The Underdistrict's collapsing vault roared like a dying beast, its walls splintering as Aether crystals shattered into clouds of violet dust. Kael's boots pounded the stairwell, his shard-pistol hot in his grip, the stolen Red Veil shard tucked against his chest. Its pulse matched his own shard's, a double heartbeat that drowned out the chaos. Rhea was ahead, her shock-knife sparking as she cleared debris, her implants glowing faintly in the choking air. Mira stumbled behind, clutching their original shard-case, her breaths ragged but her eyes sharp with purpose.
"Move faster," Kael growled, shoving Mira forward as a chunk of ceiling crashed where she'd been. The Protocol drones' screeches echoed from above, their scanners cutting through the dust like blades. Zara Kain's laughter still lingered in his ears, her words a splinter in his mind: *The cycle won't stop.*
Rhea kicked open a side tunnel, its walls slick with condensation and buzzing with exposed conduits. "This way," she said, voice tight. "Leads to a service hatch. If we're lucky, it's not locked."
"Lucky's not our thing," Kael muttered, scanning the shadows. His shard pulsed, and a vision flickered: a wasteland temple, its bone gate pulsing with violet light, Zara's masked face watching. He shook it off, sweat stinging his eyes. No time for ghosts.
The tunnel narrowed, forcing them single-file. Mira's analyzer beeped, its screen casting jagged light. "The shards are resonating," she said, struggling to keep pace. "Both of them. It's like they're talking to each other."
"Tell them to shut up," Kael said, ducking a sparking wire. The Red Veil shard in his jacket felt heavier, its hum crawling under his skin. "They're drawing every psycho in the city."
Rhea stopped at a rusted hatch, her implants flaring as she hacked its lock. "Protocol's closing in. Drones are a hundred meters out, and I'm picking up Harbinger signals. We've got minutes."
The hatch groaned open, revealing a maintenance shaft thick with the stench of oil and burnt rubber. Kael pushed Mira through, following close. The shaft was a claustrophobic maze of pipes and flickering holo-panels, their light casting warped shadows. His shard's pulse quickened, syncing with the Red Veil shard, and another vision hit: *a woman's voice, not Zara's, whispering, You carry the spark.* His knees buckled, but he caught himself, cursing under his breath.
"You good?" Rhea asked, glancing back, her knife ready.
"Fine," Kael lied, wiping blood from a cut on his cheek. "Just keep moving."
They emerged into a wider tunnel, its floor littered with broken crates and faded Red Veil runes. A distant explosion shook the walls, dust raining down. The vault's collapse was buying them time, but not enough. Rhea's comms unit buzzed, and she scanned it, her face paling. "Shit. Protocol's got ground units now. Enforcers, shard-armed. They're sealing the Underdistrict."
Kael's grip tightened on his pistol. "Dax sold us out."
"Or the Veil," Rhea said, checking her knife's charge. "Zara knew we were coming. Someone tipped her."
Mira's voice cut in, sharp. "It doesn't matter. We need to get these shards to a lab. The map's incomplete, but it's pointing to a temple in the Wastelands. If we lose them now, we lose everything."
Kael shot her a look. "And if we die, your map's useless. Priorities, Doc."
She glared back, undeterred. "You don't get it, Kael. These shards aren't just power. They're a message. From the gods. We're close to something bigger."
Before he could argue, a low hum filled the tunnel, different from the shards. Mechanical. Deadly. A Protocol drone rounded the corner, its scanners locking onto them with a cold whine. Its barrel glowed, charging a shard-blast.
"Down!" Kael shouted, tackling Mira behind a crate. The blast scorched the air, melting a nearby pipe into slag. Rhea dove to the side, her implants flaring as she jammed the drone's targeting. It sputtered, but two more appeared, their lights flooding the tunnel.
Kael fired his pistol, the Aether-charged shot clipping a drone's thruster. It spun, crashing into the wall, but the others advanced, their blasts tearing through crates. His shard surged, kinetic energy coiling in his hands. He unleashed a wave, slamming one drone into the ceiling, but the effort left him gasping, pain flaring in his ribs.
Rhea's shock-knife sparked as she lunged, driving it into a drone's core. It exploded in a shower of sparks, but the third drone's barrel glowed, aimed at her back. Kael moved without thinking, shoving her aside and taking the hit. The blast grazed his shoulder, searing flesh. He grunted, rolling to cover, his vision swimming.
"Kael!" Rhea yelled, scrambling to him. "You idiot!"
"Shut up and run," he growled, hauling himself up. The Red Veil shard in his jacket pulsed, its heat burning through his skin. Another vision: *Zara Kain, unmasked, standing before a bone gate, her eyes violet and endless.* He pushed it down, firing at the drone to cover their retreat.
Mira grabbed his arm, dragging him toward a side passage. "This way. I mapped the tunnels from Dax's data. There's an exit to the surface."
"You trust Dax's data?" Kael snapped, but he followed, pain slowing his steps. The tunnel shook again, the vault's collapse echoing. Protocol enforcers' boots thudded behind them, their shard-weapons humming.
Rhea's comms buzzed, and she cursed. "Harbinger signals spiked. They're not just following—they're hunting the shards."
The passage opened into a loading bay, its rusted doors half-open to the night air. The stench of the Lower Wards hit hard: smoke, synth-dope, and despair. Kael's shard pulsed, and he froze. Shadows moved outside, too fluid, too wrong. Harbingers. Their violet eyes glowed in the dark, and at their center was Zara Kain, her bone mask gleaming.
"You can't outrun the cycle," she called, her voice cutting through the chaos. Her cyber-arm crackled, Aether surging. "Give me the shards, Varn. Or I'll take them."
Kael raised his pistol, his shoulder screaming. The Red Veil shard burned against his chest, its hum deafening. Mira clutched her case, and Rhea's knife sparked, ready. The Protocol's boots were closer now, trapping them between two enemies.
"Any bright ideas?" Kael muttered, his eyes locked on Zara.
Rhea grinned, reckless. "Yeah. Blow it all to hell."
Before he could stop her, she tossed a hacked charge from her pack, its light flaring as it hit the bay's fuel canisters. The explosion rocked the tunnel, fire and shrapnel swallowing Zara's silhouette. Kael grabbed Mira, sprinting for the doors as the world burned behind them.