The cube's faint glow pulsed in Shadow's arm as he staggered through the metallic corridors. Every breath was fire in his chest, every step heavier than the last. The fight in the chamber had drained him, but there was no time to rest.
Behind him, alarms blared through the facility, red lights strobing across the steel walls.
"Subject 17 has breached containment."
"Adaptive Core missing. All units converge."
The voice echoed from unseen speakers, mechanical and cold.
Shadow gritted his teeth. They're after me. No—after this cube.
He turned a corner, only to halt. The corridor stretched wide, lined with doors, but standing in his path were soldiers—different from the ones before. Their bodies were augmented, mechanical limbs fused with glowing mana cores embedded into their chests. Their faces were half-covered with steel masks, leaving only cold, empty eyes visible.
One raised an arm. Blue mana gathered at its fingertips like lightning ready to strike.
Shadow cursed under his breath. "Figures."
The first bolt lashed out. He barely managed to roll aside, the energy searing across his shoulder and charring the wall. Shadow retaliated with his gauntlets, sending a crescent slash of condensed mana down the hall. It tore through two soldiers, but the others didn't flinch.
They advanced in perfect unison, mechanical steps thundering across the floor.
Shadow's pulse raced. He couldn't overpower them head-on—not in his current state. Then, in his arm, the cube pulsed. Stronger this time.
And suddenly, it shifted.
The cube's surface rearranged itself like folding steel plates, expanding into a flat, disk-like form before snapping back into his palm. Images flooded his mind again—vehicles, motion, escape routes. For a split second, Shadow understood.
"Alright," he muttered, clutching it tighter. "Show me."
The cube flickered, then projected mechanical outlines around him. Panels of glowing light formed, wireframes that took shape: wheels, turbines, armored plating.
A machine roared into existence beneath him—a sleek, angular hoverbike of steel and crystal, humming with restrained power. Shadow didn't have time to question it. He swung onto the seat, the cube locking into place at the bike's core.
The soldiers lunged. Shadow twisted the handle instinctively.
The bike screamed forward, engines flaring with raw mana. The corridor became a blur of steel and red light as he tore through the facility at impossible speed. Gunfire and bolts of energy followed him, but the bike swerved with unnatural precision, as though anticipating danger before he even reacted.
Explosions rattled the walls. One soldier leapt, claws extended—Shadow tilted sharply, scraping the wall, sparks flying as the bike whipped past. The claws missed him by inches.
This isn't just a machine, Shadow realized, feeling the way the cube synchronized with his instincts. It's… alive.
The exit was near—or so he hoped. The corridors angled upward now, leading to a massive blast door. But standing before it was something worse.
A guardian.
It was a towering mechanical beast, eight feet tall, with armored plating bristling with cannons and a glowing core at its chest. Its head turned toward him with a low, grinding hum.
The cannons locked on.
Shadow cursed. "Of course."
The cube pulsed again—this time stronger, feeding power into the bike. Panels shifted, transforming parts of it. The handlebars clicked, the side compartments opened, and twin cannons emerged along the bike's frame.
Shadow smirked despite his fatigue. "Guess you can bite too."
The guardian roared, cannons unleashing a storm of energy. Shadow weaved through the barrage, his own weapons flaring. Twin bolts of mana-fire streaked forward, slamming into the guardian's chest and exploding with enough force to shake the hall.
The beast staggered but didn't fall.
"Fine. Let's finish this."
He pushed the bike to its limits. The cube resonated with him, the engine screaming as the machine launched forward like a spear of light. At the last second, Shadow leapt—gauntlets blazing—while the bike itself folded midair, transforming into a massive drill-like ram.
It slammed into the guardian's chest with devastating force. Metal shrieked. The core cracked. The guardian collapsed, smoking and sparking.
The cube shifted back into its compact form, landing neatly in Shadow's palm as the wreckage smoldered. He landed hard, panting, but still standing.
The blast doors loomed before him. Beyond them… freedom.
Shadow gripped the cube tightly, its faint glow steady against his palm.
"They're going to come for you," he muttered to it. "But for now—you're mine."
And with that, he pushed forward into the night.