Eiden tried to hold her gaze as he covered his forearm again.
"I'll tell you if we manage to escape," he said, then looked straight at Lyra before adding, "but you have to trust me."
She observed him silently for a few seconds, slowly relaxing her stance. She understood the gesture; after all, it was the same thing she had asked of him just a while ago.
"I get it," Krev cut in suddenly with a grin, "but later you'll let me analyze that thing."
Eiden didn't know how to respond to such a statement. Although deep down, he knew he wouldn't let Krev near his arm even for a second. For everyone's sake.
"That better not be contagious, kid!" Pierre shouted from the driver's seat, frowning at him through the rearview mirror.
Eiden shook his head, looking down.
"It'll only infect me," he muttered under his breath.
"We're ruling out the main artery. Suggestions?" Lyra asked, changing the subject. Eiden silently thanked her.
The young woman adjusted the rifle against her shoulder, ready for the inevitable: the enemy drifter would resume the chase as soon as they moved away from the main route.
"We could land in Kurosei or The Bastions," Pierre suggested, glancing nervously in the mirror. "Then we split up to increase our chances."
The grunts drifter was getting closer, weaving through traffic.
"I'm not risking losing sight of Eiden," Lyra said, firing a distant shot that ricocheted off the enemy's front, making her click her tongue.
Eiden sighed.
"I'm not planning on going anywhere. I don't even remember how I got to this city," he confessed, almost whispering at the end.
"So you don't know why the grunts were torturing you?" Krev asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I do. I know what I did and why," Eiden said, nodding slowly, frowning. "But it doesn't make sense…"
"What doesn't make sense?" Lyra asked, glancing sideways at him from the rifle's scope.
He returned her gaze, unsure how to answer.
"I remember fragments of what happened… when I infiltrated… but…"
Eiden wasn't sure if he should say more—not even to himself were his memories clear. He had already been forced to reveal the bracelet.
It was obvious they had rescued him because of what he'd done with the Orotech facility, but he wasn't sure how much they knew about his past.
"But…" Lyra repeated after unleashing a burst of shots that bounced harmlessly off the drifter's frame.
Eiden struggled to think amid the chaos.
Neon light and friction sparks splashed across the windows, casting violet flashes on the tense faces in the cabin.
Behind them, the grunts drifter carved a path through the air traffic, crashing into vehicles, its blasts crackling against Pierre's rear shield.
Eiden, however, kept his voice calm as he once again covered his forearm.
"I'll tell you if we make it out," he repeated, locking eyes with Lyra, "but you have to trust me."
She stared at him for a couple of seconds, the red beacons' glow running through her two-toned hair. Then she relaxed her shoulders—it was the same trust she had asked for minutes earlier.
"I get it," Krev laughed, gripping the dashboard as the vehicle tilted, "but you'll let me examine that thing afterward."
Eiden didn't answer; he knew he would never let anyone tamper with the bracelet.
Pierre barked from the controls:
"That thing better not be contagious, kid!" he roared, swerving violently to avoid an air taxi crackling with sparks.
"It'll only infect me," Eiden muttered, lowering his gaze.
A plasma projectile whistled overhead—the drifter was within firing range. Lyra, rifle braced on the window frame, fired a shot that sent sparks flying off the enemy hood.
"Main artery's a no-go," she said after firing. "Suggestions?"
"We could drop at Kurosei or The Bastions," Pierre suggested, peering into the foggy rearview. "Then split up for better odds."
"I'm not letting Eiden out of my sight," Lyra growled, reloading; the weapon's recoil made her grit her teeth.
Eiden exhaled slowly; even amid the sharp turns, his voice stayed steady:
"I'm not running. I don't even remember how I got to this city," he admitted, almost to himself.
"So you don't know why the grunts tortured you?" Krev asked, an eyebrow arched as blue fire licked the tail of the aircar.
"I do… I know what I did and why," Eiden replied, frowning as another jolt shook the cabin. "But some pieces don't fit…"
"What pieces?" Lyra asked, still watching through the scope.
Eiden met her gaze; the engines howled as Pierre forced a spiral dive. In the distance, the enemy drifter gleamed, relentless.
"I remember fragments of the infiltration… of what I found there… but—" His words were cut short by another thunderous volley: the burst grazed them, and the aircar groaned like torn metal.
"But…!" Lyra repeated, firing again; her shots bounced off the enemy's armor with green sparks and the stench of scorched ozone.
