chapter 10: First Mission

Chapter 10: First Mission

Kaito woke before the others.

He sat up on his cot, the metallic air cold against his skin, his heart already thudding with anticipation. Today was different. Today, he would finally step beyond the Riftborn's underground world — and fight back.

Aya found him by the supply lockers, strapping on her armored vest. She tossed him a battered tactical jacket.

"Suit up, rookie. You're coming with us."

Kaito pulled the jacket on, feeling the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

Aya's smile was grim. "Our first strike. AegisCorp convoy — carrying Neural Shard components. We need them if we're going to upgrade the defenses."

Mira appeared, her expression sharper than usual.

"We're not just stealing," she said. "We're sending a message."

Jax stomped up behind them, loading a heavy shotgun with a grin. "About time we reminded them who still owns these streets."

Kaito swallowed hard, excitement and fear tangling inside him.

No more training simulations.

No more hiding.

This was real.

---

They moved out in two battered jeeps, bumping through the maze of abandoned highways and forgotten ruins above New Tokyo.

The city above was nothing like Kaito remembered.

It was a dead giant, its once-proud towers now dark skeletons against a perpetual storm of neon mist. Drones buzzed overhead like carrion birds, scanning endlessly for signs of rebellion.

Aya drove the lead jeep, scanning the map projected on her HUD.

"Convoy's entering Sector 9," she said. "Light escort. Two armored transports, one recon crawler."

Jax loaded a missile launcher into the back seat casually.

"We hit fast. Hard. Get the crates, get out before backup shows."

Kaito checked his gear again — pistol, two grenades, and the Shadowseed clipped carefully to his belt. He could feel it humming softly, like it was awake now.

His first real mission.

No turning back.

---

They hit the convoy at the choke point between two collapsed skyscrapers.

Jax fired first — a screaming missile that punched through the lead crawler, flipping it into the air in a ball of flame. The road vanished in smoke and chaos.

Kaito and Mira leapt from the jeep, sprinting toward the staggered transports.

Gunfire erupted.

Kaito dove behind a crumpled taxi, bullets sparking off the metal around him. He could hear Mira barking orders, her drones deploying tiny shields that flickered in and out.

Aya was a ghost, slipping through the smoke with her vibroblade flashing, cutting down two AegisCorp guards before they could even react.

Kaito's hands shook.

Move, damn it, move!

He forced himself up and ran low, weaving through the wreckage, firing short controlled bursts. A drone locked onto him — red crosshair glowing in his HUD — but before it could fire, the Shadowseed flared at his side.

Kaito reached out — instinct, reflex — and hacked the drone mid-flight, turning its targeting system against its own allies.

It opened fire on the AegisCorp soldiers, causing immediate chaos.

Mira glanced at him in surprise. "Not bad, rookie!"

Jax charged in, ripping open the back of the transport with brute force. Inside were crates stamped with AegisCorp's logo — glowing softly with secured Neuro-tech.

"This is it!" Jax bellowed.

Aya gave the retreat signal — a sharp whistle.

Kaito grabbed one crate, muscles screaming under the weight, and staggered back toward the jeeps.

But then — he saw him.

A single figure standing beyond the smoke.

Not a soldier.

Something else.

A man in a black tactical suit, face hidden by a sleek helmet, a glowing sigil on his chest — the Aegis Zero emblem.

An elite.

The figure raised his hand, and the crate in Kaito's arms lifted into the air as if weightless, pulled by invisible forces.

Kaito's breath caught.

This wasn't technology.

It was something else.

Something darker.

"Go!" Aya screamed, appearing beside him, shoving him toward the jeep.

Kaito stumbled backward, heart pounding.

The others opened fire — but the figure just walked through the bullets, shielded by some shimmering energy field.

Aya threw a smoke grenade.

Boom.

The world vanished in choking grey.

They tore out of there, tires screaming on shattered concrete, hearts hammering.

Kaito clutched the crate in the backseat, staring into the swirling smoke where the figure had stood.

This war was bigger than he thought.

And whatever that thing was...

It was coming for him.

---

[End of Chapter 10]