I woke before the first rays of sunlight touched the cave.
My body ached, numb.
My arms tingled.
Sensation returned slowly.
"I was just about to wake you."
Kiara sat beside me.
The holomap appeared on her wrist.
"Pay attention."
I rubbed my face, forcing away the fog.
Focus.
Time to memorize everything.
"Five floors."
Red dots lit up on the map.
"Thirty guards.
They operate in quadrants."
She expanded the projection.
"Two weak points."
The first glowed in emphasis.
"There's an opening here.
We can hide in that structure."
The second lit up in yellow.
"Another option:
follow the wall to the main entrance.
Two guards on the way.
Two more at the entrance."
In the center of the map, an orange dot blinked.
"Our objective is here.
I still don't know what's inside, but it's small."
Kiara deactivated the hologram.
I swallowed hard.
Repeated the information mentally.
I had to memorize everything.
Even anxious, I had to get it right.
S-2879 • L9 Fluxluna • D07 Abeli
"Fluxluna runs clear, a thread of living water.Abeli ignites a sprout of brightness above.The tide draws signs in soft silver.The story weaves a steady step in rising light."
The day dragged on slowly.
Sunbeams fell over the Citadel's sandy mantle.
The waters of the Mediterranean shimmered.
Points of light on the horizon.
I woke at sunset.
Lilac and orange sky.
Clouds like a painting.
Night fell.
The dimmed glow of two stars.
A sight I had never seen before.
I smiled.
I imagined Maia beside me.
Under the same sky.
The smile faded.
The memory of her warmed me.
But she was gone.
That hurt in the deepest part of me.
I was on that journey to truly know her, because she had been my breath of life.
Maia awakened feelings in me I had never known.
At first with discomfort, making me question my life.
Whether that solitary path would really satisfy me.
Even confused by those new feelings, something in me had changed forever.
She made my heart race.
She filled my stomach with butterflies.
She occupied my thoughts.
I had fallen in love.
Everything I wanted to do.
The life I wanted to live.
The experiences I still wanted to have.
I wanted to live them with Maia.
A dream interrupted.
What was left for me to do?
Dawn came.
Kiara brushed my arm.
She must have seen that I had cried myself to sleep.
In silence, she looked at me with gentle eyes.
I smiled at the gesture.
I sat up, feeling more sore than before.
Stretched to ease the numbness.
Kiara sat in front of me.
"I finished the analysis.
The guards switch shifts twice:
once at noon and once at ten at night, when the boat traffic ends.
We're infiltrating tonight at ten.
This area will clear out for two minutes.
Enough time to reach this wall."
The route lit up brightly on the map.
"I'll need you.
While I clean up the area, follow this corridor.
Hack the power box.
Use this malware."
She sent me a file: Nolight.exe.
"I'll have the cameras hacked, so you'll be invisible.
Then come back to me.
The malware will cut the power in one minute.
That means we'll have three minutes.
We go down to the warehouse, grab the object, and get back to the ground floor.
The power will be restored by then.
All the guards will probably be on alert.
By that time, we'll already be gone."
She gestured.
"Stay behind me.
Watch my back.
You can avoid killing, but if a guard comes at us, you neutralize.
As a doctor, you know the vital points."
"I-I'll try."
I cleared my throat.
The idea of shooting someone was unbearable.
Even without the intention to kill.
I trembled just imagining it.
I avoided thinking about it.
Focused on what mattered:
rescinding my contract.
Discovering who had ordered it.
I still had to face that fact.
I was being hunted.
And soon I would understand why.
I also had to become independent of Kiara.
I had to learn to be strong.
To protect myself.
"We move at nine.
Any questions?"
"No, but there's something I need to tell you."
Since our trip to Netheria, my intuition had told me this was the right choice.
My Maiden trusted Kiara.
Maia did too.
I took the compass out of my pocket.
The watch.
The phone.
They weighed more in my hand than they should have.
"They were in the envelope.
What do they mean?"
My heart pounded.
I felt they were important.
"I have a feeling.
I think you should keep them.
At least for now."
Kiara studied the three items carefully.
"Maia left this with you?
She handed me the envelope sealed."
Kiara turned the objects in her hand.
A smile came quickly, as if something had suddenly made sense—then vanished again.
"She…"
Her tone changed.
"What?"
I bit my lip.
"I didn't imagine—"
She stopped herself.
"I mean, I knew that…"
Kiara ran a hand through her hair.
"Anyway. Later."
But something in her eyes had turned strange.
"You sure you want to leave them with me?"
I nodded, confused.
"Alright."
She slipped them into her coat.
As curious as I was, I knew the situation we were in.
I focused on the mission.
Time for the infiltration
I took FamineFix to calm my stomach.
And CaloraX to remain undetected.
Kiara adjusted the machine gun on her bandolier.
Ran her fingers along I'll Devour You.
"I'm a sniper strategist," she murmured.
"If Maia were here, she'd be the one infiltrating."
A faint smile slipped out.
Hearing her speak of Maia, even vaguely, made me smile too.
Kiara put the gun away.
"Alright. We're ready.
I mean, are you?"
I nodded.
I wanted to avoid thinking too much about it.
The descent was steep.
A natural path in the mountain.
We used our hands and feet.
Kiara descended easily and helped me keep my balance.
The ground drew closer.
My hands burned.
Blood and sweat mixed together.
We hid in the bushes until we reached the warehouse.
