---
The slums were never silent.
But tonight... the noise changed.
Somewhere in the twisted alleys of Sector Delta-9, Kael heard the silence shift — replaced by the soft, rhythmic clink of armored boots on metal.
He didn't need the Void Engine to warn him.
> "Enforcers."
---
A red drone zipped above the rooftops.
> [ Thermal Sweep Detected. Model: Enforcer-Class Wraith Trackers. Quantity: 3. Rank: A- ]
Kael ducked behind a rusted stack of holo-scrap. The trackers were precise — deployed only when the Empire wanted someone silenced, not arrested.
He didn't plan to run.
Not anymore.
> "Let's see what the Void can do… when I stop holding back."
---
From the shadows, they emerged.
Three figures in sleek black armor, visors glowing red. Plasma scythes flickered in their hands, and gravity-null boots hummed beneath their feet.
The lead one stepped forward.
> "Kael Vire. You've been tagged for purge. By order of High Command."
Kael tilted his head.
> "No negotiation?"
> "You don't negotiate with anomalies."
---
BATTLE INITIATED
Kael vs. Wraith Enforcers
---
The first one lunged.
Too fast for a human.
But Kael wasn't just human anymore.
His irises glowed faint violet — the Echo State activating.
Time fractured for a moment.
In his vision, two futures played out simultaneously:
In one, he dodged left — got clipped in the ribs.
In the other, he slid forward — perfect counter.
He moved.
Forward.
---
Kael ducked low under the plasma blade, grabbed the enforcer's wrist, and snapped it with a twist enhanced by Void pressure.
The scythe fell.
Kael spun, grabbed the weapon mid-air, and drove it into the enforcer's chest — through armor and core.
Sparks burst. The body collapsed.
> "One."
---
The other two didn't wait.
They activated mirror fields — illusions of themselves splitting off in every direction, ten clones each. Moving in perfect sync.
But Kael's eyes shimmered again.
> [ Echo State: Activated – Perception Window: 3 seconds ]
> "Only one future leads to survival."
The moment froze.
Kael stepped through the clones like a wraith — predicting their movements not by sight, but memory of what hadn't yet happened.
---
He reached the real one.
Fist glowing with Void energy, he slammed into the enforcer's chest — and released a pulse.
The armor didn't crack.
It imploded — crushed from within.
> "Two."
---
The last one triggered his emergency escape drive — a gravity burst to fling him away.
Kael raised a hand.
> "No."
Reality bent.
The Void around Kael shimmered, then locked the space in front of the enforcer like a collapsing star.
The enforcer hit the field.
And folded in half.
---
> "Three."
The alley was silent again.
Only the sound of Kael's slow, controlled breathing.
> [ Echo State Duration Complete. Neural strain: Medium. Identity: Stable (for now). ]
Kael stared at the bodies.
He hadn't just survived.
He had outmatched elite imperial hunters.
And this was only Phase One.
---
But before he could retreat, the Void Engine pulsed.
> [ Incoming Transmission Intercepted ]
[ Source: Unknown. Priority: Omega. Message: "He has awakened. Begin Phase Extraction."]
Kael's eyes narrowed.
> "I just lit a beacon across the Empire…"
He turned away.
> "Let them come."
---