The roar echoed through Sector Black like a challenge.
Aiden didn't rush toward it.
He moved sideways.
Experience told him something important: whatever roared didn't care about noise. It cared about movement.
He climbed a rusted stairwell, boots clanging despite his effort to stay quiet. From above, the maze revealed itself—collapsed bridges, shadow-filled corridors, old observation towers.
And bodies.
Not recent.
Old.
Failed provisionals left where they fell.
The System flickered again.
[SENSOR RANGE REDUCED]
[MAP FUNCTION: DISABLED]
Aiden clicked his tongue. "Naturally."
A presence stirred below.
Not one.
Two.
Aiden leaned forward and spotted them—figures moving in perfect sync through the wreckage.
Humans.
Intact.
Too intact.
They wore mismatched armor, scavenged and reinforced. Their rank tags glowed steadily.
C-9
C-11
Alive.
Working together.
Aiden's eyes narrowed.
So not everyone here snapped.
Aiden dropped down behind a support pillar and made his presence known.
"Teamwork's rare down here," he said. "Means you're either smart or planning something ugly."
Both figures snapped toward him instantly.
Weapons up.
One was a woman with short silver hair and burn scars across her arms. The other was taller, lean, eyes cold and calculating.
The woman spoke first. "State your name and rank."
Aiden smirked. "Demanding for people in a cage."
The man's gaze flicked to Aiden's chest.
The mark.
His pupils shrank.
"…E-0," he said quietly. "The anomaly."
The woman stiffened. "You're not supposed to exist."
Aiden shrugged. "Story of my life."
The roar came again—closer this time.
The woman cursed. "We don't have time for this."
Aiden raised a hand. "Relax. I'm not here to fight you."
The man studied him carefully. "Then what are you here for?"
Aiden looked past them—into the shadows where the sound came from.
"To not die," he said. "Same as you."
A heavy thud shook the floor.
Metal screamed as something massive dragged itself closer.
The woman inhaled sharply. "That's Brute-Unit K7."
Aiden glanced at her. "Sounds friendly."
"It killed three provisionals in ten minutes," she said. "And it learns."
Aiden's smile faded.
"Good," he said. "I was worried this place would be boring."
The man stepped forward. "We don't trust you."
Aiden met his gaze. "You don't have to."
The roar split into a mechanical shriek as a hulking silhouette emerged—half machine, half something grown wrong.
Red sensors locked onto them.
[THREAT IDENTIFIED: BRUTE-UNIT K7]
[CLASS: ADAPTIVE HUNTER]
The System added, almost nervously:
[RECOMMENDED ACTION: EVASION]
Aiden cracked his knuckles.
"Yeah," he said. "No."
The Brute charged.
Metal and flesh colliding with the ground like a freight train.
Aiden stepped forward—
—and the silver-haired woman grabbed his arm.
"Are you insane?"
Aiden didn't look at her.
"Maybe," he said. "But if we don't stop it now—"
The Brute leaped.
"—it'll hunt us all night."
Aiden broke free and ran straight at it.
The others hesitated.
Then the man swore and followed.
The woman cursed and followed too.
Three against one.
The Brute's sensors glowed brighter.
And deep in Sector Black—
Something else watched.
Learning.