After unleashing his devastating storm of strikes, the boiling air of the cave reeked of metal and hot oil from the bodies of more than thirty droids sprawled on the floor, sparking like discarded electronic trash. Even the automatons of his "siblings."
However... his satisfaction was short-lived. The only visible part of his face, his mouth, twisted. "Tch," observing the shift in the lenses and the faint lights scattered across the imposing frames of four out of the eight Juggernauts that had just emerged from the elevators.
These humanoid tanks, towering over three meters tall, were under the direct control of them. They moved forward, flanked by lesser silver droids that stepped aside in perfect synchronization, forming a pathway for them.
Sora remained still until, with an unsettling calm, he tilted his head to one side, the vertebrae in his neck cracking audibly. The recent injection of Eco's nanobots, now at rest, eased the weight of his consciousness, allowing him to focus more comfortably on the fight.
Without taking his eyes off the advancing giants, he slid his right hand, black as ebony, toward Getsuda, which rested in its sheath at the back of his hip. While with his left hand, he wrenched free one of the swords anchored to his back. As soon as he gripped it, a torrent of nanobots flowed from his spine, forming a new blade to take its place.
With two blades once again in his hands, Sora advanced until he stood before the colossal Juggernauts of his siblings. Made of different metals, their interiors were coppery, while their exteriors bore a certain resemblance to the rest of the silver-plated Droids. Their massive forms and aggressive lines evoked the unsettling image of Arasaka's Dai-Oni in cyberspace.
Even so, without letting his displeasure show, Sora replaced it with the arrogance expressed through the only visible part of his face. He stepped ahead of Prospera's assessments.
Looking toward their lenses—glinting in different colors, but especially the dark blue one—knowing they were watching him, he said mockingly, "I hope this one lasts you longer..."
The response came immediately: a gigantic fist, over 1.5 meters of pure metal, breaking the sound barrier on its way to his face.
When the dark smoke emerging from his arm finished swirling around Getsuda, extending and transforming its blade into a 90-centimeter nodachi, black as obsidian, Sora responded without hesitation with a simple yet powerful... horizontal slash.
At the same time, his skin reddened as his heart rate surged to its limit, rupturing the finest capillaries in his skin, and steam, caused by his rising temperature, began to hiss from the joints of his armor.
The clash between Getsuda and the fist was devastating. A shockwave swept through the debris, making the metal floors tremble. A shower of sparks burst in all directions, like an explosion of fireworks.
The two remained locked in place, testing their strength. The nodachi trembled under the pressure but did not give way. Then, amidst the back-and-forth, a transmission interrupted his neural implant.
Sora didn't hesitate to respond; "Perfect..." As a chaotic smile appeared on the only visible part of his face, he murmured. "Let it burn..."
The next instant, a chain of explosions shook the structure behind him.
The shockwave tore through the central area of the dome, disintegrating walls and machinery, turning them into shrapnel. The flames spread voraciously, climbing the same pipes Sora had used to infiltrate. Those metallic arteries, part of the geothermal system powering the entire complex, began to rupture under the uncontrollable pressure.
steam, had turned into a colossal bomb. The massive turbine—the heart of the dome—was ejected like a projectile. Spinning at full speed, it crashed into the cave ceiling with a thunderous impact, unleashing a deadly rain of shards and metal blades. The fragments fell like glowing knives, forcing Sora and Prospera to halt their clash and instinctively retreat.
The change in pressure within the pipes extending toward the magma was catastrophic. One by one, the conduits exploded, releasing hundreds of liters of water that instantly vaporized upon contact with the magma. The phenomenon triggered a dangerous Leidenfrost effect, creating massive bubbles of superheated steam that rose violently, until an enormous chamber of compressed magma burst.
A column of boiling magma shot upward with ferocious intensity, reaching the dome's height before erupting. Fragments of molten rock splattered in all directions, turning the environment into a hellscape. Each droplet was a deadly threat, transforming the battlefield into utter chaos.
-
20 minutes later
Jack arrived at the reinforced entrance of the hangar where the Rex Project was underway, having successfully completed the first part of his mission: extracting data on the twin fusion engines and advanced piloting systems, just as Boss had ordered. In just one hour, this had been achieved thanks to the crucial information provided by Professor Helios and his team.