Eiden squinted, trying to weave together memories amid the alarms and mangled metal. Outside, the megacity night twisted in beams of light and fire; inside, only the steady pulse of the bracelet kept time for him.
"There's something I'm forgetting," Eiden murmured, frowning as the bracelet throbbed, like it was trying to embed itself into his skin.
Pierre jerked the controls, dodging taxis, delivery drones, and private cars honking wildly or swerving to avoid being swept into the rolling hell this chase had become.
Despite the frantic maneuvers and mounting tension, the enemy stuck to their tail like a cursed shadow. The grunts' drifter weaved through traffic, firing with surgical precision, even using civilian vehicles as shields.
A shot hit near the windshield, and a rain of sparks filled the car's interior.
Yet through it all, Eiden barely blinked.
He remained still, pensive, staring through the windshield as if searching the city lights for a buried memory.
"I wasn't alone…" he finally said, his voice a whisper amid the din. "Was someone with me that night?"
The bracelet pulsed harder, nearly painful, and the voice—the one hidden in the static of his memory—grew louder, wrapping around his mind like an inescapable echo.
"I'll be waiting here."
A jolt shook him, like an invisible hook yanking him from deep water.
"Eiden!" Lyra shouted, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He blinked.
The city returned.
The noise returned.
The enemy drifter no longer had side doors. Black smoke poured from the controls, and the dashboard lights blinked like they were calling his name.
He saw the enemy vehicle had caught up. It was just meters away, and its doors began to open slowly, revealing the grunts inside, armed with piercing rifles.
They were point-blank.
Eiden swallowed hard, anchoring himself in the moment.
He closed his eyes for what felt like several eternal seconds. Everything seemed to stop.
He felt the bracelet chill to freezing, and the tendrils once coiled around his arm began sliding down toward his palm like a rushing stream.
When he opened his eyes again, the world moved in slow motion. He saw Lyra lunging toward him to shield him, Pierre twisting the wheel hard to dodge, and Krev lifting his backpack for cover. It all moved like a dream.
In that moment, the voice wasn't needed. For the first time, Eiden felt he could control the bracelet.
He caught Lyra with his left arm and, in one fluid motion, launched forward just as the enemy drifter swerved violently.
He extended his arm, fingers gripping the tendrils now hardened into a long, sleek black blade over a meter in length.
Without hesitation, he leapt into the void through the open doorway.
In the air, time slowed even more. He caught a glimpse of the grunts' faces—tense, confused, unable to understand why someone would jump toward them.
The shots rang out in the silence.
Eiden twisted his wrist precisely, unleashing an upward slash with all his strength. The black blade extended further, vibrating with a nearly living energy.
The enemy drifter split cleanly in two with a sharp crack, like paper tearing.
The slash sliced through the drifter from end to end.
Sparks, metal, and bodies flew as the craft split, spiraling like a hollow shell. The shockwave hit Eiden mid-air. Heat from the blast licked his face.
But he didn't stop.
He landed on part of the broken drifter and pushed off again, extending his free hand toward Lyra, still mid-motion, eyes wide.
The bracelet reacted.
The tendrils making up the blade writhed, losing rigidity. As if responding to instinct, they shifted shape mid-air with metallic snaps and whirs. They fragmented into thinner filaments, like black whips with sharp tips, anchoring to the nearest structure.
One latched onto the upper frame of their vehicle, another to an inner bar. The recoil was brutal.
Eiden, Lyra in his arms, spun mid-air as the filaments pulled tight. For a second, they were suspended, floating between the void and the wrecked cabin.
Then, the tendrils retracted like springs.
They were yanked back, propelled by the bracelet's force. They shot through the doorway just as another explosion rocked the enemy drifter and a rain of fire and shrapnel began to fall.
They landed hard inside the vehicle. Eiden rolled onto his back, shielding Lyra with his body as the bracelet retracted, its tendrils curling back as if they'd never extended.
The air reeked of ozone, metal, and sweat. Lights flickered. Pierre cursed loudly and Krev coughed. The drifter finally pulled out of traffic and began a slight descent.
Eiden lay motionless on the floor, still holding Lyra, who trembled slightly beneath him.
"Are you okay?" he murmured hoarsely.
She didn't respond right away but nodded, still holding him.
A brief silence settled over the cabin, broken only by the strained engines and the creaking of stabilizers fighting the imbalance.
"Eiden…" Lyra said, meeting his eyes. "What was that?"
