The moss beneath Kael's boots didn't just sink; it pulsed. Every step he took sent ripples of bioluminescent blue light through the undergrowth, like a stone dropped into a neon pond.
Kael froze. He reached for the heavy wrench he'd tucked into his belt back at the station—a pathetic weapon against whatever made a growl that sounded like grinding tectonic plates.
"Core, I thought you said I was the 'Architect.' Doesn't that mean I have some kind of control over this place?"
A shadow detached itself from the trunk of a massive, spiral-barked tree. It didn't walk; it flowed. The creature was the size of a transport van, covered in sleek, obsidian-colored fur that seemed to absorb the ambient light. It had six legs, each ending in claws that looked like surgical scalpels, and its head was a nightmare of multiple eyes and a jaw that split into four distinct mandibles.
It was a Stalker—a predator that had evolved to hunt the drones the Aegis occasionally sent down to the surface.
The creature's eyes locked onto the glowing sphere in Kael's hand. It hissed, a sound like steam escaping a high-pressure valve.
"Wait, the bone-tearing thing?" Kael gasped.
Before he could protest, the silver mist from the sphere surged up his arm. His vision turned a sharp, crystalline violet. The world slowed down. He could see the individual spores floating in the air; he could see the rhythmic expansion of the Stalker's lungs.
The beast leaped.
In real-time, it was a blur of black fur and teeth. In Kael's Overclocked state, it was a sluggish movement. His body moved of its own accord—his spine twisting at an impossible angle as he slid beneath the creature's belly.
the Core commanded.
Kael's hand, guided by the silver light, slammed the heavy wrench into the creature's side. He didn't just hit it; the Core discharged a focused pulse of kinetic energy at the moment of impact.
CRACK.
The Stalker was sent tumbling sideways, shrieking in a frequency that made Kael's ears bleed. It scrambled to find its footing, but its third leg hung limp, the bone shattered and the nervous system fried by the Core's discharge.
"Flee! Definitely flee!" Kael panted. His muscles felt like they were being threaded with hot needles.
Kael looked. High in the purple canopy, dozens of glowing yellow eyes were beginning to open. The growl he had heard earlier wasn't one creature. It was an entire colony.
"Great. Fantastic. Where to?"
Kael didn't need to be told twice. He sprinted, his legs pumping with a mechanical efficiency that pushed his heart to the breaking point. Behind him, the forest erupted into a chorus of shrieks. The pack was descending.
He leaped over fallen trunks and dove through thickets of razor-sharp ferns. Every time a Stalker got close, the Core would pulse, sending out a "repelling wave" that knocked the predators back just enough to keep Kael's lead.
The Great Pillar tree loomed ahead—a gargantuan structure of wood and metal, its trunk fused with the remains of an ancient skyscraper. At its base, a heavy titanium hatch was partially buried under centuries of silt.
"Core! Open it!"
Kael slammed the sphere into a circular indentation in the hatch. The silver light flooded the metal, and with a groan of protesting gears, the hatch slid open just enough for a human to squeeze through.
Kael threw himself inside and kicked the manual seal.
CLANG.
The sound of claws scratching against the titanium outside was the last thing he heard before he collapsed onto the cold, dusty floor of the bunker. The violet light in his eyes faded, and the pain hit him like a freight train. His muscles spasmed, and he vomited into the dust.
"I... hate... Overclocking," he wheezed.
Kael wiped his mouth and looked up. The bunker wasn't empty.
Rows upon rows of stasis pods lined the walls. Most were dark, their occupants long since turned to dust. But at the very end of the hall, one pod was glowing. A digital display, cracked and flickering, showed a single word:
[STATUS: AWAKENING]
Inside the pod, a girl with hair as white as the station's outer hull opened her eyes.