Throughout the entire process, Jack repeatedly tried to establish contact with Sora. However, his signal had disappeared ever since he descended into the island's depths more than an hour ago. His absence was starting to trouble Jack—a concern shared by the scientists, who feared for the fate of their families.
Especially since just ten minutes ago, the base's communications had been reactivated.
When information from different sections of the base was reported, the first alarms immediately began to sound. Orders were given for all personnel to locate Professor Helios, his team, and authorization for the use of lethal force against the agents who had infiltrated and sabotaged the base.
"That is... us." Jack thought, recalling the orders shouted through the base's loudspeakers.
When the automatic hacking program in his frame finally managed to open the door, Jack bolted, sprinting up the first set of stairs he encountered. His destination was clear: the hangar's control room. There, he would install the malware that Dr. Helios and his team had designed, hidden in one of the base's escape pods. This malware was intended to sabotage the twin engines of the Rex Project in case they were activated.
As he advanced at a speed that security cameras could barely capture, reducing him to an intermittent blur, an uncomfortable feeling persisted in his mind—an intangible unease about the development of the Deamon materalized project, the cusante of the infected/husk and its unknown location within the base.
Fearing what might happen if something like that were unleashed in a major metropolis.
Although he had questioned Dr. Helios and the other scientists about where these investigations were being conducted, none of them had a clear answer. Faced with a lack of information, Jack made a pragmatic decision: to focus on the immediate objectives he could still accomplish. Wasting time searching blindly would only risk making the already precarious situation worse.
When Jack reached the control room, he paused for a second at the threshold, scanning the space with his single organic eye and the sensors embedded in his metallic frame. The room was designed as a sanctuary of efficiency: two rows of U-shaped terminals lined up around massive armored screens that overlooked the sealed hangar.
Cold, artificial lights cast angular shadows over the technicians hunched over their stations, surrounded by guards. But these weren't the typical soldiers he had encountered so far.
The guards wore black armor polished like obsidian, and their masks completely concealed their faces. When one of them finally noticed him, they spoke in a metallic, distorted voice, illegible to Jack. However, their intentions became clear as they raised their weapons in unison and opened fire without hesitation.
Jack activated his Sandervista. The world seemed to slow as his cybernetic body moved in a lethal dance. He ran along the walls, propelling himself off ceilings like a mechanized specter, dodging projectiles with precision. His monomolecular blade flashed, slicing through the air and his enemies with ease.
Despite the guards' efficiency—showing greater precision and sharper movements than any other soldiers he had faced so far—they appeared to be some kind of special unit.
The battle seemed to favor Jack. The guards fell one after another, their limbs severed or torsos pierced. But Jack realized something was wrong when he saw the bodies that should have been immobilized or neutralized begin to move again.
The guards, even with severed arms, reattached them with a wet snap as their open wounds sealed with a viscous, gray substance that sizzled upon contact with the air.
Jack stepped back as recognition dawned on him. "Infected?" he muttered through gritted teeth, gripping his sword tightly. His sensors buzzed with an odd white noise, as if something was interfering.
With a swift motion, he activated the interface of his smart headband. Analytical systems worked at full capacity, scanning the bodies of the regenerative guards. The results were narrated through his IDn by a robotic female voice:
["Unknown cyberware detected. Origin: spinal column. Behavior: self-repair and conservation of unknown substance."]
Jack observed through the scanner how more of that grayish substance kept pumping from their columns, sealing wounds and reassembling their limbs. Something in their minds began to change: their movements lost precision. The attack patterns crumbled, becoming erratic.
The soldiers charged at him in a disorganized frenzy, firing without coordination. Jack dodged the attacks with swift, acrobatic movements, his Sandervista turning every millisecond into an opportunity. His sword flashed, slicing through projectiles, flesh, and metal, but they kept advancing, heedless of their wounds.
In a daring move, Jack flung his sword into the air and caught it with one of his mechanical feet as his right hand transformed into a sharp claw. He leaped toward the nearest pair of soldiers, evading a barrage of gunfire.
With a brutal, razor-sharp motion, he spun his leg, slicing one of the guards in half, and drove his claw into the back of the other, tearing through the grayish flesh and extracting a metallic component from his spine. The soldier collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, his spasmodic movements ceasing instantly.