He didn't know what to say. He only felt the cold of the bracelet begin to fade… as if it had been sated… for now.
Though the angry throbbing still pounded in his arm.
************************************************
"He won't recover from this," Pierre said, scratching his head, voice tinged with worry.
"Relax, Pi. It'll be a challenge," Krev encouraged him, patting his back.
They looked at what remained of the drifter, still in one piece, though so damaged Eiden wondered how they'd managed to land.
They were beneath a bridge, in an isolated area outside Kurosei, having descended to the first secluded place they found.
Lyra and Eiden sat on broken concrete chunks, sipping The-ito brand energy drinks Krev had handed out.
Eiden wondered how he'd kept them cold this whole time.
Pierre snapped him out of it.
"She's totaled! I'd just finished her last upgrade three days ago! Three damn days!"
"Nothing our combined hands can't fix," Krev said confidently. "My brother will help us."
"Vek has bigger things to worry about," Pierre said, looking up and locking eyes with Lyra. "Osric is going to exile us, Ly, and you know it. And he won't show mercy to that freak," he added, pointing at Eiden.
Despite the insult, Eiden didn't take it badly. After all, he had saved their lives.
"I'll deal with Osric. You weren't here tonight," Lyra said seriously. "You'll say you went partying at Opus Noir with Krev. You had an accident and wrecked the drifter."
Eiden noticed that despite her firm words, Lyra seemed a bit worried.
Pierre let out a bitter laugh.
"And you think Cireya will believe that crap?" he said, then looked at Eiden. "And you'll be going with the killer-arm guy. She hates him ever since you started talking about him nonstop."
Lyra stood abruptly, facing the driver defiantly.
"Come on, guys, enough. We have a guest," Krev cut in nervously.
"You're talking about your teammates?" Eiden asked suddenly, trying to sound cautious.
They all turned to look at him.
"Yes," Lyra replied shortly, avoiding his gaze.
"I guess it's still not time to tell me how you found me, or why you pulled me out of there," he said, sipping his drink.
"That's the damn reason!" Pierre snapped, pointing at Lyra. "And I guess it's my fault too for listening to her."
"Come on, Pi, don't say that," Krev said, uncomfortable, watching Lyra's face grow colder.
"You're right. You shouldn't have come. I don't need cowards on my team," the girl said, biting.
Krev paled.
Pierre's face flushed with rage, and he was about to respond, but Eiden interrupted:
"Thank you," he said, looking at them with a faint smile. "I would've died in that hole without you… or worse. I owe you big time."
There was a pause. Everyone exchanged glances.
Then Krev grinned and said:
"That's right! Today we saved an innocent guy and kicked some grunts' asses," he said, ruffling Eiden's hair.
"Bah!" Pierre scoffed, waving a hand and going back to inspect the drifter.
Krev hurried after him.
Lyra approached Eiden slowly, head down.
"Thanks," she murmured.
Eiden nodded, barely.
Then she sat beside him again. After a few awkward moments, Eiden spoke:
"Is it true?"
"What is?"
"That Osric guy… will he kill me when he sees me?"
Lyra looked at him for a few seconds, then lowered her head, suppressing what he thought was a faint laugh.
"Don't worry. I'll deal with Osric," she said, with a smile as faint as his.
"Will you get in trouble for rescuing me?" Eiden asked, genuinely concerned.
"Nothing I can't handle," she said, taking a sip from her can.
"I see."
Eiden didn't want to be intrusive, but he needed to know why this girl had appeared so suddenly in his life, risking hers and her teammates'.
"Why?" he asked, just as he had when they first freed him.
"I'll tell you everything you need to know," Lyra replied almost immediately.
"It's just that..."
She stood up, placed a hand on his shoulder, and looked him in the eyes.
"I'll tell you everything you need to know. I promise."
Eiden held her gaze for only a few seconds before nodding.
"I'll wait," he said, resigned.
A few minutes passed. Pierre and Krev pushed the drifter into a large crack on the side of the tunnel to hide it. Then, they got ready to leave.
As they walked through the shadows of the bridge, heading toward the highway that would connect them to the heart of the city, Eiden couldn't help but glance at his arm.
The bracelet was still there. Still. Silent.
But not off.
For an instant, he thought he felt a faint tug in the tendons of his forearm, as if something —from within— had stirred, restless.
It wasn't pain. Nor cold.
It was like someone else was breathing with him.
Eiden clenched his fist. Tightened his jaw.
And kept walking.