dance. There was no clear path. It was a three-dimensional labyrinth where one wrong move meant being crushed or falling into the infinite void.
Kael reached the edge of the broken section, his scooter stopping with silent precision. He looked at the debris field, then at Leo, and a smirk of superiority formed on his lips.
"Luck always runs out, amateur," his voice projected through an external communicator. "This requires skill, not tricks."
Kael didn't hesitate. A set of small lateral thrusters emerged from his scooter, and he dove into the asteroid field with a calculated grace. His scooter moved like a dancer, weaving through the debris with cold efficiency. His red dot on Leo's radar began to traverse the obstacle course with alarming speed.
Leo, on the other hand, was panicking. His scooter had no maneuvering thrusters. It was agile, but it wasn't made for this.
TIME TO CORE INSTABILITY: 42:17
He had to move. Gripping the handlebars tightly, he plunged into the asteroid field. His approach was the opposite of Kael's. Where Kael dodged, Leo used the asteroids themselves. He jumped from one rock to another, using their surfaces as a launchpad for the next jump, his scooter's wheels screeching in protest. It was dangerous, unstable, and completely chaotic.
Kael followed an optimized route, his onboard computer calculating the safest path. Leo didn't have that luxury. He relied on instinct, on his courier's reflexes honed from dodging megalopolis traffic. He shot through narrow gaps that Kael's computer would have deemed too risky. He used the gravity of larger debris to slingshot himself forward.
He was keeping pace. The red dot on his radar was no longer pulling away; they were moving almost in parallel.
"Desperate tactics," Kael's voice echoed through his communicator. "You risk the cargo with every reckless jump."
Leo didn't answer. He was too focused. He leaped from a piece of twisted metal to the surface of a crystal-covered asteroid. As his wheels landed, the crystal cracked under the weight. The asteroid began to disintegrate.
He accelerated, trying to reach the other side before the ground beneath him disappeared. Shards of crystal and rock flew everywhere. A sharp fragment hit his shoulder, and he felt his fire-resistant suit absorb the impact with a dull thud. The investment had paid off.
He reached the edge of the disintegrating asteroid and jumped, flying over an abyss of void. For a terrifying second, he thought he wouldn't make it. But his front wheel hit the surface of a secure metal platform, and he regained control, his heart hammering.
He glanced at his radar. His risky maneuver had put him slightly ahead of Kael again.
He navigated the last few meters of the asteroid field and saw the solid path of light reforming ahead. He landed on its smooth surface with a sigh of relief.
A second later, Kael's black scooter appeared beside him, its fuselage flawless, without a single scratch. Leo, on the other hand, was covered in crystal dust, and his scooter had a new dent.
They were side by side. The final stretch of the race was ahead of them, ending in a shimmering portal that led to the Restored Library of Alexandria.
Kael turned his head, and his ice-blue eyes met Leo's. The disdain was gone. In its place was a glint of reluctant respect, mixed with an even colder determination.
"You're more annoying than I predicted," Kael said. "But this ends now."
Small hatches opened on the side of Kael's scooter, and a glow of energy began to build. He wasn't just going to outrun him. He was going to take Leo out of the race. Permanently.