Jack quickly scanned the device as he held it in his bloodied hand. His sensors confirmed what he feared: microbots infested the body, coordinated by a central system but more contained compared to the Husks from the village.
"Almost as if the Malware had been tamed—or at least a failed attempt at it," Jack thought as he glanced at the gray, cyberware-patched bodies of the fallen guards.
Understanding now why they wore full armor, Jack recalled the reaction of the technicians upon realizing they were dealing with the infected. They had backed away as far as possible, as if fearing they might be infected themselves.
Now that he understood what he was facing, Jack acted with cold precision. Clenching his hand tightly, he generated a metallic crunch, crushing the Cyberware he was holding completely before hurling himself at the remaining infected guards, fully activating his Sandervista.
In a world where time seemed almost frozen, Jack's vision filled with holographic lines, showing him the infinite trajectories his strikes could take. Then, after selecting the most efficient one—one that would sever the lower spines of several guards at once—Jack released his sword, letting his artificially enhanced muscles do the rest. His blade became a scythe, cleaving three guards in half and slicing through the Cyberware in their spines.
With each slash and swipe of his claws, Jack dismantled the dozen remaining soldiers, destroying their spines to ensure they wouldn't rise again.
When he finally finished them all, Jack stood motionless for a moment. "Haaa... haa..." His breathing was heavy, the strain evident in the hum of his artificial lungs working to oxygenate his brain. The flickering lights of the room illuminated the splatters of blood and oil staining his metallic frame.
Wasting no time, Jack ignored the terrified technicians huddled in a corner, their pale faces reflecting the horror they had just witnessed. He approached one of the hangar's terminals, his metallic fingers typing with almost automatic precision.
His single eye glowed as he opened a communication channel. "Dr. Helios, have you finished the malware?" His voice resonated through the room, laced with urgency.
["..."] The deafening silence on the other end made Jack grit his teeth. He was about to repeat the question when a faint voice broke through the static: ["Yes..."] Dr. Helios's tone was apathetic. After a brief pause, he added with a hint of hesitation: ["However... we're uncertain about sending it to you."]
Jack closed his eye for a moment, taking a deep breath before responding firmly: "I understand your concerns. But I need your help. Your families aren't the only ones at risk... If the Rex units activate and manage to weaponize the infected, we'll all regret it."
A tense silence hung in the air for a few seconds before Dr. Helios finally replied:
["A-alright. I'm sending it now... but do you really believe your partner will hold up his end of the deal?"]
Jack tilted his head slightly. "Yes," he said sincerely, as he began interfacing with the terminal. His fingers moved swiftly across the controls, opening the armored shutters concealing the hangar's interior.
However, what he saw stopped him in his tracks. Expecting to find a single massive structure under construction, Jack instead found four of them, seemingly completed.
His astonishment was cut short by a voice dripping with sarcasm that joined the call: ["Excellent work, both of you. Thanks for your cooperation."]
The call abruptly ended as the door to the room opened and several people entered. Jack immediately recognized the man in charge.
A figure clad in black technological armor with red accents stepped forward, his white hair spilling out and his mouth visible beneath the helmet. With each step he took, his leg separated at the knee, reconnecting magnetically when his foot met the ground.
"Send a team to rescue pod D-113," the man commanded, his voice firm and authoritative. "Dr. Helios and the others are hiding there."
"Yes, Captain Zephyr," two soldiers replied, quickly leaving the room and leaving Jack face-to-face with one of the captains he had managed to avoid—until now.
"Am I interrupting? You seemed busy. Please, don't stop on my account—finish whatever it is you're doing," Zephyr said with biting sarcasm, leaning nonchalantly against a panel.
Jack looked up, his face unflinching. "Are you sure? You might regret it," he replied, buying time as he continued working the terminal through his ID, trying to upload the virus as quickly as possible.
Zephyr let out a dry laugh, his tone brimming with confidence. "Regret? I doubt it."
Then, as if his words had summoned it, a mechanical roar echoed from the hangar. The deafening sound reverberated through the room as the twin fusion cores of the four Gear Rex units came to life simultaneously.
Zephyr smiled as he caught the look of panic on Jack's face. His eyes wandered over the oily bloodstains and the gray liquid dripping from the mangled bodies on the floor. Knowing Jack would understand, he added mockingly, "You're going to love what we've equipped them with..."
