They left through the rusty back door, the cold air of the tunnels hitting them like a physical blow.
RAIJI: "Be careful, Kiro. The navy isn't like pit fighters. They shoot to kill, no questions asked."
KIRO: "Why does she keep calling me a pet?"
RAIJI (a low chuckle echoing in the dark): "Sure looks like you're not worried. See you tomorrow."
They split up, each vanishing into a different fork in the tunnels.
Kiro moved through the familiar alleyways, his senses on high alert. Suddenly, a cloaked figure slammed into him, reeking of blood and ozone. The man tripped, coughing a splatter of crimson onto the wet concrete.
CLOAKED MAN (shoving a warm, metallic object into Kiro's hands): "You... take this... run!"
KIRO: "What? Why?" He looked down. In his palm was a small, intricately carved blue cube, pulsing with a soft, inner light.
Then he saw them. Two Navy officers rounded the corner, their rifles raised.
Kiro's mind flashed back to Veyra's warning: "...some rebels stole a Cube... lost somewhere here in the slums..."
KIRO (shoving the cube back at the man): "Oh, come on, take it back!"
The cloaked man was out cold, his wounds too severe.
In a panic, Kiro fumbled. The cube slipped from his grasp and hit the ground. He heard a faint CRACK a hairline fracture spreading across its surface as he stomped on it by accident in his stress.
The lead officer aimed his weapon. "You there! Don't move! You're under arrest!"
Two shots rang out. Kiro didn't think he moved. He sidestepped the plasma bolts with speed that felt... unnatural.
KIRO: "Whoa. That was faster than normal."
A third officer stepped forward, igniting a humming lasar blade. "Let me handle him, boys."
Kiro fell into his martial arts stance. He executed a swift thrust to create an opening, then aimed a punch at the officer's leg. To his shock, his own motion launched him forward with unexpected force, sending the officer flying back into a wall.
KIRO: "Wow."
OFFICER 1: "How dare you!"
The second officer fired again. Kiro charged, a plan forming. He weaved under the bolts, his movements a blur, and delivered a crushing punch to the first officer's helmet. A swift, spinning kick knocked the second one out cold.
He stood amidst the unconscious bodies, his chest heaving. He looked down at his hands, expecting to see the cracked Cube. But the ground was empty.
A strange, warm energy was spreading through his veins, a feeling of pure, raw potential humming just beneath his skin. He felt... more.
KIRO (whispering to himself, staring at his palms): "What... what was that thing?"
The first drop of rain began to fall, sizzling on the pavement where the Cube had once lain. It was gone. And Kiro knew, with a terrifying certainty, that it was now a part of him.
KIRO: "Ginn had one... but what are they really?"
The distant wail of cyber-police sirens cut through the night air. "All units, reports of a disturbance on Grid 7! Energy signatures detected! Move in!"
No time to think.
KIRO: "Hope this works..."
He took off running toward the opposite alley. Without breaking stride, he leaped. His legs coiled and unleashed a power he never knew he had, propelling him straight up to grab the ledge of a high wall he would have never dreamt of reaching before.
He didn't just climb he launched himself from the wall to the fire escape of a nearby building, his movements a fluid, impossible blur. He was faster. Lighter. More.
POLICE OFFICER (arriving on the scene): "What happened here? They're all knocked out! Call for backup and a med-team, now!"
Meanwhile, Kiro was already three rooftops away, the city sprawling beneath him in a tapestry of neon and shadow. The wind whipped past his face. He looked back at the dizzying distance he'd covered in seconds.
KIRO (a breathless laugh escaping him): "Wow... I really am stronger."
He took a running start and leapt across a gap between buildings, his heart soaring as he landed with a quiet thud on the next roof. He moved with a raw, primal grace a cheetah unleashed in a concrete jungle.
And just like that, melting into the labyrinth of steam vents and satellite dishes, Kiro got away.
Kiro finally stumbled through the door of his run-down apartment, the adrenaline crash hitting him like a ton of bricks. He collapsed onto his thin mattress and was asleep in seconds.
He woke the next morning to a gnawing, primal hunger. It was a deep, hollow feeling that seemed to eat at him from the inside out.
KIRO: "Why am I so hungry?... Good thing I got money."
He immediately ordered a massive delivery of food. "Five-minute delivery," the app promised. "Should be one in these slums make the delivery longer," he grumbled, his stomach roaring.
