The sound came again.
Heavy.
Metallic.
Measured.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Footsteps descended the steel staircase above the laboratory.
Aarav's entire body tensed.
Every instinct screamed danger.
The red warning lights kept flashing across the walls, turning the underground chamber into a battlefield of shadows and blood-red light.
Aelina's glowing blue eyes narrowed.
Her expression had completely changed.
The soft vulnerability from moments ago was gone.
In its place stood something colder.
Sharper.
A survival instinct born from a future he could not imagine.
"They're early," she whispered.
Aarav looked at her.
"Who are they?"
For the first time since waking, genuine fear flickered across her face.
"The Hunters."
The word sent a chill down his spine.
Before he could ask more, the giant central monitor flickered alive.
A grainy surveillance feed appeared.
Three figures in black tactical suits were moving down the staircase.
Their helmets concealed their faces.
Red visors glowed in the darkness.
Each of them carried sleek rifles unlike any weapon Aarav had ever seen.
Not ordinary guns.
Their barrels pulsed with blue energy.
Aelina stared at the screen.
"No…"
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"They sent Chrono Enforcement."
Aarav frowned.
"What does that even mean?"
She turned to him.
"They are time retrieval units."
Her voice was urgent now.
"They were created to hunt escaped bio-humans and timeline anomalies."
Her eyes locked onto his.
"They came for me."
The footsteps grew closer.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Aarav's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
He looked around wildly.
"There has to be another way out."
Aelina was already moving.
She rushed toward the side consoles, her silver hair flowing behind her.
Her fingers moved through floating holographic panels.
Data streams flashed.
Maps appeared.
Doors highlighted.
Then—
ACCESS DENIED
Aelina's face darkened.
"The secondary exits are sealed."
A loud mechanical hiss echoed through the chamber.
The staircase door above slid open.
Three figures stepped into the lab.
Black armoured suits.
Sleek helmets.
Glowing red visors.
They moved like machines.
Precise.
Emotionless.
The one in the centre raised his weapon.
A metallic voice echoed through the room.
"Bio-Synthetic Unit AELINA-500."
"You are in violation of temporal containment protocol."
"Surrender immediately."
Aarav stepped in front of Aelina without thinking.
The three Hunters paused.
Their visors shifted toward him.
The central Hunter spoke again.
"Unregistered human detected."
"Possible origin anomaly confirmed."
Aelina's eyes widened.
"They scanned you."
Aarav clenched his fists.
"I'm not letting them take you."
The Hunter's weapon hummed.
"Resistance will be terminated."
Before Aarav could react, Aelina suddenly moved.
Fast.
Too fast for human eyes.
One second, she was behind him.
The next—
She was in front of the first hunter.
A blue streak of light flashed through the air.
BOOM!
The Hunter was thrown backwards into a metal console.
Sparks exploded.
Aarav stared in shock.
Aelina stood with one arm extended.
Blue light pulsed beneath the skin of her hand.
Her veins glowed brighter.
She turned slightly toward him.
"My neural-muscle response is approximately sixteen times faster than your present human standard."
A small, almost teasing smile touched her lips.
"Stay behind me."
The other two Hunters immediately opened fire.
Blue energy bolts shot across the chamber.
Aarav ducked.
The blasts shattered glass tubes behind him.
Liquid burst across the floor.
Aelina moved again.
Her body blurred.
She dodged left, then right.
Every movement was impossibly smooth.
Like she had predicted, every shot before it happened.
One Hunter lunged forward.
Aelina caught his arm mid-strike and twisted.
A loud crack echoed through the room.
She drove her knee into his chest.
The armoured figure crashed to the floor.
The last Hunter raised his rifle toward Aarav.
Aarav froze.
The weapon glowed brighter.
Aelina's eyes widened.
"Aarav!"
She launched herself toward him.
The energy bolt fired.
Time seemed to slow.
Blue light streaked toward his chest.
Then—
Aelina threw herself in front of him.
The blast struck her shoulder.
BOOM!
She was thrown backwards.
"Aelina!"
Aarav rushed forward and caught her before she hit the floor.
Her breathing was uneven.
The white fabric over her shoulder had torn open.
Beneath it—
not metal.
Not wires.
Flesh.
Human flesh.
Blood.
Bright red blood.
Aarav's chest tightened.
"You're hurt."
Aelina looked up at him, her expression surprisingly calm.
"I told you," she whispered, forcing a weak smile.
"I'm alive."
The last Hunter advanced.
Weapon raised.
"Both targets will now be neutralised."
Something snapped inside Aarav.
Fear.
Anger.
Protectiveness.
He looked at the fallen Hunter's weapon beside him.
Without thinking, he grabbed it.
The weapon was heavier than expected.
The Hunter fired.
Aarav instinctively pulled the trigger.
A blast of blue energy erupted from the rifle.
It slammed into the Hunter's chest.
The armoured figure crashed into the central monitor, sparks flying everywhere.
Silence.
Only the sound of alarms remained.
Aarav stood frozen, the weapon shaking in his hands.
He had never fired a gun in his life.
Aelina looked at him with wide eyes.
Then, slowly, something soft appeared in her expression.
Admiration.
"You protected me."
Aarav dropped the weapon and knelt beside her.
"Of course I did."
For a moment, the world seemed to go quiet.
Then every screen in the chamber lit up.
A new warning flashed.
MULTIPLE HUNTER UNITS DEPLOYED
ETA: 05:00
Aelina's face went pale.
"There are more coming."
Aarav helped her stand.
"Then we leave now."
She nodded weakly.
Her hand slipped into his.
Warm.
Soft.
Trusting.
A hidden wall panel suddenly slid open.
Behind it—
a narrow tunnel leading deeper underground.
Aelina stared.
"The emergency escape route."
Aarav looked at her.
"Can you walk?"
She squeezed his hand.
"With you… Yes."
Together, they stepped into the dark tunnel as the alarms screamed behind them.
Unknown to Aarav, one of the damaged monitors flickered once more.
A hidden message appeared.
SECOND UNIT: MIRA-700
AWAKENING IN TOKYO COMPLETE
The future had begun moving.
And it was moving toward them.