Before Jack could respond, the hangar began to rumble with a deep, ominous sound. The four Gear Rex units—enormous mechanized colossi—sprang to life. Dense clouds of coolant burst from their limbs and spinal columns as they disconnected from the structures holding them in place. Hydraulic arms and anchoring supports crashed to the floor with deafening thuds.
Each step of the Gear Rex made the hangar tremble. Their titanic legs hammered against the reinforced metal floors, sending shockwaves through the ground and walls as they moved toward the elevators that would take them to the surface.
But then, another tremor hit—this one different. It was outside of Zephyr's plans, wiping the smug grin from his face.
The massive quake shook the entire Shadow Mosses base. Metal panels tore from the walls and ceiling throughout the facility. Lights flickered erratically, casting the room in bursts of shadow and chaos. The sound of groaning steel and blaring alarms filled the air, overwhelming even the thunderous footsteps of the Gear Rex.
The shake was so violent that even the giant mechanized units lost their balance. They crashed into one another and the walls, leaving deep dents in their armor.
Zephyr, until now brimming with confidence and sarcasm, frowned, his expression darkening. Jack, aware of what the tremor likely meant, smirked. "I wonder if they'll be fast enough to escape before this base disappears."
"What have you done?!" Zephyr bellowed furiously. Jack responded while unsheathing his sword, his voice calm and cutting: "Me? Nothing... But my partner, on the other hand, seems determined to make this place disappear."
Zephyr, consumed by rage upon witnessing the devastation caused by the audacious rats in Shadow Moses, responded to Jack with a furious gesture. He raised his hands, and from his palms emerged dagger-like blades, sharp and lethal. In unison, more blades extended from his forearms, elbows, and biceps, each launched with tremendous force through electromagnetic pulses directly at his enemy.
Jack reacted instantly, dodging the attacks with agility. Zephyr's body parts moved like guided projectiles, repelling and attracting one another in a chaotic pattern, forming a lethal mechanical swarm. But Jack knew this frenzy wasn't merely a display of power; it was a carefully woven trap. Within seconds, he was surrounded by the flying pieces, which aligned into a precise formation.
Suddenly, a burst of purple electrical discharge lit up the room. From the sockets in Zephyr's shoulders, a powerful current was released, instantly connecting with the scattered parts of his body. The electricity arced between the blades like caged lightning, closing the trap around Jack. Before he could escape, the discharge struck him directly.
The ensuing explosion was deafening. A shockwave tore through the control room, destroying nearby panels and hurling Jack through the air. The impact slammed him violently against the room's partitions, shattering them into countless fragments and flinging him into the hangar.
As he fell, surrounded by debris and with static still flickering across his HUD, Jack spotted two black shadows leaping from the control room, rushing toward him.
They were Zephyr's accompanying soldiers. They wore the same black armor as the infected guards, covering their entire bodies, but with a sleeker, more lightweight design optimized for speed and agility. Mid-air, they deployed their cyberware: mantis and wolven blades that glinted ominously as they launched themselves at their prey.
Despite the earlier impact leaving his frame partially damaged, Jack reacted. His sword intercepted their attacks mid-air, sparks flying as every strike was neutralized. When all three landed on a high catwalk in the hangar, Jack shifted to the offensive.
With a mental command, he activated his Sandevistan, pushing his movements to superhuman speeds. The two soldiers were not far behind, activating their own acceleration systems. What followed was a fleeting, deadly duel: a storm of strikes and counterstrikes that seemed to blur the outlines of their bodies, leaving only trails of sparks and the clash of steel reverberating in the air.
The soldiers, acting as a perfectly synchronized team, attempted to flank Jack, striking simultaneously from both sides. They believed they had found an opening, a flaw in his defense… but they were wrong. Before their blows could land, Jack vanished from their sight, leaving only a faint hum in the air.
An instant later, he reappeared behind them, sheathing his sword after delivering a clean, decisive strike. The two soldiers fell silently to the ground, their bodies severed at the waist. Even the intricate cyberware in their spines was cut through, sending final sparks into the air before going dark forever.
Jack stood there on the catwalk as the Gear Rex units continued their movements in the distance, and hundreds of parts that made up Zephyr's body poured through the shattered window of the control room, reassembling themselves before him.