Ten long minutes later, a knock came at his door.
"Come in!" Kiro yelled, his mouth already stuffed with synth-chicken.
The door opened to reveal Raiji and Veyra.
KIRO (mouth full): "Raiji, why'd you bring her?"
VEYRA (smirking, hands on her hips): "Miss me, my pet? Just checking up on you after that curfew. Heard it got messy."
RAIJI: "Yeah. They upped security all over the sector. Some big attack last night."
KIRO (shoveling more food in, surrounded by five empty plates): "Really? Might've been me. I got caught."
VEYRA and RAIJI said it at the exact same time, their voices a perfect chorus of shock: "YOU WHAT?!"
KIRO: "Yeah. And some hooded guy gave me this... cube. Blue with edges. I accidentally broke it."
VEYRA's eyes went wide. All the playfulness vanished from her face. "Woah, woah, hold on. You have one? You're... gifted." She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a serious whisper. "So? What Cube is it? What can it do?"
RAIJI: "That's so cool! Awesome!"
VEYRA shot him a sharp look. "No. It's not. It's a death sentence if the wrong people find out."
KIRO swallowed his food and stood up. "Well, it does... this." He bent down, slid one hand under his heavy bed frame, and lifted it over his head with one arm like it was made of cardboard.
VEYRA: "Super strength. Basic, but useful."
KIRO: "No. And this." He crouched slightly and then leaped, tapping the dusty ceiling with his fingers before landing softly back on the floor.
VEYRA was silent for a long moment, her mechanic's mind racing. "Okay... I don't know. That's not in any standard registry. My brother's archives might say. But they shot at you? You should be dead."
KIRO: "They just grazed my arm. See?" He pointed to a faint mark on his bicep.
RAIJI: "Ohh, nice new scar, then."
VEYRA wasn't convinced. "Let me look." She pushed his sleeve up.
The spot where the plasma bolt had seared his skin was... perfectly smooth. There was no scratch. No scar. Nothing.
KIRO stared, his surprised "What? But... it hurt. I felt it..."
VEYRA looked from his flawless arm up to his terrified face, her expression dead serious. "Kiro. It didn't just heal you. It undid the damage. That's not just evolution... that's something else entirely."
VEYRA: "Only one way to check." She pulled out a sleek, holographic touch screen that looked wildly out of place in the rundown apartment.
RAIJI whistled. "Rich people stuff."
VEYRA shrugged, trying to play it cool. "Just something my brother got me. Nothing too special. Helps me research parts for the shop." Her fingers flew across the display, pulling up a secured database. "Let's see... Cube archives. Alright, Kiro. What symbols did it have on it?"
KIRO closed his eyes, trying to picture the glowing object. "Uh... a DNA symbol, I think. Like a twisting ladder."
VEYRA typed it in. "Found it." She projected the data onto the wall for them all to see. The screen flickered, displaying sparse, glitching information.
C U B E - D A T A B A S E
NAME: EVOLUTION
ABILITY INFO: [DATA NOT FOUND]
RANK: -F
STRENGTH: SUPERHUMAN
SPEED: SUPERHUMAN
IQ: ERROR 404
LAST USER: ERROR 404
LAST USER YEAR: ERROR 404 (25)
VEYRA scanned the data, her brow furrowed in confusion. "There's... like, no info on this Cube. No last user. No records. And what is 'year 25'? 2225? The year 2500? This database is ancient." She looked at Kiro with a mix of pity and frustration. "Sorry, Kiro. Can't help. At least we know the Cube's a low rank. Negative F. Basically trash tier."
KIRO: "It's okay. But... what do the ranks mean?"
VEYRA leaned back, pulling up a different screen a standard ranking chart everyone in the underworld knew.
"Alright, listen up. Cube ranks are everything. They decide your worth, your bounty, everything."
She pointed as she explained the hierarchy:
"The strongest is SSS-PLUS ULTRA. Mythical stuff. Gods among men.
Then it goes down: SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, D, E... and then, at the very bottom of the barrel..."
She tapped Kiro's screen with its glaring [-F] rating.
"...there's F. The failures. The support Cubes. And yours... yours is a Negative F. It's so weak, it broke the scale."
Raiji stared at the screen, then at Kiro who just lifted a bed with one hand. "But... that doesn't make any sense."
