Chapter 17 – The Awakening

--Xyphora (Volaris System, Sector 7-42D)--

-Ruined City Outskirts – 

The Killer Bots stood over Rei, their red optics burning in the dim twilight.

His body ached, his breaths were ragged, and the weight of exhaustion pressed down on him like iron chains.

He had fought—harder than he ever had before. But it wasn't enough.

Six bots remained, surrounding him like predators closing in for the kill.

The lead bot's blade-arm gleamed as it raised it high, aiming straight for his chest.

I'm going to die.

The thought barely had time to register.

Then—

A pulse.

A burning sensation deep in his chest.

Rei's vision blurred. His breath quickened.

Something inside him was breaking free.

The Killer Bot thrust its blade downward.

-Elsewhere –

Seyra rolled to the side, just as a massive energy blast obliterated the metal wreckage she had been using as cover.

The Class-2 Enforcer loomed over the battlefield, its six glowing optics scanning every movement, calculating every possible attack pattern. Unlike standard Killer Bots, this machine learned. It adapted.

And that made it far more dangerous.

"Fall back!" Garek shouted, firing another plasma shot at the Enforcer's joint plating. The shot bounced harmlessly off its reinforced armor.

Seyra gritted her teeth.

We can't keep dodging forever.

Inside the bunker, the stranded scavengers were preparing the skiff for takeoff.

"Almost there!" one of them called through comms. "We need another minute!"

Seyra growled under her breath. "We don't have a minute."

The Enforcer turned to her, its targeting systems locking on.

A high-frequency whirring sound filled the air as its arm-mounted energy cannon charged up.

Seyra's muscles tensed.

The cannon fired.

She barely had time to react.

-Back to Rei – 

The Killer Bot's blade-arm came down.

Rei's body moved on instinct.

Or rather—something inside him moved for him.

A sudden, invisible force surged outward from his core, pushing against the air itself.

The very fabric of reality seemed to shudder.

BOOM.

A deafening shockwave erupted from Rei's body, obliterating the Killer Bots in an instant.

The force of the explosion sent a powerful ripple across the city's outskirts, tearing apart buildings, abandoned vehicles, and anything nearby.

A deep crater formed beneath him as the very ground cracked open, vaporizing the sand and metal debris around him.

For the briefest moment—

He saw the stars.

Not the sky above him.

But something deeper, beyond Xyphora's sky.

A vast, endless cosmos filled with glowing celestial bodies, swirling galaxies, and an overwhelming sense of something ancient—something powerful.

Then—

Darkness.

His body collapsed, his consciousness fading away.

--Deep within a fortress of steel and circuitry--

An ominous figure stood before a holo-screen, watching the energy spike flash across his sensors.

His metal fingers flexed with anticipation.

A mechanical whisper filled the darkened room.

"So… a new anomaly has awakened?"

The screen flickered, displaying a single blinking marker on the ruined city's outskirts—exactly where Rei had fallen.

The cyborg's lips curled into a grin, exposing jagged, metallic teeth.

"Fascinating."

He turned to the legion of mechanical enforcers standing at attention.

"Send a retrieval squad. Bring him to me."

His cybernetic optics gleamed.

"Unharmed."

- Meanwhile – The Scavenger Team-

Seyra hit the ground hard, rolling to escape the Enforcer's blast.

Dust and smoke clouded the battlefield.

For a moment, she thought the next shot would kill her.

But then—

"Engines online! We're moving!"

The Scavenger skiff finally powered up.

Garek grabbed Seyra's arm, pulling her onto the vehicle just as it began lifting off the ground.

The Class-2 Enforcer tried to fire one last time—

But the skiff launched into the air, escaping its targeting range.

"We did it!" one of the scavengers shouted.

Seyra barely acknowledged the victory.

Her thoughts were elsewhere.

Why do I feel uneasy?

It wasn't just the battle.

Something was wrong.

Her gaze flicked to the ruined city in the distance.

She had a bad feeling.

A very bad feeling.

-Ruined City Outskirts – 

The dust finally settled.

The battlefield was quiet.

The only thing left was a massive, smoldering crater, its edges still glowing with residual cosmic energy.

Rei's body lay at the very center, motionless.

Unseen.

Unnoticed.

Until—

The sound of mechanical footsteps echoed through the ruined streets.

The retrieval squad had arrived.

And their target was defenseless.

-High Orbit –

Far above Xyphora, a cloaked vessel drifted in silence, concealed within the planet's radiation fields and debris clouds.

Inside, the mysterious figure stood before a flickering holo-display, frustration evident in their sharp gaze.

The radiation interference had made pinpointing the anomaly's exact location difficult—until now.

The sudden cosmic energy blast had cut through the interference, marking a clear point on the planet's surface.

A single location—just outside the ruined city.

And though the surge had faded, a faint trace of celestial energy still lingered.

Not a signal.

Not intentional.

But a subconscious leak.

It was enough.

The pilot's fingers tightened on the ship's controls.

Found you.