Zephyr, his gaze fixed on the scattered remains of his own soldiers, broke the silence with a cold, disdainful voice: "How pleased you are to chew away, huh?"
Jack, without bothering to hide his disgust, replied harshly: "Don't place their deaths on me. You were the ones who infected your own men with that... thing."
Zephyr's response came like a blow, laced with icy accusation. "How easily you ignore the loss of life when it suits your convenience." He paused, his tone turning sharper. "Who saves the weak? The man who saves the weak?"
Jack, remaining calm, let out a sarcastic laugh before responding. "You?"
Zephyr didn't falter, his voice filled with unshakable conviction as he replied with an unsettling smile. "That's the plan."
Behind them, the two towering Gear Rexes began to slowly ascend toward the surface, emerging from the massive hangar elevators like heralds of destruction or change.
-
10 Minutes Earlier
In an elliptical room dimly lit by soft blue lights, the air seemed charged with a tension no one dared to break.
Around a polished steel table sat the three captains of Liberté Sans Frontière: Sundown, with his hardened expression and arms crossed, tapping a finger on his bicep; Shade, leaning back in her seat with one leg crossed over the other, her cynernetic eyes analyzing every shadow in the room; and Zephyr, sitting upright with his hands resting behind his head.
The leader of the organization, Cain, stood motionless in front of a massive window that spanned much of the room's wall. Beyond the glass, the depths of the ocean stretched out like a dark, vibrant abyss, occasionally illuminated by the faint glow of bioluminescent creatures and the flickering lights of the submarine complex's mechanical systems.
The atmosphere was heavy. No one spoke. No one moved.
Finally, Cain broke the silence, his voice grave and deliberate, slicing through the tension in the room like a blade. He didn't turn to face them as he spoke.
"Have you found anything about this Little Jackie?"
Shade, her white mask gleaming under the dim light, tilted her head slightly. Her ocular lenses emitted a faint glow as she accessed her internal records. Her voice, a robotic whisper, said, ["Yes. But you're not going to like it."]
Cain barely turned his neck, just enough to signal him to speak. "Say it."
Shade didn't hesitate. ["According to my sources, that name has only appeared once."]
"From whom?"
The hum of Shade's systems grew louder as she slightly turned her head toward Cain. ["Adam Smasher."]
Silence returned, this time even more oppressive. Zephyr, resting his head on his crossed hands, paused for a moment before asking, confused, "But isn't he dead?"
Shade nodded slowly, the movement of her mask almost imperceptible. ["He is. The little information I have about Little Jackie comes from a record four years ago when Smasher was looking for him in Night City."]
Sundown, who had remained silent until now, with arms crossed and his face partially illuminated by the flickering light, raised an eyebrow. "Did he manage to find him?"
["It's unknown. He was killed shortly after; there are no clear records,"] Shade replied, his tone impassive. Then she added, ["Still..."]
Cain finally turned toward them. His eyes, hard as steel, scanned the group as he finished the sentence. "There are too many similarities."
Zephyr frowned. "What do you mean?"
Cain walked to the center of the room. While controlling the room's systems from his IDn, he activated a holographic projection. In the air appeared an old photograph from four years ago, when he brazenly addressed the entire world, accompanied by a more recent image.
"The place where the Ebunike was destroyed. The only confirmed sighting of Little Jackie. The person who took down Smasher. And the owner of the building where we sent the mercenaries. Everything points to the same person and the same city," Cain said, his tone dry and sharp.
The holographic image flickered and displayed a recently captured video: a man, shirt open to reveal his tattooed torso, brutally ripping the spine from a droid while glaring at the camera, his defiant face frozen in the final frame.
"Sora Inazuka from Night City," murmured Sundown, his face rigid.
"The former mercenary Okami?" Zaphyr broke the silence, his tone incredulous, tinged with irritation. "He's Little Jackie? The same person who's evaded our defenses and infiltrated this place?"
Sundown didn't take his eyes off the screen. "We can't assume he's alone," he said, his voice grave and measured.
Shade, his white, expressionless mask and glasses reflecting the bluish light of the hologram, spoke from the corner of the table. "If he's not alone," he pointed out in an almost mechanical tone, "it's most likely someone from Lazarus."
With Little Jackie's message still engraved in his mind: Fraud, as fake as your arm, Cain clenched his teeth, his angry voice reverberating through the room.