VEYRA nodded slowly, a dangerous glint in her eye. "No. It doesn't. Which means one of two things: either that database is wrong... or your Cube is hiding something no one's ever seen before."
RAIJI: "Anyway, you got good food." Without asking, he snatched a piece of grilled chicken from Kiro's plate.
VEYRA: "And I'll take this rice." She swiped the bowl. "No pizza? Too bad."
KIRO sighed, defeated. "That's my food... Fine. Take it."
As the three of them ate in comfortable silence, Raiji studied Kiro, his head tilted.
RAIJI: "So weird. You're still skinny, but... there's more to you now. That strength is unreal. Looks like you actually gained some muscle overnight."
VEYRA nodded, a teasing glint in her eye. "Yea, you filled out. And dare I say it... you became handsome overnight. Must be the near-death experience. Good for you."
KIRO nearly choked on his food, a deep blush spreading across his face. "Shut up."
Just then, the door crashed open without a knock. Mr. Shimo stood there, his beady eyes scanning the room with greed.
SHIMO: "Boy! My money! You promised it yesterday!"
KIRO didn't even look up from his plate. "I'm busy. It's on the table."
Shimo's eyes lit up as he snatched the cred-stick. As he counted, his gaze landed on Veyra, and a disgusting, lecherous smile spread across his face.
SHIMO: "Well, well. I didn't know you had a lady over. Tell you what, kid. You let me borrow her for a night, I'll forget about next month's rent. Fair trade?"
The room went cold. Kiro's fist clenched around his fork. Before he could even stand up, Veyra's voice cut through the tension, sharp and icy.
VEYRA: "Watch it, fat one."
Raiji, incredibly, kept eating, utterly unfazed.
KIRO (standing up, his voice low and dangerous): "You got your money. Leave. Now."
SHIMO: "Or what, boy? You'll cry? Come on, pay up big for one night"
VEYRA: "Kiro? Be a good pet and kick him out."
For the first time, Kiro didn't complain about the pet comment. A dark smile touched his lips. "With pleasure."
In one fluid motion, he grabbed the sputtering landlord by his stained shirt, hauled him to the open window, and heaved him out. Shimo's scream was cut short by a crash into a dumpster two stories below.
SHIMO (yelling from the alley): "BOY! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS! YOU'RE DEAD!"
RAIJI finally looked up from his food. "...So. Was that a smart move?"
KIRO: "No."
VEYRA just grinned, wiping her hands. "Don't worry about it. I got a place for you to stay. An upgrade. By the city-side, with actual plumbing. Much better than this dump."
She tossed a keycard on the table.
"Consider it a reward for finally growing a spine."
KIRO: "Alright, let's get out of here."
VEYRA: "You're going to love it. Much better. Rent's a thousand credits. With your current earnings, you'll be fine."
KIRO: (Grumbling) "So you just want to drain my credits dry."
VEYRA: (Ruffling his hair) "Yes, my pet. Even your credits are mine now."
RAIJI: "Let's gooooo!"
KIRO: (Swatting her hand away) "I am not a pet."
The transport ride was a blur of transitioning scenery—the grimy, neon-soaked streets of the slums slowly giving way to the cleaner, brighter lights of the city center. The air even smelled different; the constant undertone of rust and waste was replaced by the faint smell of street food and filtered air.
Their new apartment wasn't a palace, but to them, it was. It was clean, with a main room big enough for a couch and a working holoscreen. A real window looked out over a street where people weren't actively fighting or scavenging.
KIRO: "Whoa. This place is... actual. And look, real shops. No slum stink."
They filed inside, the door clicking shut with a solid, secure sound.
RAIJI: (Sprawling on the couch) "I should move in here too." He said it as a joke, but the look in his eyes was only half-kidding.
Veyra flicked on the holoscreen, probably just to see it work. The screen glowed to life, showing the sharp, serious face of a police officer in full armor, standing in front of a familiar slum backdrop.
POLICE OFFICER: "...effective immediately. A Level 3 quarantine is in effect. No one gets in or out. The perimeter is sealed. This is for the safety of the public until the stolen asset is recovered."
The group froze.
KIRO: "...What?"
RAIJI: (Sitting bolt upright) "They can't do that."
VEYRA: Her playful smirk vanished completely. "They just did."
The camera panned to show a line of armored vehicles and navy troopers setting up a massive barricade, sealing off the entire sector they had just left behind.