The silence inside the dimly lit chamber was suffocating. The glow of the console where Mira had decrypted the encryption key cast a faint blue hue over her face, making her expression unreadable.
Ethan stood beside Lena, his jaw clenched as the weight of Crowe's memories pressed down on him like a vice. His mind was a battlefield, torn between fragments of Crowe's past and his own instincts screaming at him to be careful.
Mira had the key.
But could they trust her?
"Ethan," Lena murmured softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "We can't stay here."
She was right. HelixCorp would be closing in. The Nexus wasn't safe—not anymore.
Ethan's eyes flicked toward Mira. She stood by the console, her posture tense, her gaze fixed on the data core still clutched in Ethan's hand.
"We need to move," Mira murmured, her voice steady but laced with something Ethan couldn't quite place.
"Where?" Ethan asked, his tone sharper than he intended.
Mira's gaze met his, her eyes dark with something unreadable.
"There's a transport hub on the outskirts," she said softly. "I have contacts who can get us out of the Nexus undetected."
"Contacts?" Lena's voice was laced with suspicion. "Or more people with their own agendas?"
Mira's jaw tightened, but she didn't answer immediately.
"We don't have time for this," Mira murmured, her tone colder now. "If HelixCorp finds us here, none of this will matter."
Ethan's pulse pounded in his ears.
"Trust is a luxury, Ethan."
Crowe's voice echoed in his mind, louder than ever.
"Fine," Ethan murmured, his jaw clenched. "Let's move."
Lena's eyes met his, and for a brief moment, Ethan saw the flicker of uncertainty in her gaze. She didn't trust Mira either.
Neither did he.
---
Nexus – Outer Perimeter
The air was colder as they moved through the ruins of the Nexus. The neon glow of the city barely touched these forgotten corridors, where rusted steel and decaying infrastructure whispered stories of a world long abandoned.
Ethan's grip on the data core tightened as they moved silently through the maze of alleyways and derelict buildings. Every shadow felt like a threat. Every sound made his pulse quicken.
Lena moved beside him, her pulse pistol ready. She was scanning their surroundings with practiced precision, her movements fluid and deliberate.
Mira led the way, her pace quick but controlled. She moved like someone who had spent her life in places like this—someone who knew where danger hid.
"Not far now," Mira murmured, her voice barely audible.
Ethan's jaw clenched. He didn't like this. Everything about it felt... wrong.
Crowe's memories.
They surged forward again, fragments of a life that wasn't his bleeding into his mind.
---
Flashback – Crowe's Last Escape
The air was thick with tension as Crowe moved through the dimly lit corridors of the Nexus. His pulse pounded in his ears as he navigated the labyrinth of forgotten infrastructure, the weight of the Codex pressing down on him.
"Almost there..."
But something was wrong.
A faint noise echoed from the shadows.
Crowe's instincts screamed at him to stop.
He froze.
"Daniel."
Crowe's breath caught as a familiar voice echoed from the darkness.
Mira.
She stepped out of the shadows, her expression unreadable.
"Don't do this," she murmured softly, her eyes locked onto his.
Crowe's jaw clenched. "I don't have a choice."
Mira's gaze darkened. "Neither do I."
Crowe's instincts screamed at him to move, but it was already too late.
---
"Ethan."
Lena's voice pulled him back to the present, but the remnants of the vision clung to him, leaving a cold chill in his bones.
"You okay?" Lena asked softly, her eyes scanning his face.
Ethan forced a nod, his jaw tight. "I'm fine."
But he wasn't.
The memory of Crowe's last encounter with Mira felt... too real.
And Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that history was repeating itself.
"You're walking into a trap."
Crowe's voice echoed louder this time, making Ethan's skin crawl.
"Ethan," Lena murmured softly, her gaze sharp. "Something's wrong, isn't it?"
Ethan's jaw clenched. "Yeah," he whispered. "Something's definitely wrong."
---
Transport Hub – Nexus Outskirts
The transport hub was a forgotten relic of the past—a once-bustling transit station now reduced to rusted steel and broken glass. The air was thick with the scent of oil and decay, and the faint hum of dormant machinery echoed through the cavernous space.
"We're here," Mira murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
Ethan's grip on his pulse blade tightened as his eyes scanned the shadows.
"Where's your contact?" Lena asked, her tone laced with suspicion.
"Close," Mira replied, but her posture was too rigid.
Ethan's instincts screamed louder now.
"Lena," Ethan murmured, his voice barely audible.
Lena's eyes narrowed. "I feel it too."
Ethan's jaw clenched.
"It's a trap."
"Run," Ethan whispered.
But it was too late.
A low mechanical hum echoed through the air as figures emerged from the shadows.
Enforcers.
HelixCorp.
"Damn it," Ethan hissed, his pulse spiking.
"Get down!" Lena shouted, her pulse pistol firing before the enforcers could react.
Sparks erupted as the shots ricocheted off the metal walls, but the enforcers were already closing in.
"Move!" Ethan barked, grabbing Lena's arm and pulling her toward the nearest cover.
Mira was already moving, her expression grim as she ducked behind a rusted support beam.
"Stay down!" Ethan growled, his pulse blade humming softly in his hand.
Lena's eyes narrowed as she fired another burst, taking down one of the enforcers.
"Ethan!" she shouted, her voice sharp.
Ethan's mind raced as Crowe's memories surged forward again, feeding him tactical information—exit points, angles, patterns.
"Left flank. Three enforcers. Right side. Weak point in the support structure."
Ethan's jaw clenched.
"Lena, cover me!"
"Go!"
Ethan moved like a shadow, his pulse blade slicing through the air as he closed the distance.
Two enforcers dropped before they could react, but the third was faster.
"Ethan!" Lena's warning came too late.
The enforcer's pulse rifle fired, and Ethan barely managed to dodge the shot. The heat singed his arm as he moved, his blade slicing through the enforcer's armor with precision.
The enforcer fell, but the damage was done.
"Ethan!" Lena's voice was filled with panic as she reached him, her eyes scanning the burn on his arm.
"I'm fine," Ethan murmured, but the pain was already dulling—another side effect of Crowe's influence.
"Where's Mira?" Lena's voice was sharp.
Ethan's eyes narrowed as he scanned the chaos around them.
"Mira!"
But she was gone.
Ethan's pulse pounded as the realization hit.
"She led us here."
"Damn it," Ethan hissed, his jaw clenched.
"She sold us out," Lena murmured, her voice laced with anger.
Ethan's mind spun, piecing together the fragments of Crowe's memories, Mira's actions, and the trap they had just walked into.
"We have to move," Ethan said, his voice tight. "Now."
Lena's eyes narrowed. "And Mira?"
Ethan's jaw clenched.
"We'll deal with her later."
They moved quickly, slipping into the shadows as more enforcers flooded the transport hub.
But as they disappeared into the night, Ethan couldn't shake the weight of what had just happened.
"There's no turning back now."
The path ahead was darker than ever.
And the price of failure...
Was more than Ethan was willing to pay.
---