"It doesn't matter where he is... I want you to initiate the proje—"
But the words died in his throat. All the captains present feared what he was about to say, stopping only when the doors opened with a hiss, followed by the hurried entrance of a soldier into the room.
"Sir, captains," he began, catching his breath and instantly standing at attention. "We've reestablished communications and found something relevant. But first..." He hesitated, his gaze fixed on Cain. "A ship is approaching. It's requesting permission to land. Additionally, someone is attempting to contact you through the maximum-security line."
Cain observed him for a moment, considering his response with calculating eyes. Finally, he spoke clearly:
"Thank you for informing us. Now, return to your post. Instruct the lieutenants to gather information from the other wings of the base and act accordingly. We have rats to hunt..." His gaze hardened for a moment before adding, "As for the ship, keep it on standby. It does not enter without my direct authorization."
The soldier nodded, striking his chest forcefully as he fervently recited, "Omni pretio!"
Cain responded with a slight nod, allowing himself a brief, genuine smile—a gesture from a leader who knew how to inspire confidence even in difficult moments. The effect was immediate; the soldier seemed even more motivated to carry out his orders.
But as soon as the soldier left the room and the doors closed behind him, the smile vanished. His face regained its calculated coldness as he activated the console before him, connecting the maximum-security call to the holographic screen.
The image on the holographic screen stabilized, revealing the rugged face of a man with weathered skin and aviator glasses, his severe expression illuminated by the cold glare of a fluorescent lamp. Cain leaned forward slightly, composing a smile that never reached his eyes.
"Senator Armstrong, always a pleasure and an honor to see you." His tone was cordial, but behind the mask of respect, there was a palpable alertness.
The senator frowned, his voice rumbling like restrained thunder. ["Cain... I can't say the pleasure is mutual, not under these circumstances. I've been trying to contact you for over an hour."]
Cain inclined his head in a gesture of apology. "There have... been interferences."
["What kind of interferences?"] Armstrong raised an eyebrow, his voice sharp as a blade.
"The kind that Lazarus agents can cause," Cain responded, his tone turning somber.
The senator let out a heavy sigh, his fingers drumming against what seemed to be a solid wooden desk just out of frame. ["So they've found the base."] His voice carried a mix of regret and exasperation.
Cain nodded slowly. "That's correct."
["Well, then,"] Armstrong continued, fixing his gaze on Cain as if he could pierce through the screen, ["what do you intend to do? After everything that's happening at Shadow Moses, if even a fraction of this leaks... the Consortium's troops will surround the island within hours."]
Cain placed both hands on the console in front of him, leaning toward the screen as if to emphasize his response. "That's why I plan to activate the project."
The senator's jaw visibly tightened as he grappled with the urgency of the decision. ["Are the key projects ready?"]
"The Rex is," Cain replied firmly. Then, after a brief hesitation, he added, "The other... is in a functional stage."
Armstrong remained silent for a moment, his frown deepening as he processed Cain's words. ["Functional isn't good enough, Cain,"] he finally snapped, his voice hardened with frustration. ["If this fails, you won't just lose this base. You'll lose my backing... and your life, along with everyone under you."]
Cain held his gaze, his voice dropping to a whisper laden with determination. "It won't fail."
["Good. I hope so. That's why I've sent reinforcements,"] said Senator Armstrong, his words carrying a mix of confidence and pressure. ["They should have already requested landing clearance."]
Cain blinked briefly before responding, masking his irritation behind a veil of professionalism. "So it's one of your men..." His neutral tone barely concealed a slight annoyance. He disliked the interference but knew he wasn't in a position to question reinforcements at that moment. "I'll send the authorization immediately so they can land."
["Perfect."] Armstrong nodded with satisfaction, his expression relaxing slightly. ["If everything goes as planned, the next time we speak, I'll be taking control of the Elders. I'm looking forward to hearing about your success, Cain."]
Cain leaned slightly forward, his eyes fixed on the screen. "Are you going to inform the other... 'patron' about these changes?"
The senator shook his head slowly, a calculated motion. ["No. He's too close to the president. His surprise, if questioned, might prove useful."]
"Understood."
Armstrong leaned closer to the camera, his voice dropping a tone, becoming almost threatening. ["Don't fail, Cain."]