Floodlights swept across the structure.
The vast complex hid among tall vegetation and low walls.
Cargo nanovehicles were parked around it.
Holoscreens pulsed on the concrete walls.
The only movement was from the guards.
Kiara cut the fence with a laser.
We waited.
Two guards passed.
We slipped inside.
We saw the opening.
Kiara moved quickly toward it.
I tried to follow, but a guard turned the corner.
The android yanked me hard.
I almost fell.
Inside the warehouse, a wall separated us from the center.
A guard passed.
Kiara grabbed him and covered his mouth.
Drove the retractable blade into his neck.
Blood sprayed.
She hid the body immediately.
Another guard.
Kiara did it again.
Same movement.
Same precision.
My turn.
I crossed the corridor slowly.
Crouched as I passed a window.
Bioscreen open.
I connected to the power box.
Nolight.exe
The nanomalware glowed neon red.
Before everything went dark, I activated night vision.
I returned to Kiara.
She cleared the path to the lower floor.
Agitated voices came from above.
Kiara pocketed a small metal box.
Two and a half minutes passed.
As we were leaving—
"You can do better than that, cabrón."
A powerful, unconcerned voice.
"Gonorrea malparido!"
He laughed. Loud. Real.
A whip cracked against flesh.
My heart pumped agony through my veins.
I shuddered.
My chest hurt.
Kiara stopped.
Looked toward the door.
An unreadable expression.
What was she doing?
The lights came back on.
A wall still hid us.
Guards were coming in waves.
"C'mon!
No sé quién crees que eres.
Pero esse soquinho de mierda is nothing to bring me down!"
Kiara kicked the door open with brutal force.
Went inside.
Two shots.
What the hell was that?
I ran after her.
Cold sweat.
Shaking.
"Denden?"
She frowned, confused.
In front of us:
A bronze-skinned man.
Sharp, feline eyes.
Brown, curly hair tied in a loose bun.
A strand fell over his forehead.
Tattoos covered his muscular, bloodied body.
"Kiara?
What are you doing here, muchacha?"
"What do you think?"
She rolled her eyes.
Removed the nanocuffs from his wrists and ankles.
How had she done that?
Only nanokeys could unlock nanometal restraints.
Denden stood and rubbed his wrists.
Blood-red smile.
"I was about to free myself, muchacha.
It was only a matter of time."
"I see."
Kiara clicked her tongue.
"You brought the Matriarch's shipment and got caught, right?"
He picked up the gun of a dead guard.
"They didn't catch me.
There was a complication."
Denden spread his arms.
"Now you're here.
Suerte."
He was far too cheerful for someone drenched in blood.
And half broken.
I had the instinct to examine him, but held back.
The mask identified him:
DendenMercenary LeaderCyborg38 cycles
He looked at me.
"Who's this muchacha?"
He moved toward the door.
"My apprentice."
Kiara followed him.
Motioned for me to come.
"Apprentice?"
Denden laughed.
"You brought a Class 1 mercenary for this?
She must be good."
They focused on the room again.
Guards were approaching.
"I wanted to do this quietly."
Kiara glared at him.
Denden laughed harder.
"Leave it to papi here."
He started shooting.
The guards yelled for reinforcements.
"NO!"
Kiara snarled.
Too late.
Denden was having fun.
She wasn't.
She turned to me, then to the chaos.
I saw it in her eyes:
she was about to make a choice.
"SHIT! FUCK!"
Kiara pulled the machine gun and fired.
Screams.
Gunshots.
No. No. NO.
What had I gotten myself into?!
I WAS GOING TO DIE.
I was going to get shot and die.
Shit.
I crouched.
Arms around my body, trembling.
Kiara pulled me up.
"Come on.
No time.
We have to move."
Denden dropped that weapon and grabbed another from the fallen bodies.
Sea of blood.
Dark stains spread across the floor.
Ran down the crates, soaking torn cloth and corpses.
A violent urge to vomit.
How much longer could I endure?
The remaining guards waited for us at the entrance.
Cacophony. Shouting.
ZAAHH-ZAAHH-ZAAHH!
The alarm sounded.
Red.
Intense glow.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Shots.
Kiara's grip dragged me.
"IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?! PUTOS!"
Denden laughed manically.
"You'll regret messing with EL MONSTRUO!"
My bloodstained body shook convulsively.
What the hell was happening?
Shit.
My head spun.
Pressure dropping.
Vision blurring.
No. Calm down. Breathe.
I tried to rationalize.
Stay calm.
Calm.
I had to focus.
Denden and Kiara were opening a path to the exit.
They fired at the guards.
We'd reach the mountains.
Gain the advantage.
Then leave.
That was the plan.
Yes.
It would work.
"I-I'm fine."
My voice trembled.
Kiara fired with fierce precision.
"Watch my back."
I grabbed the revolver.
My hands shook.
My finger rested on the trigger, but my whole body screamed for me to stop.
I was about to cross a line.
But… if I gave in…
I would die.
My perception sharpened.
Everything slowed.
Guard after guard.
Almost at the exit.
A shout.
A small sphere flew toward us.
Green smoke.
The air vanished from my lungs.
I coughed.
It burned.
Even with the mask, I was suffocating.
Denden too.
He dropped the guns and grabbed at his throat.
I caught flashes of Kiara screaming.
No… I… I have to live.
Maia…
Darkness took over.