The rain had stopped, but the damp chill still clung to the air as Kaius and Sura made their way deeper into the old metro tunnel. Every step echoed in the abandoned underground, the distant drip of water from rusted pipes the only other sound. The tunnel was dark, lit only by the faint flicker of overhead lights that barely worked—casting long, ominous shadows. Every corner of the place felt forgotten, like a graveyard of memories.
Kaius stumbled slightly as they walked, the exhaustion that had been gnawing at him for days finally taking its toll. His vision blurred, and every time he blinked, he could see the red strings flickering in his mind's eye. They hovered just at the edge of his consciousness, waiting. He could feel the pressure building, the pull stronger than before, and the relentless thumping of his heart felt like a hammer against his chest.
His breath was shallow, ragged. The weight of everything—the strings, the power, Gareth—pressed down on him like an invisible hand. And the worst part? He couldn't escape it. His mind raced with questions he couldn't answer, and each step felt like trudging through quicksand.
Sura's voice sliced through the fog of his thoughts.
"Kaius, you're not fine," she said, concern edging her words.
"I can see it—you're pushing yourself too hard."
"I'm fine," Kaius muttered, though he knew it was a lie. He wasn't fine, and the more he tried to convince himself otherwise, the more obvious it became.
Sura said nothing more, but her eyes stayed on him, worried. She led him deeper into the tunnels until they reached a section that looked older, even more forgotten. The smell of rust and decay was thicker here, the air cold and stale. They stopped at an old service door, barely visible in the dim light. Sura pressed her hand to a hidden panel, and with a soft click, the door opened.
"This way," she said quietly, pulling him inside.
The room beyond was a small, cramped safe house. It looked as though it had been hastily constructed, a place of last resort. The cold, flickering blue light from the ceiling barely illuminated the mess of scattered papers and rusted equipment littering the tables. Old tech, some still buzzing faintly, lay discarded across the room. A faint hum of machinery filled the air, accompanied by the occasional flicker of the overhead light that cast eerie shadows across the walls.
Kaius's eyes swept the room, taking in the organized chaos—the papers filled with equations, old blueprints, half-finished machines. It was a graveyard of forgotten ideas. The safe house felt like a tomb, a place where the world above didn't reach, where people came to hide and be forgotten.
A man stood at the far end of the room. He was tall, with cybernetic arms that gleamed faintly in the cold light. His face was scarred, hardened by years of struggle and survival. His short-cropped hair revealed a jagged scar running across his scalp. His eyes, cold and calculating, locked onto Kaius with an intensity that was unnerving.
"This is Lucian," Sura said softly, introducing the man.
"He's been with the rebellion for years. We can trust him."
Lucian didn't say anything at first. He simply looked Kaius over, his eyes scanning him as though assessing a threat. When he finally spoke, his voice was deep, carrying a weight of experience and caution.
"He doesn't look good," Lucian said, his tone matter-of-fact.
"What's wrong with him?"
"He's… struggling," Sura replied, her eyes flicking back to Kaius.
"His powers are growing faster than we expected."
Lucian's expression didn't change.
"If he's going to be a problem, we need to know now. We don't have time for dead weight."
Kaius barely heard them. His head pounded, the red strings flashing brighter now, swirling in front of him, around Lucian, around Sura, around everything. They vibrated in the air, pulsing in time with his heart.
Thump. Thump.
Thump. Thump.
Thump. Thump.
Thump. Thump.
The sound of his heartbeat filled his ears, drowning out everything else.
He blinked, and the strings snapped into focus. His breath quickened. The strings were attached to Lucian, pulling toward him, waiting for Kaius to act. He could feel their pull, a force he didn't understand but couldn't ignore.
"Kaius, sit," Sura urged, her voice soft but firm. But Kaius couldn't sit. He couldn't move. His body was frozen, his mind consumed by the red strings pulling him deeper into the abyss.
Lucian took a step closer, his cybernetic limbs making a faint mechanical whirring sound. His face remained impassive, but his eyes flicked over Kaius with suspicion.
"We don't have time for this. If he's going to be a threat—"
Suddenly, Kaius moved. He didn't know why. His hand shot out, and the strings—the red strings—followed. His fingers flexed, and the strings wrapped themselves around Lucian, tightening like a vice.
Lucian's body shaked violently, his cybernetic arms twitching uncontrollably. His sharp, steely gaze widened in shock, his breath catching as the invisible force overtook him. His entire body seized up, his movements frozen in place.
"Kaius!" Sura shouted, her voice cutting through the haze.
"Stop!"
But Kaius couldn't stop. His hand trembled as the strings pulsed harder, their rhythm matching his erratic heartbeat.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Lucian grunted, his mechanical arms sparking as he tried to resist. His muscles strained, his face contorted with effort, but he couldn't break free. He was trapped, caught in Kaius's web of power.
"Kaius! Enough!" Sura's voice was sharper now, more urgent.
The words pierced through the fog in Kaius's mind. He blinked, his hand dropping to his side. The strings unraveled in an instant, vanishing like mist. Lucian collapsed to his knees, his breath ragged, his limbs shaking as he regained control.
For a moment, no one spoke. Lucian stayed where he was, his chest rising and falling heavily. His eyes, wide with shock and anger, flicked up to Kaius, but he said nothing.
Kaius swayed on his feet, the world tilting dangerously around him. The strings faded from view, but the weight of what he had done pressed down on him. His legs buckled, and he crumpled to the ground, his body finally giving out. Darkness swallowed him whole.
When Kaius woke again, he was lying on an old mattress. His body felt like it had been drained of all its energy, every muscle heavy with exhaustion. The faint hum of machinery buzzed in the background, and the cold blue light from the ceiling flickered weakly overhead.
Sura knelt beside him, her face softened with relief.
"Kaius, you're awake. How do you feel?"
He tried to speak, but his throat was dry, his voice barely a whisper. His head throbbed with a dull ache, and his thoughts were muddled, fragments of the last few hours slipping through his grasp.
"You need to rest," Sura said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll move you to a safer location soon. We can't stay here."
Lucian stood by the door, his cybernetic arms still twitching slightly. His expression was guarded, wary. He hadn't forgotten what had just happened. The air between them was thick with unspoken tension.
Kaius's eyes fluttered shut, the weight of exhaustion pulling him under once more. The last thing he saw was the flickering cold light above, casting long, eerie shadows across the room as sleep claimed him again.