Cain's response came instantly, with the firm assurance of someone who had accepted their role from the very beginning. "You created me precisely for this."
The senator gave a brief, almost paternal smile before disconnecting the transmission without another word.
Without turning around, Cain addressed his captains. "Prepare yourselves. Today, we reveal our existence to the world."
-
A few minutes after the activation of the Gear Rex.
In the still partially constructed wing of Shadow Mosses, the air in the armored room above the Backdoor grew tense. From the deep fissure in the ground, which reached into the very bowels of the island, a black, sulfur-laden smoke began to emerge, stemming from the increasingly active fault line beneath the island.
The current of clean air, driven by a massive turbine in the room, swirled forcefully against both streams, creating a barrier that blocked the ascent of the smoke. In that moment of standoff, something darker than the ashes shot out, embedding itself into the ceiling with a dry, resonant impact.
Immediately afterward, a figure in a partially destroyed suit of armor followed, hurtling toward the ceiling like a living shadow emerging from the sulfurous inferno.
Sora disconnected his grapple hook just before slamming into the ceiling, falling with a hollow, heavy thud beside the fissure. The sound of his impact echoed with a metallic ring, mingled with a faint crackling of bones under the strain of his own weight.
His armor, composed of Eco's nanobots, barely managed to cover his body. The most damaged sections had disappeared, exposing charred flesh, open wounds, deep cuts, and irregular marks from bladed weapons. It was a painful canvas revealing the places where the armor had failed to fully protect him.
Next to him lay a black backpack, heavy with all the equipment of Eco that it carried within its confines. It was part of an emergency protocol designed by himself, for situations where the nanobots could no longer remain attached to his body.
Lying on the ground, Sora turned slowly, inhaling with difficulty. His bruised lungs barely managed to fill with the desperately needed clean air that filled the room. Each breath was a challenge, his chest rising in spasms as pain coursed through every fiber of his being. Yet, even in that state, a faint smile curved his lips, having accomplished his goal.
After a few moments, as his breathing steadied, he moved slowly, sitting up cross-legged on the floor.
Then, he closed his eyes, ignoring the overwhelming vibrations of the massive turbine that continued to operate nearby. A few seconds later, something began to change in his body: the open wounds started to close, covered by a black layer that spread slowly.
Covered in those dark patches, Sora kept his eyes shut. Instead, he focused on controlling the remnants of his shattered armor. The remaining nanobots lost their solid form, turning into a mix of liquid and black smoke that enveloped his body like a tide.
The process was slow and meticulous, but in the end, they formed a lightweight armor accompanied by a recreation of his tactical poncho. However, essential functions, such as optical camouflage, could not be recreated with the remaining nanobots. Even so, he created an exact copy of his original gear, at least in appearance.
When he finally stood up, Sora staggered. His blurred vision forced him to lean against a nearby wall as a thin trickle of blood slid down his nose once again.
After the massive loss of nanobots in the fight against his siblings, almost all the volume that made up Eco's body was gone. This caused his brain, already overheating and barely able to sustain his consciousness, to reach its limit.
Knowing what he had to do, within his cyberspace—where his enormous digital form barely fit—the gigantic wolf made of code closed his eyes as he created a subroutine. It was shaped from the most human aspects of his personality, a remnant designed to take control in his stead.
When he opened his eyes again in the real world, he felt the change immediately. His mind was clearer, lighter... but a feeling of incompleteness bloomed once more. It was as if a large part of himself was absent, leaving him with a sense of emptiness that was deeply unsettling.
"Ahm..." With a resigned sigh, shaking off the feeling, Sora pushed away from the wall and headed for the exit of the room. His body, though worn out and weakened, kept moving forward.
However, as he grabbed the backpack and opened the door, more than thirty weapons were raised in unison, all aimed directly at him. Sora took a moment to observe the soldiers surrounding him, assessing their movements and positions. Then, as if he had entered the wrong room, he calmly closed the door without haste or panic.
The gesture caused the soldiers to glance at each other in confusion before the commanding lieutenant broke the silence through a megaphone:
["Step out immediately! We know your companion abducted Dr. Helios and the rest of the staff. If you don't want us to fire on your families, we order you to come out with your hands up!"]
Too exhausted to argue with them… Sora opened the door again and stepped out with his hands raised.