The city of Nexara pulsed in the distance, its neon glow barely visible from the crumbling edges of the Nexus. Ethan and Lena had managed to escape the transport hub, but the weight of their failure clung to them like a suffocating fog.
They had trusted Mira.
And she had sold them out.
Ethan's jaw clenched as they moved through the shadowed corridors of an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the Nexus. The air was thick with the scent of rust and decay, and the faint hum of forgotten machinery echoed softly through the silence.
"Here," Lena murmured, her voice barely above a whisper as she stopped near a rusted console.
Ethan followed her lead, his pulse still pounding in his ears. His grip on the data core was tight, his knuckles white.
"We should be safe here for now," Lena said softly, her eyes scanning the dark corners of the warehouse.
Ethan didn't respond. His mind was elsewhere—lost in the chaos of Crowe's memories that were becoming harder to control.
"Mira betrayed me."
"She'll betray you too."
Crowe's voice echoed louder than ever, a constant presence in the back of Ethan's mind. His pulse quickened, and the edges of his vision blurred as fragments of Crowe's past surged forward again.
---
Flashback – Crowe and Mira's Final Encounter
The lab was quiet, the air thick with tension. Crowe's hands moved quickly over the console, his expression tight with urgency.
"You don't have to do this, Mira," Crowe murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.
Mira stood near the doorway, her posture rigid, her eyes locked onto the data core in Crowe's hand.
"This isn't just about us, Daniel," she murmured softly. "It's bigger than that."
Crowe's jaw clenched. "And you think giving the Codex to them will fix everything?"
Mira's expression hardened. "I think it's the only way to stop what's coming."
Crowe's pulse quickened.
"You're making a mistake," he whispered.
Mira's gaze didn't waver.
"No," she murmured softly. "I'm making a choice."
---
"Ethan."
Lena's voice pulled him back to the present, but the echo of Crowe's memories still lingered, leaving a cold chill in his bones.
"Ethan."
Her hand was on his arm now, her grip firm but gentle.
"Hey."
Ethan blinked, his vision clearing as he met her gaze. Concern clouded her green eyes, and for a moment, the weight of everything he was carrying threatened to break him.
"You're slipping again," Lena murmured softly.
"I know," Ethan whispered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Lena's jaw tightened, her expression hardening. "We need to talk about this."
Ethan looked away, his jaw clenched. "Not now."
"Ethan."
The weight in her voice made him stop.
"Crowe's memories... they're getting stronger, aren't they?"
Ethan's silence was all the answer she needed.
"Ethan..." Lena's voice was softer now, but the fear in her tone was impossible to miss. "How bad is it?"
Ethan's jaw clenched. "Bad."
Lena's breath caught.
"How much longer?" she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
Ethan's eyes met hers, and the raw fear in her gaze tore at him.
"I don't know," he admitted softly.
Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating.
Lena's jaw clenched, her expression shifting from fear to determination.
"Then we don't have time," she murmured, her voice steady now. "We need to find a way to stop this before..."
Her voice trailed off, but they both knew what she meant.
Before Crowe consumed him completely.
Ethan's grip on the data core tightened.
"We will," he murmured, his jaw set. "I won't let it come to that."
Lena's eyes lingered on his for a moment longer before she finally nodded.
"Okay," she murmured softly. "But we do this together."
Ethan's jaw clenched, but he gave her a small nod.
"Together," he echoed.
But before either of them could say more, a low hum echoed through the warehouse.
Ethan's instincts kicked in immediately.
"Get down!"
Lena moved before he finished the sentence, taking cover behind a rusted support beam. Ethan followed, his pulse blade humming softly in his hand as his eyes scanned the shadows.
The hum grew louder, and a moment later, a faint blue light illuminated the far end of the warehouse.
A figure emerged from the shadows, moving with a predator's grace.
Tall. Cloaked in reinforced armor. A pulse rifle slung across their back.
But it was the glow of the cybernetic implants along their jawline that made Ethan's blood run cold.
"Who the hell..." Lena murmured softly, her eyes narrowing.
The figure stepped closer, their expression unreadable.
"I wouldn't hide if I were you," they said, their voice smooth but laced with quiet authority.
Ethan's jaw clenched as he stepped out of the shadows, his pulse blade humming softly.
"Who are you?" Ethan demanded, his tone cold and unyielding.
The figure's lips curled into a faint smirk.
"Name's Dorian," they murmured, their cybernetic eyes narrowing as they scanned Ethan.
"And I think we have a common enemy."
Lena stepped out beside Ethan, her pulse pistol steady in her hand.
"HelixCorp?" she asked, her tone cautious.
Dorian's smirk faded, replaced by something darker.
"Among others," he murmured softly.
Ethan's instincts screamed at him to be careful, but something about Dorian felt... different.
"Why are you here?" Ethan asked, his grip on his weapon tightening.
Dorian's gaze lingered on the data core in Ethan's hand.
"To offer you a choice," Dorian murmured, his expression unreadable.
Ethan's pulse quickened. "What kind of choice?"
Dorian's eyes met his, and for a moment, the air grew heavier.
"You can keep running," Dorian murmured softly. "Or..."
He took a step closer, his gaze never wavering.
"You can fight."
Ethan's jaw clenched.
"Fight how?"
Dorian's smirk returned, but this time, there was no humor in it.
"I know people," he murmured. "People who aren't afraid to take the fight to HelixCorp."
Lena's eyes narrowed. "And what do they want in return?"
Dorian's gaze flickered toward the data core.
"The Codex."
Ethan's pulse spiked.
"Not a chance," he murmured, his tone cold.
Dorian's smirk didn't fade.
"Relax," he murmured. "They don't want it. They want to protect it. Same as you."
Ethan's eyes narrowed. "And why should we trust them?"
Dorian's expression hardened.
"Because if you don't..." His gaze locked onto Ethan's, and for a moment, the air grew colder.
"HelixCorp won't just take the Codex."
"They'll rewrite the future."
Silence fell over the room as Ethan's mind raced.
"This is the line we cross."
The weight of Dorian's words settled over him like a suffocating shroud.
And for the first time...
Ethan wasn't sure if they were ready for what came next.
---