Chapter 7: The Target

The night air cracked with the sound of charging energy weapons. Three towering cybernetic monsters stood in a perfect formation, their glowing red visors locked onto one target.

Alden Cross.

Felix shifted beside him, rolling his shoulders. "Alright, so we got three of these tin cans now. Should be fun."

"Fun?!" Alden hissed. "Did you miss the part where they just declared me the priority target?"

Felix grinned. "Yeah, that means they're scared of you."

"They're trying to kill me!"

"That too."

Before Alden could continue panicking, the machines moved.

One dashed left. One dashed right. The last one came straight down the middle.

They weren't just attacking—they were coordinating.

A split-second calculation ran through Alden's head. The two flanking units were forcing Felix and Iris out of formation while the main unit charged him directly.

Alden barely had time to react before the lead cyborg's arm morphed into a massive plasma blade and slashed downward.

His Overclock kicked in—the world slowed.

Alden twisted, dodging at the last possible moment. The blade sliced into the pavement, molten concrete hissing beneath it.

Before he could counter, the flanking units opened fire.

Bright red energy blasts tore through the air, raining down toward Alden from both sides.

His body moved before his mind could think.

He jumped.

Not a normal jump—a blurring, physics-defying launch that sent him soaring over the battlefield. The moment his feet left the ground, he knew something was different.

He wasn't just dodging.

He was adapting.

His Overclocked legs pushed harder than he expected, his entire body adjusting to the trajectory mid-air. The sudden realization nearly broke his focus—but then, from below, the lead unit leapt after him.

Alden had barely evaded its first attack, and now it was already on him again.

It moved mid-air, thrusters igniting along its back. A spinning plasma blade came streaking toward him.

His instincts screamed. He tucked his legs, barely avoiding the slash, but—

The second cyborg was waiting.

Before he could land, the second machine appeared on his left, firing a concussive pulse blast.

Too fast.

Alden's body twisted, attempting another desperate aerial dodge, but the blast clipped his shoulder.

It felt like getting hit by a sledgehammer at point-blank range.

Pain shot through his arm. His vision blurred. The force sent him crashing back to the ground.

He slammed into the pavement hard, rolling across the destroyed academy field.

Felix reacted first. With a roar, he threw himself into the fray, swinging a devastating haymaker at the closest cyborg.

His fist connected with earth-shaking force.

The cyborg tanked the hit.

Felix's eyes widened a fraction of a second before the third unit blasted him point-blank.

The impact sent him skidding across the battlefield.

Alden groaned, trying to shake off the shock still running through his system. His shoulder burned—Overclock had lessened the damage, but he was still feeling that hit.

Iris blinked into existence beside him, grabbing his wrist. "Get up. Now."

Alden forced himself to his feet. "I hate this mission."

"Noted. Now move."

The three cyborgs adjusted formation, all three of their visors locking onto Alden again.

Felix staggered back up. "Okay. That's new. They're not even looking at me."

Alden's blood ran cold.

They weren't.

The cyborgs weren't trying to eliminate all threats.

They were only tracking him.

Before Alden could process it, a sharp beep sounded through the machines' systems. Their glowing red visors flickered.

And then, in perfect sync, they spoke.

"OBJECTIVE CONFIRMED."

A deep mechanical hum rippled through the air. The ground beneath Alden cracked.

Then—

The three cyborgs vanished.

Not destroyed. Not disabled. They just disappeared.

Alden staggered forward, scanning the battlefield. The destruction still remained—the shattered pavement, the scorch marks, the distant flicker of dying energy—but the machines were gone.

Not destroyed. They left.

Felix scratched his head. "Did we just win?"

Iris exhaled. "No."

Alden felt it, too. That uneasy, unfinished feeling crawling up his spine.

This wasn't a retreat.

They had completed their mission.

The only problem was… Alden had no idea what that mission was.

The academy alarms were still blaring. Security teams rushed onto the field, weapons raised—but there was nothing left to fight.

Professor Riggs' voice finally returned over the comms, his tone sharp and unreadable.

"Alden. Get inside. Now."

Alden's stomach twisted. "Professor—what just happened?"

There was a pause.

Then Riggs spoke.

"You were just marked."

Alden felt his heart stop. "...Marked?"

Iris' expression darkened. Felix stopped grinning.

"That wasn't an attack," Riggs said. "It was a confirmation."

Alden clenched his fists. "For what?"

The answer came too fast.

"For extraction."

Before Alden could react, a sharp sting shot through his neck.

The world tilted.

Iris gasped. "Alden?!"

Felix lunged for him—but missed.

His vision blurred. His legs gave out.

Something was wrong.

His Overclock tried to activate—tried to fight whatever was happening—but his body wasn't responding.

He was falling.

The last thing Alden saw before everything went black was a shadowy figure standing on the rooftop, watching.

Then, the world went dark.