Rain fell over Velora.
Not the kind that cleaned the streets — this one carried ash and sparks, falling from a sky that couldn't decide if it was dawn or dusk. The city lights flickered like they were afraid to stay awake.
Azen and Lyra moved through the ruins of the old district, their boots crunching glass and silence. The tremors from the underground collapse had split the streets, leaving veins of golden light pulsing faintly through the cracks. The Vein was spreading.
"Where are we going?" Lyra asked.
Azen didn't answer at first. The hum inside him hadn't stopped since he woke up. Every few steps, faint blue text slid across his vision.
[SYSTEM MODULE: NAVIGATION]
PATH SET: UNKNOWN — SOURCE CALLING.
DISTANCE: 0.9 KM.
He finally said, "The System's leading somewhere."
Lyra frowned. "System?"
He looked at her, realized she couldn't see what he saw, and shook his head. "Nothing. Just… follow me."
The rain hissed louder. Somewhere in the distance, alarms echoed — war hadn't ended above, only moved closer.
They turned a corner and froze.
At the intersection stood a figure cloaked in shadow. The air bent slightly around him, like heat over a forge.
"Kane?" Lyra whispered.
The figure lifted his head. It was him — but something was wrong. His eyes glowed faint crimson, and when he spoke, the voice that came out was layered with static.
"You shouldn't have come back," he said.
[SYSTEM ALERT: HOSTILE SIGNAL DETECTED.]
IDENTITY CORRUPTED — DATA INTERFERENCE PRESENT.
Azen stepped forward. "Kane, what happened to you?"
"Same thing that'll happen to you," Kane said. "You touched the Vein. It doesn't give — it consumes."
The ground beneath them cracked open with a scream of metal. From the fissure crawled thin, metallic tendrils — alive, whispering, reaching. Lyra grabbed Azen's arm, pulling him back as the tendrils lashed toward them.
[MISSION UPDATE: SURVIVE THE INTERFERENCE.]
POWER MODULES: LIMITED. ACCESS RESTRICTED.
INITIATING TEST SEQUENCE...
Energy coiled through Azen's veins, the glow intensifying until his skin burned with white fire. His instincts told him to move, and the System obeyed before he did.
He struck.
One movement — fluid, controlled. The tendrils shattered in midair, dissolving into smoke. The world slowed; Azen could see every raindrop hanging like a suspended thought.
When time snapped back, the fissure closed itself.
Kane was gone.
Only a faint crimson trail remained, winding deeper into the mist.
Lyra exhaled shakily. "That wasn't him."
Azen nodded. "No. That was something using him."
[NEW DATA ENTRY:]
ENTITY TYPE — PARASITIC CODE.
ORIGIN: UNKNOWN.
OBJECTIVE: CORRUPTION OF VEIN HOSTS.
He turned his gaze upward. The skyline trembled — far above, massive sigils flickered across the clouds. The city was changing faster than it could understand itself.
The System whispered again:
[HUB ACCESS GRANTED.]
LOCATION: THE GLASS CHAMBER.
TIMEFRAME: THREE HOURS UNTIL ALIGNMENT.
Azen clenched his fists. "We move."
Lyra gave a small nod. "Then lead, before the city remembers we're still here."
They vanished into the storm — two fading shadows crossing a world reborn in light and ruin.