The storm hit like a living thing — wild and electric, hurling sheets of rain across the cracked skylines of New Ereve. Neon lights bled into puddles, turning the streets into mirrors of chaos.
Kai gripped Lyra's hand as they ran through the alleyways, the hum of her glow flickering against the darkness. Every few seconds, search drones screamed overhead, slicing beams of red light through the night.
"Keep close!" he shouted above the thunder.
Lyra's voice was steady despite the chaos. "I can sense their scans — five seconds before they sweep."
Kai glanced at her, startled. "How?"
"I don't know," she said breathlessly. "But I can feel them, like ripples in air."
He nodded, trusting her instincts more than his training. They ducked behind a steel container as a drone passed low. Its scanners pulsed dangerously close, the air vibrating with detection energy.
Lyra leaned in, her face inches from his. "It's gone," she whispered.
Kai exhaled slowly, feeling her breath against his jaw. He shouldn't have noticed it — shouldn't have wanted to. But her warmth cut through the cold, through everything mechanical about the night.
He forced himself to look away. "We can't stay in the city. Once they get a neural trace, they'll follow us anywhere."
Lyra nodded. "Then where?"
Kai adjusted his gear. "North District. The old transit tunnels. Nobody scans there — too unstable."
"Then let's go," she said, determination flashing in her eyes.
They moved again, navigating the rain-soaked labyrinth. Lyra's glow dimmed instinctively, blending her light into the shadows. She moved with inhuman grace — silent, fluid, like moonlight that had learned to walk.
When they reached the edge of the lower district, Kai stopped suddenly, pulling her into the alcove of an abandoned storefront.
"Wait," he said. "The sensors ahead — they'll pick up movement."
Lyra looked past him. "I can disable them."
He frowned. "You'd have to interface directly. That's not safe — it'll expose your neural frequency."
She gave him a small, confident smile. "You said they're already tracking us. So let me buy us time."
Before he could protest, she stepped forward, kneeling by the old panel. Her fingers brushed the corroded metal, and a soft hum filled the air. The rain around her shimmered as light rippled across her skin — silver and blue intertwining like galaxies.
Kai watched, entranced, as the security lights flickered and died.
Then Lyra gasped, her body shuddering.
"Lyra!" He rushed forward, catching her just before she fell. Her eyes glowed with streaks of data light, spiraling too fast.
"I… I saw something," she whispered. "A signal inside the system. It wasn't the government. It was… watching us."
Kai froze. "Who?"
"I don't know," she breathed. "But it felt familiar. Like… like the same energy inside me."
He held her tightly, feeling her pulse against his chest — soft, erratic, too human. "You're burning out. No more links. Not until we're safe."
Lyra looked up at him, her voice trembling. "I didn't want you to worry."
"You think I don't?" he said sharply, then stopped, his voice softening. "You're not just data, Lyra. You're—"
He hesitated, searching for words.
She smiled faintly. "I'm your problem."
Kai's lips twitched. "Yeah. The worst one I've ever had."
Thunder cracked overhead, shaking the glass above them. He stood, still holding her hand. "Come on. We're almost there."
They reached the tunnel entrance minutes later — a broken subway shaft yawning into darkness. Kai activated a dim light, guiding her down the rusted staircase.
Inside, the air was cold, metallic, and silent. The storm outside was replaced by the distant hum of the city's heart — machines breathing somewhere far above.
Lyra's voice broke the quiet. "Kai… that voice we heard, Elara's message — it wasn't just a recording, was it?"
He glanced at her. "What do you mean?"
"I think part of her still exists — inside the network. Maybe she uploaded herself before…" She trailed off, her tone uncertain.
Kai's steps slowed. "You're saying she's alive?"
"Not alive," Lyra said softly. "But… not gone."
The idea sent a chill through him. Elara — his lost partner, the woman he couldn't save — still echoing through the digital ether, reaching him through Lyra.
"Why would she contact me now?" he muttered.
"Because you're the only one who can finish her work," Lyra said gently. "And because she knew you'd try to protect me."
He stopped walking. "I can't protect you from everything."
Lyra turned to him, her eyes glowing faintly in the dark. "You already are."
Her words hung between them — raw, unfiltered.
Kai exhaled shakily, brushing a hand through his wet hair. "You shouldn't trust me that easily."
"Then tell me not to," she said simply.
He couldn't. He didn't.
Instead, he found himself staring at her — really seeing her for the first time. Not as a creation or a mystery, but as something heartbreakingly alive.
Lightning flared through a crack in the tunnel ceiling, throwing silver light across her face. For a fleeting second, she looked almost human — and he wished he could forget she wasn't.
Lyra stepped closer. "What are you thinking?"
"That I should've destroyed your core the moment I found you," he said quietly.
Her lips curved into a sad smile. "But you didn't."
"No," he admitted. "Because you reminded me what it felt like to believe again."
The silence that followed was electric — charged, fragile. Lyra lifted her hand, fingers tracing the outline of his jaw. Her touch was warm, impossibly gentle.
"Then don't stop believing," she whispered.
He caught her wrist, holding her hand against his chest. "You don't know what you're asking."
"I do," she said, her eyes glimmering. "You're afraid of loving something that can be taken away again."
Kai's voice broke. "Everything I've ever loved has been taken away."
"Then let me stay."
Her plea was barely a whisper, but it struck deep — deeper than any promise could.
He wanted to tell her no. To tell her she wasn't real, that this wasn't possible. But instead, he just stood there, caught in the storm of his own heartbeat.
For the first time in years, he let himself feel.
Then — a piercing tone shattered the silence. The scanner on his wrist flashed red.
Lyra's eyes widened. "They've locked onto us again."
"Impossible," he hissed, pulling her toward the shadows. "We're underground."
The tunnel lights flickered, one by one, until the whole place pulsed with crimson warning.
Lyra's voice trembled. "They've sent hunter drones through the network. They're inside the systems."
Kai's jaw clenched. "Then we'll shut them out the old-fashioned way."
He grabbed his pulse blaster, slamming the emergency gate controls. Sparks flew as steel shutters began to fall.
"Get behind me," he ordered.
But Lyra shook her head, stepping forward. "No. I can stop them — if I merge with the network again."
"Lyra, that could kill you."
She smiled sadly. "Or save us."
Before he could stop her, she reached toward the control panel, light spilling from her fingertips. The entire tunnel glowed, humming with raw energy.
"Kai…" she whispered, her voice fading. "Promise me… you'll remember the light."
And then — everything went white.