SHE'S THE ONE

The underground battlefield was a storm of fire and chaos. The Clan had fought impossible battles before, but this—this was something else entirely.

Ascended forces poured in from all sides, a seemingly endless wave of cybernetic soldiers, their glowing red visors cutting through the smoke like specters of death.

Flux, still recovering from his earlier clash with Myst, fought to steady his breath. His AI flickered at the edges of his mind, still reeling from the sudden and brutal connection with hers.

Liora—no, Blue Rose—wasn't just gone. She had fully become something else, something unrecognizable.

"On your left!" Echo's warning came a second too late.

A towering Ascended brute slammed a fist into Blaze's gut, sending him crashing through a steel barricade. The man groaned, struggling to rise, but the enemy was already moving in for the kill.

Razor was there in a flash, unloading a full clip into the brute's exposed side before driving a combat knife deep into its neck. The brute spasmed, then dropped. "Keep moving! We don't have time for this!"

Cipher cursed as his screen lit up with a fresh wave of alerts. "They're bringing in more reinforcements. Heavily armored. If we don't get out of this choke point, we're dead."

Shade fought through a cluster of drones, his daggers a blur as he carved a path forward. "Where the hell do you want us to go? We're surrounded!"

A deep, resonant hum filled the air, sending a shiver down Flux's spine. He turned—just in time to see her.

Myst stood atop the ruined facility's upper platform, overlooking the battlefield like a queen surveying her kingdom. Her electric blue aura pulsed, twisting the very air around her. The cold detachment in her eyes sent a chill through him.

She was no longer simply fighting. She was controlling.

And then, she raised a hand.

The entire battlefield seemed to shudder as an unseen force pulsed outward. Ascended soldiers suddenly halted in perfect synchronization. The Clan braced themselves, expecting another wave of attacks—but instead, the enemy turned their weapons on each other.

Gunfire erupted, mechanical bodies falling as their own forces began tearing each other apart.

"What—" Blaze gasped, watching the carnage unfold. "She's controlling them?!"

"She's rewriting the battlefield," Cipher breathed, his face pale. "This isn't just hacking—she's overriding their entire system. She's becoming the system."

Myst's gaze swept over them, cold, assessing. Then her head tilted, as if receiving some silent command. A small, almost subtle smirk flickered across her lips.

And then—

The facility collapsed.

Metal screeched, the ground splitting as the entire underground structure began to cave in. The Ascended soldiers, now nothing more than puppets in Myst's control, threw themselves into the chaos, either as sacrifices or extensions of her will.

"Move!" Razor shouted, grabbing Cipher and shoving him forward. The Clan scrambled for any stable ground, dodging falling debris and the lifeless bodies of the Ascended.

Flux stumbled, his AI warring within him, screaming to connect with her again. To pull her back.

And then, through the dust and chaos, he saw her watching him. Waiting.

Their eyes locked, something raw and unspoken surging between them. For a split second, he could see her past the glowing blue, past the coldness, past the transformation.

"Liora!" he tried again, but his voice was drowned by the roaring destruction.

Myst's lips parted, but no words came. Just a static-filled whisper that only he could hear, vibrating in his skull.

"I'll wait, Purple Thorn."

A sharp spike of energy coursed through Flux's head, forcing him to stagger. The connection between them—however brief—was severed, leaving behind an unbearable silence.

When he looked again, Myst was gone, swallowed by the ruin.

Flux stood frozen, the weight of it all crashing down on him. His hands clenched into fists. His AI hummed aggressively beneath his skin, urging him forward, urging him to act—to do something.

Echo reached him first, gripping his arm. "She's gone, man. We have to move."

Flux barely registered the words. His pulse pounded in his ears.

Before he could respond, a violent tremor split the ground between them. A massive chunk of debris came crashing down, severing the team's path. Blaze, who had been running just behind Razor, was caught in the collapse—his body pinned beneath a falling metal beam.

"Blaze!" Flux heard Razor curse, but it was already too late. The structure was failing. If they didn't act fast, they'd all be buried alive.

Instinct took over.

Flux's AI surged to the forefront, sharpening his focus beyond human limits. In a split-second decision, he activated his energy field, his violet aura flickering wildly as he moved—faster than he ever had before.

He reached Blaze just in time, gripping the beam and forcing it upward with raw, AI-enhanced strength. The metal groaned, resisting, but Flux pushed.

With a final burst of power, he hurled the debris aside, grabbing Blaze and dragging him clear just as another collapse swallowed the space they had been standing in.

Blaze coughed, his expression stunned. "You—"

Flux didn't let him finish. "Just go. Now."

Razor was already regrouping with the others, and as the dust settled, Cipher shot Flux a knowing look. "You're changing."

Flux didn't reply. He couldn't afford to think about it. There are other more important things—no, Myst is the most important.

This wasn't just a fight anymore.

This was war.