The lead Enforcer's scanner emitted a rhythmic ping-ping-ping, the sound cutting through the terrified silence of the bar like a countdown. Every step he took toward Silas's corner felt like a hammer nail being driven into a coffin.
"Anomaly detected," the Enforcer's mechanical voice droned. "Source: Bio-organic. Sector 7-Delta. Scavenger, stand and present your left arm for a deep-tissue resonance scan."
Silas felt the Truth-Lock tighten around his throat just from the thought of complying. If he stood up and showed them the fractured crown, his heart wouldn't just stop—the Ministry would rip it out of his chest to see how it worked.
[Threat Level: High.] [Enemy Combatants: 5 Enforcers (Rank: Awakened - Iron Grade).] [Scanning Structural Weaknesses...]
Silas's vision fractured into a thousand red lines. He didn't just see the Enforcers; he saw the micro-cracks in their pressurized steam-rifles. He saw the frayed wiring in the bar's overhead chandelier. He saw the exact point on the lead Enforcer's neck where the armor plating didn't quite meet the helmet.
"Lyra," Silas whispered, his fingers curling around the vial of Solaris. "The lights."
"Silas, don't—"
"Now!"
Silas didn't wait. He downed the Solaris in one gulp. The gold liquid felt like molten sun sliding down his throat. His heart, which had been sluggish under the System's weight, suddenly exploded into a frantic, powerful rhythm.
[Solaris Stimulant Absorbed.] [Synchronizing Pulse...] [Manifestation: Withered Echo - 100% Core Output.]
Silas lunged. As he moved, his left arm didn't just glow—it distorted. The air around his limb shimmered with oily, violet smoke, and for a split second, a spectral, clawed hand made of translucent gears overlapped with his own.
He slammed his palm into the heavy iron workbench. With his new Structural Weakness sight, he didn't hit the wood; he hit the single molecular point of failure.
CRACK.
The massive table shattered as if it had been hit by a wrecking ball. The force sent a cloud of splinters and iron bolts flying toward the Enforcers.
"Engage! Lethal force authorized!" the lead Enforcer roared, raising his steam-rifle.
Tsh-boom!
A high-velocity brass slug whistled past Silas's ear, shattering a bottle of rotgut behind him.
Silas didn't retreat. He dived into the shadows. As he did, he reached out with his mind, tugging on the cold, predatory consciousness of the Withered Scavenger Echo.
"Kill," a voice hissed in the back of his brain. It wasn't his voice. It was the echo of the monster he had devoured.
The bar went pitch black. Lyra had pulled the master lever.
In the darkness, the Enforcers switched to thermal vision, their visors glowing red. But Silas wasn't showing up as heat. To their sensors, he was a cold void—a hole in reality.
Silas moved with a speed that defied human biology. He appeared behind the first Enforcer, his hand glowing with a sickly violet light. He didn't use a knife. He drove his fingers—hardened by the Echo's power—directly into the gap in the man's neck armor.
[Target Neutralized.] [Experience Points Gained.]
The Enforcer didn't even have time to scream. He collapsed, his life force seemingly sucked into Silas's fingertips.
"Where is he?!" another shouted, firing blindly into the dark. The muzzle flashes illuminated the room for fractions of a second, revealing a terrifying sight: Silas Vance was no longer human. His eyes were burning with a pale, hollow light, and a second, ghostly pair of arms made of shadow were sprouting from his shoulders, clutching the ceiling.
Silas dropped from the rafters like a predator.
He moved in a blur of violence. Snap. Tear. Crunch. The sounds of high-tech armor being dismantled by primitive, supernatural force filled the bar.
When the lights finally flickered back on, the room was a ruin.
Four Enforcers lay motionless on the floor, their armor twisted like cheap tin. Only the leader remained, backed against the shattered bar, his steam-rifle trembling in his hands. His visor was cracked, revealing wide, terrified human eyes.
"You..." the leader gasped. "You're a... a Void-Spawn... The Ministry will hunt you to the ends of—"
Silas stood five feet away, his chest heaving. The violet smoke was receding, but his left arm was still stained a dark, bruised purple. The Truth-Lock was screaming at him. The man had asked a question he couldn't answer with the truth.
"What are you?" the Enforcer pleaded.
Silas stepped forward, his shadow looming long and jagged against the wall. He couldn't say he was a Vessel. He couldn't say he was Silas Vance.
"I am the one," Silas lied, his voice sounding like two stones grinding together, "that the Void forgot to finish."
He didn't give the man a chance to fire. With a flick of his wrist, a shard of broken glass caught the light, guided by the Structural Weakness trait. It buried itself deep in the Enforcer's throat.
Silence returned to the Rust Bucket.
Lyra crawled out from behind the bar, her face pale, her eyes fixed on the four-armed shadow that was slowly fading behind Silas.
"Silas..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "What did you do? Those were Ministry men. They'll send a Paladin for this. They'll burn the whole Sector to find you."
Silas looked at his hands. He felt stronger, faster, and more alive than he ever had—but he also felt a cold, hollow hunger growing in his gut.
[Level Up!] [Current Level: 3] [New Skill Unlocked: Shadow Storage (Rank F).] [Warning: Your 'Sanity' meter has dropped to 88%. Avoid excessive Echo manifestation.]
Silas looked at Lyra, his eyes still shimmering with that cold, pale light.
"Pack your things, Lyra," Silas said, and for the first time, it wasn't a lie or a secret. It was a command. "Because if we're still here when the sun rises, we're both dead."