The walls screamed.
Not metaphorically—actual sound, torn from stone as Beacon circuitry pulsed through the building's frame. The Doctrine had transformed the Neural Hub into a trap, and Witness Alpha had come to spring it.
Marcus stood between his team and the approaching titan.
The creature's body was a grotesque blend of flesh and Beacon alloy, powered by a fusion core humming beneath a translucent ribcage. Its face was a shattered mask of former humanity—one that glitched between male, female, and unreadable Architect schematics.
[System Scan: Witness Alpha – Hybrid Sentience Detected][Cognition Level: Parahuman][Warning: Hostile AI Presence Detected – Engaging Adaptive Combat Mode]
"Marcus Chen," the thing said with a voice that layered three tones at once. "You are a disease in the code. A malformed consequence of your mother's heresy."
Marcus stepped forward. "Funny. That's exactly how I'd describe you."
[Evolution Path: Speed Tier III | Neural Disruption Ready | New Option: Adaptive Muscle Density Tier II Available]
"Accept evolution?"
Marcus didn't hesitate. "Accept."
His body convulsed as new tendons wove through his arms and legs, reinforcing bone with lattices of dense organic carbon. Strength surged into his limbs. Speed was no longer enough. He needed power.
Witness Alpha charged, its steps rupturing the floor. Marcus dashed forward—dodging a swipe that cleaved a support column in half. He ducked low, sliding beneath the creature's legs and slashing its joint with a blade scavenged from the fallen Beacon soldier.
The wound hissed—but the creature adapted.
Cables coiled down its back, wrapping the joint and reknitting flesh over alloy.
[Warning: Adaptive Repair Detected – Delay Evolution Response Time]
Lucien opened fire from the balcony, his pulse rounds hammering into Alpha's back. Ember threw incendiary charges that clung to its skin—but the creature barely flinched.
"This thing doesn't have weak points!" Ember shouted.
"It's not a creature," Marcus growled. "It's a lesson."
He needed a new strategy.
"System—divert neural energy to prediction assist. Give me a path."
[Tactical Overlay Engaged – Weakness: Core Overload Requires Internal Access]
Got it.
He ran straight toward Alpha, drawing its attention with a fake stumble. The beast reached for him—just as Marcus vaulted off its arm, spun midair, and slammed his blade deep into the cracked mask on its face.
The creature staggered.
He didn't stop.
With precision, he drove his fist into the gash beneath its ribs, fingers tearing through synth-flesh until they found what he was looking for—the power core.
"Burn," he said, and overloaded his own internal energy.
A burst of raw neural fire exploded from his hand into the core.
Witness Alpha shrieked.
Its body convulsed, frame folding inward like a collapsing star before detonating in a wave of scorched data and shattered bone.
When the dust cleared, Marcus was on his knees, breathing hard.
Lucien helped him up. "You okay?"
Marcus nodded. "Getting real tired of cult-designed boss fights."
[Evolution: Witness-Level Biomass Acquired][New Ability: Predator Mind – Tactical Foresight Activated]
But even as the system updated, Marcus's gaze shifted to the shattered screen beside him.
The last message from his mother flickered to life.
"Marcus. If you've reached this far… they know. They'll send something worse. Something not built to fight—but to erase."
"It's called the Architect's Mirror. And it doesn't reflect what we are. It reflects what we should have been."