MYST

The neon skyline flickered against the midnight haze as The Clan moved into position. Their target: a corporate data vault buried deep within a heavily fortified facility.

Tonight was Liora's—no, Myst's—first real mission in the field. After weeks of training, it was time to prove she could handle herself.

She crouched beside Cipher on a rooftop overlooking the facility. His fingers danced over his wrist console as he scanned the security grid. "You ready for this?" he asked, eyes fixed on the data feed.

Myst swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. "Yeah...I guess."

"Good. You're on first firewall. Make it quick."

She softly touched Cipher's Xen-Link, a faint purplish glow flickering to life beneath her fingers. Within seconds, the outermost security layers began peeling away, opening a safe entry point for the others below.

Razor, Flux, Blaze, and Nyx moved in, slipping through the newly disabled perimeter without a sound. Shade and Echo took position at the rear, covering their backs.

"You're getting faster," Cipher muttered. "Good work."

Inside, the team moved with precision, navigating blind spots, slipping past patrol routes. Myst monitored the surveillance network, rerouting drone patterns with quick, calculated pulses of code.

So far, everything was smooth—until it wasn't.

"Shit. Security just spiked. They upgraded their system."

Myst's stomach started twisting. "What kind of upgrade?"

"AI failsafe. It's adapting." Cipher's fingers tightened around his console. Finally, he looked at her. "Can you do it?"

Her pulse pounded. She knew what he was asking. The technique she'd barely tested—the one that let her merge with AI systems, slip into their architecture like a ghost in the machine.

If it worked, she could override the firewall.

If it didn't…

The system was already countering her, rewriting itself faster than she could break through. Every backdoor she created was slammed shut before she could step through.

Inside, her team's voices crackled through the comms, tension rising. The mission might fall apart at this point.

Myst bit her lip. No time for doubt. No room for failure. Her Clan was counting on her.

Without a word, she grabbed Cipher's Xen-Link and strapped it to her wrist, pulling up the facility's AI failsafe. She could feel Cipher's eyes on her, but she didn't dare look at him.

She exhaled sharply and dived in.

Her vision blurred into a cascade of blue and purple, streams of shifting code flowing around her like a digital current.

The system pushed back, resisting her intrusion, but she forced her way through—bypassing protocols, rerouting processes, holding the doors open.

"Go."

Her voice echoed through the comms—distorted, almost mechanical. It sounded like she's the network itself.

No time to dwell on it.

The Clan wasted no second, slipping past the final locked sector. Meanwhile, Cipher stood frozen, his usual sharp focus faltering as he watched Myst's eyes flicker with neon light.

Something about this wasn't normal. And all he could do was wait.

Suddenly, red warning lights pulsed across their Xen-Links.

"They know we're here. We need to move—now." The alert came from Myst, still intact with the AI failsafe that's currently on idle mode.

"On it," Razor responded. "We have what we came for."

Myst barely registered Razor's confirmation as the system suddenly fought back, gaining power over her.

A surge of resistance slammed into her consciousness like a wall of static, drowning her in a flood of distorted code.

The connection between her and the AI faltered—then snapped.

The blue and purple glow around her flickered wildly before fading to black.

Cipher barely had time to react before Myst's body slumped forward. He lunged, catching her just before she hit the ground.

"Shit—Myst!" His voice was sharp, edged with something dangerously close to panic. Her pulse was abnormal, her breathing shallow.

Inside the facility, alarms wailed as automated defenses whirred back to life. The Clan's escape turned desperate—dodging drones, weaving through collapsing security barriers, barely staying ahead of the storm they'd unleashed.

Razor's voice cut in through the comms. "Cipher, what's your status?"

Cipher tightened his grip around Myst, already lifting her into his arms. "She's out. I've got her. Moving now."

He didn't wait for a response.

With Myst unconscious against his chest, her body unnaturally cold, Cipher ran.

Cipher barely made it to the nearest temporary safe house, his grip tightening around Myst as he laid her onto an old cot. She was still, her breathing shallow, skin unnaturally cool beneath his fingers.

A faint, lingering glow pulsed at her fingertips before fading, like static dissipating after an electrical surge.

The others arrived moments later, their hurried footsteps echoing in the dimly lit space. Echo and Nyx were the first to move toward Myst, worry visible in the tight lines of their faces.

Cipher ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. "I… I didn't force her to do it. I swear." His voice wavered, something rare for him.

He had seen Myst push herself before, but this was different. This was real. And it had taken a toll on her.

Shade placed a firm hand on his shoulder, grounding him. "We know. Just breathe."

Cipher swallowed, his gaze flicking back to Myst. If she doesn't wake up soon…

He forced the thought away.

Then, a sharp inhale.

Myst's body tensed before she coughed, sucking in a ragged breath like she had just broken the surface of deep water. Her eyes snapped open—still tinged with the remnants of neon blue and purple, flickering like dying embers before disappearing.

"What…?" Her voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.

Echo huffed out a relieved breath, shaking his head. "You scared the hell out of us, that's what!"

Nyx knelt beside her, scanning her expression. "How do you feel?"

Myst blinked sluggishly. Every nerve in her body buzzed, like static clinging to her skin. "Like I just got hit by a dumb train."

Cipher exhaled, tension finally easing from his shoulders. "You burnt yourself out. Next time, don't push so damn hard."

She gave a weak, lopsided smirk. Was Cipher showing a bit of concern? "No promises."