Liam stood over the remains of the A-Class Titan Mech, its metallic body flickering as the system began dissolving it into scattered data fragments. The battle had been tougher than expected, and his heart was still pounding from the sheer intensity of it. His hands clenched into fists, the residual power of Override slowly fading. The ability had saved him—again—but something about using it felt… unnatural. As if the system itself was resisting his existence.
Kai, who had barely made it out alive, was slumped against a broken pillar, breathing heavily. His usually cocky expression was gone, replaced by a look of sheer exhaustion.
"I swear," Kai gasped between breaths. "I was this close to being mech food."
Liam smirked, trying to shake off his own exhaustion. "Yeah, and I was this close to letting it happen."
Before Kai could come up with a snarky reply, a chilling voice cut through the digital air like a blade.
"You're quite the anomaly, Liam Kane."
Liam froze. The battlefield, once filled with the sounds of distant explosions and system errors, went unnervingly quiet. The air around them seemed to distort, pixels shimmering and bending as if reality itself was being rewritten.
From the shifting fog of the ruined sector, a figure emerged. Dressed in sleek, futuristic combat gear with a hood concealing most of his features, the stranger carried an aura of unshakable confidence. His presence alone was enough to make every instinct in Liam's body scream danger.
Liam's grip tightened around his weapon. "Who the hell are you?"
The figure stopped a few steps away. His voice was smooth, almost mechanical, yet strangely… human.
"I am ECHO. And you… you're the one with the anomaly. This will be interesting."
The moment he finished speaking, he moved.
A flick of his wrist, and the air rippled with energy waves. The attacks were fast—too fast. Liam barely managed to roll out of the way before the ground where he stood shattered into a glowing crater.
Kai had already started running. "Okay, I'll let you handle this one!"
"Coward!" Liam growled, dodging another barrage of attacks.
But something about ECHO's movements unsettled him. It wasn't just his speed or power—there was precision in every strike. Like he was studying Liam, testing him.
Liam gritted his teeth and activated Override. He ride on ravager and straight goes to take him down, enhancing his reflexes as he countered ECHO's next attack. Their attack clashed, sending a shockwave rippling through the area.
For the first time, ECHO hesitated. His head tilted slightly as if analyzing something.
"You really don't know, do you?" His voice carried something unexpected—disappointment.
Liam narrowed his eyes. "Know what?"
ECHO didn't answer. Instead, he took a step back, his cryptic expression hidden beneath the shadows of his hood. "You'll figure it out eventually. Until then… survive."
Without another word, he vanished into the system, leaving behind only traces of his presence. The battlefield fell silent once more.
Kai peeked out from behind a ruined wall. "So… are we dead or…?"
Liam exhaled slowly, his mind racing with new questions. "Not yet. But I have a feeling things just got a whole lot more complicated."
End of Chapter 5