The door did not explode.
It softened.
Metal bent like warm wax, dripping slowly to the floor. The air smelled sharp and bitter. Elyon stepped back, heart racing, eyes locked on the melting shape.
"That's not normal," he whispered.
Kael already had his weapon out. "Nothing about this is."
The wrist band tightened slightly. Not enough to hurt—but enough to remind Elyon it was there.
—THREAT LEVEL: CONFIRMED—
"Stop that," Elyon muttered.
Outside, the low hum of drones grew louder. Not fast. Not rushed. Calm. Confident.
"They know exactly where we are," Elyon said.
Kael nodded. "They always do once the scan starts."
The door finally collapsed inward with a dull sound. Smoke rolled into the room. Through it, red lights appeared—three, then five, then more.
Drones.
Black, round, smooth. No markings. No sound except the soft hum that vibrated in Elyon's chest.
One of them tilted slightly.
Elyon felt a sharp pressure behind his eyes.
—SUBJECT VERIFIED—
Kael fired first.
The shot hit one drone cleanly. It shattered mid-air, pieces hitting the walls and floor. Sparks flew.
The other drones did not react with panic.
They adjusted.
Two moved higher. One backed away. Another rotated, its red light fixing on Elyon.
"Stay behind me," Kael ordered.
Elyon wanted to argue.
He didn't get the chance.
The pressure inside him suddenly pulled outward. The air around his body felt tight, like invisible hands pressing in.
"I didn't do that," Elyon said quickly.
"I know," Kael replied. "But it's responding to you."
A drone fired.
Not a bullet.
A pulse.
Kael shoved Elyon aside. The pulse slammed into the wall behind them, crushing concrete inward like it was soft clay.
They ran.
Kael kicked open a back exit, and they spilled into a narrow alley. Rain poured down, washing dust and smoke into the gutters.
Drones followed.
Always steady. Always calm.
Elyon's breath came fast. "What are they?"
Kael didn't slow down. "Collectors."
"That's not an answer!"
"It's the only one you get right now."
The alley ended at a broken fence. Beyond it was a drop—two floors down into trash-filled darkness.
Kael jumped without stopping.
Elyon hesitated.
The band pulsed.
—CHOICE REQUIRED—
"I hate you," Elyon said under his breath—and jumped.
They landed hard. Elyon hit the ground and rolled, pain shooting through his shoulder. Before he could stand, the space above them warped.
A drone dropped straight down.
Kael fired again. It dodged.
Too fast.
The pressure inside Elyon spiked. His vision blurred. The world tilted slightly, like it was slipping off balance.
"No," he said. "I'm not doing this."
The drone aimed at Kael.
Elyon moved.
He didn't push.
He didn't pull.
He shifted.
The drone slammed sideways into the wall like it had been thrown by something massive. It cracked open, red light flickering before dying.
Elyon froze.
His hands shook.
"I didn't mean to," he said.
Kael stared at him. "But you chose to."
Elyon looked at the broken drone. "It was going to kill you."
"Yes," Kael said. "That's how it starts."
More drones dropped into the pit.
Too many.
Kael grabbed Elyon's arm. "Run. Don't think."
They ran through tunnels Elyon had never seen, twisting paths beneath the city. Pipes burst overhead. Water flooded the floor. The hum followed them, never rushing, never stopping.
Finally, Kael slammed his hand onto a panel.
A door opened.
They dove inside just as the tunnel behind them collapsed.
Silence.
Darkness.
Elyon slid down the wall, chest heaving. His whole body felt wrong—too light, too heavy, all at once.
"What was that?" he asked.
Kael leaned against the opposite wall. "That," he said, "was confirmation."
"Of what?"
Kael looked at him through the dark. "That they don't hunt the coin."
Elyon's stomach dropped.
"They hunt the one who answers," Kael continued.
The wrist band pulsed again, slower this time.
—INCUBATION STAGE: PROGRESSING—
Elyon closed his eyes.
Above them, far beyond the slums and steel, systems aligned.Calculations ended.Tracking locked.
The hunt had begun.
And Elyon was no longer invisible.