Kaito's legs felt like lead, each step through the sterile corridors heavier than the last. The hallways were identical—white walls, harsh fluorescent lights, and the faint buzz of electricity that grated against his nerves.
His breath came in ragged gasps. The EXO-Ω suit clung to him like a second skin, the humming of its core syncing with his heartbeat. It wasn't just armor—it was alive. Every flex of muscle, every shift in thought, the suit responded with eerie precision. He could feel its weight in his bones.
No time to stop. No time to think.
But his mind wouldn't let go of Sakoji Ren's words.
"You may be the key to unlocking everything."
What did that mean? Why him? And why did everything about his father's company now feel like a well-crafted lie?
A metallic clang echoed from behind.
Kaito froze.
His enhanced senses flared—he could hear the precise rhythm of boots, the whisper of armor brushing fabric. A squad. Close.
He ducked into a side room, breath caught in his throat. The lights flickered as the door creaked open. Three soldiers in matte-black armor stepped in, scanning with surgical efficiency.
No way out.
Kaito's hand hovered near a broken pipe, ready to fight or die trying—until the wall behind the soldiers exploded in a burst of smoke and shrapnel.
From the haze stepped a girl—deadly and elegant.
She moved like a phantom, clad in a black latex battle suit trimmed with deep crimson. Her long purple hair whipped behind her as she dropped the first soldier with a burst from her cybernetic arm. The second never even fired. The third tried to flee—but a single round to the back ended that.
Kaito stared, speechless.
Her left arm was mechanical—sleek, brutal, and efficient. Steam hissed from its vents. The barrel of her built-in firearm still smoked.
She turned her eyes on him—amber, sharp, assessing. "You're still breathing. That's a good start."
Kaito blinked. "Who the hell—?"
"No time," she snapped, already heading for the hallway. "They'll be swarming us in sixty seconds. You want answers, earn them."
She didn't look back.
Kaito grabbed a fallen weapon and followed, legs moving on instinct.
They tore through the corridors like a bullet through glass. Her movements were fluid, tactical. She knew this place.
They reached an elevator. She slammed her hand onto the panel. "Name's Rin. You're Kaito, right? Figured you'd be taller."
Before he could reply, the doors opened to chaos—guards with raised rifles.
Rin didn't hesitate. Her arm morphed into a cannon. Bullets sprayed like rain.
Kaito ducked, heart pounding. "Why are you helping me?"
She kept firing. "Because your father started something. And you're the piece that's going to finish it."
More guards fell. Blood painted the lobby floor.
The elevator reached the parking garage. A sleek black car waited.
Rin slid into the driver's seat. "You're not going to make it without me."
Kaito hesitated, then jumped in.
The engine roared. The tires screamed,
As they vanished into the neon blur of the city.
The engine's roar filled the air, but Kaito barely registered it. His mind was a tornado of thoughts—EXO-Ω, his father's death, Rin with her mechanical gun-arm, and that haunting message from Sakoji Ren. Nothing made sense anymore.
He broke the silence, trying to ground himself. "So… I'm guessing you didn't pick me up just for the scenery?"
Rin kept her gaze fixed on the road, her fingers gripping the wheel like she was navigating through a war zone. "You talk too much."
"Some people call it charisma," Kaito said, leaning back in the seat. "I call it processing trauma through humor. Real mature stuff."
"You keep 'processing' like that," Rin muttered, "I'll process you out the passenger side."
He smirked. "That's harsh."
Despite himself, the joke barely landed. The more miles they put behind them, the heavier Kaito felt. Neon skyscrapers faded into rusted steel and cracked roads as they left the city limits behind. The weight of the EXO-Ω suit, the weight of his father's legacy, the weight of being hunted—all pressing down on him.
His voice turned quieter. "I just… I need to know what the hell is going on."
Rin didn't answer. Not yet.
They finally pulled into a deserted lot, overgrown with weeds and surrounded by hollow industrial shells. She parked in front of what looked like a forgotten warehouse—gray, cold, and lifeless.
"This place looks like it hasn't seen a human in decades," Kaito said, stepping out.
"That's the idea," Rin replied, already at the door.
Inside, the building was just as grim—dimly lit with the soft hum of machines and the oily scent of metal. Tools, scraps, and strange blueprints littered the space like relics of a mad genius.
Kaito looked around, half impressed, half concerned. "What is this place? Your evil lab?"
"No. It's his," she said.
Kaito blinked. "Wait... my father's?"
She didn't answer. She led him to a reinforced steel door, punched in a code, and it hissed open, revealing a wide chamber illuminated by an eerie blue glow. In the center was a pod—sleek, cylindrical, and quietly humming with power.
Kaito's steps slowed. His eyes locked on the device. "That's an EXO-Ω core…"
"Not just any," Rin said. "The first. The prototype. The original your father built."
Kaito's throat tightened. "So, he really did create all this…"
Rin approached a terminal and began entering commands. "He wasn't just building armor. He was trying to merge machine and man at the deepest level. He believed the future wasn't in machines replacing people—it was in machines enhancing them."
"He never told me any of this," Kaito said, voice low.
"He couldn't," Rin replied. "The moment Sakoji saw what it could do, everything changed."
Kaito swallowed hard, the pieces clicking into place. "So Sakoji hijacked my father's dream and turned it into a weapon."
Rin gave a single nod. "And that's why you're here. Because you're the only one who can finish what your father started."
Kaito turned to her, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Your father designed the EXO-Ω to sync with a specific genetic signature—yours. It was meant for you. The suit, the system, the core. You're the only one who can use it without breaking down."
He took a step back, mind racing. "So… what, I'm a walking activation key for a science project?"
"You're more than that," she said, quietly. "You're the legacy. And the threat."
Kaito gave a shaky laugh, trying to keep his mask of sarcasm intact. "So I'm a cyberpunk chosen one now? Great. Do I get a cool title card too?"
"You'll figure it out," Rin said, almost smiling. "But for now, we need to access the core."
Before Kaito could respond, the screen on the console flickered. His father's face appeared—recorded but warm, alive in a way Kaito hadn't seen in years.
"Welcome, Kaito," the voice said. "If you're watching this, you've begun to understand. The EXO-Ω was never meant to destroy—it was meant to elevate. To protect. And you… you are the first of a new future."
Kaito stood frozen, the words echoing in his chest. His knees nearly buckled.
Everything he'd known—every lie, every secret—was unraveling. His father hadn't abandoned him. He'd entrusted him with something that could change the world.
There was no going back now.