“Elias!”

In an instant after Crystal shouted his name, Elias’s hand shot up from his side and became a blur before him. Strickening pain filled his hand as if he had bent his bones and joints, and when he felt fluid dripping out of his grip amidst all of the throbbing, he assumed that he’d been shot and his hand blown apart.

The thoughts zipped past his mind like a bullet train, and without wasting a second, he lowered his body and dashed towards the building, crashing through the door and escaping to the hallways. Only then did he look down at his hand.

It looked completely fine, besides his palm which was beet red. Within his grip was a thin metal dart—now completely bent out of shape. He dropped it, and it clanged on the cold floor.

“How did I catch that?” he exclaimed while running towards where Sina was. “Fecula, my hand hurts.”

“I used your reflexes to grab it,” Sina apologized, appearing before him. “As my calibration to your body is insufficient, I may have used too much force. Your muscles are slightly ripped.”

Elias moved his hand around. There were flares of pain with every motion, and the throbbing worsened. It was a good thing that it was his left hand. He balled it into a fist as it was the least painful position he could make.

“How bad is it?” he asked.

“It will take three days to completely heal,” Crystal informed. “I can make the pain numb so that you can use it without problems, but it will worsen the injury. I suggest you let it rest.”

He clenched his jaw. “I hope I can after what happened. Who shot me?”

“There are drones in the air that are surrounding the hospital. I can’t see anyone else.”

His head was strangely clear. He felt worried and fearful, but excitement shook every fiber in his body. Something had happened within him—something the Crystal had done. Body augmentation.

“Don’t worry,” Crystal promised. “As long as I’m with you, you will be able to deal with anything. But first, I have to ask you for your permission—”

“Do it,” Elias told her. “Anything that will get us out of here.”

The excitement within his body surged threefold. There was something third-person about the feeling as if he was watching his body move from afar, carefully calculating every movement it made. Even opening the door to the scanner room where Sina was felt fluid and pristine. He liked this new feeling.

“Elias?” Sina asked when she heard him enter.

He quickly checked the results. There were more than ten minutes left. He decided to end it early as he doubted that Sina’s legs would show much about her condition. All the while, Crystal whispered in his ear, telling him what to do.

“We have to get out,” he told Sina, helping her into her clothes. “Drones have surrounded the building. They know we’re here.”

“I’m sorry,” Sina softly said. “There isn’t much I can do.”

He hugged her, helping her up. “Can you walk?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“That will be enough. Let’s go. Stay close behind me.”

Taking her hand with his injured one, Elias led them down the stairs towards the parking lot. Crystal had already begun uploading the results to her clone in the system and the information would be available after they’d reached somewhere safe. For now, getting away was all that he had in mind. Though now, his fear had vanished. His blood felt hot inside of him, coursing through his veins like a volcano, focusing every muscle and fiber into his mission.

His only worry was that Sina was different from before. Her shoulders slightly sagged, her head was lower, and her eyes appeared less vibrant than before. The aura of power that he’d always felt from her through the sixth sense she’d awakened in him had vanished.

Sina held his arm tightly with both of her hands. He could feel a slight tremble from her, though from fear or weakness, he didn’t know. She’d always been able to tell, but even with his enhancements, he couldn’t read her heart.

All he could do now was love her as he’d always done. He’d give his life for her—yes, he would fight the world for her. That hadn’t changed.

“Are you sure?” Crystal said worryingly. “You’ve known her for a short amount of time. There are so many things you haven’t explored in the world. I don’t want you to—”

“Maybe you’re right. But now, I’m everything she has. I can only do the same for her.”

Crystal raised a finger but lowered it. Elias couldn’t understand the deep concern that was on her face.

“And it will be your job to keep us both alive,” he reminded his assistant.

She did a cute salute. “Bad news. The things you left on the quad bike, you’ll have to leave them. There are too many hazards in that area.”

It was unfortunate to leave his assault rifle behind as well as the food and clothes they had, but they could always get more somewhere else. Sina had lost her detection ability, but with Crystal, he knew he could do better.

“Darn, my MUP pole is in there,” he mumbled, “and my favorite clothes. Sina, is there anything you left in the bags we brought? We might have to leave them here.”

She hesitated but managed to speak.

“The clothes you have me,” she told him.

He hadn’t expected clothes to be the answer. “Did you like them?”

“They were the first items that you gave to me,” she answered.

Elias froze. He hadn’t thought that she’d put that much value into the simple clothes they’d gotten from the station storage. Swatting down the urge to hug her, he held her hands instead.

“I’ll give you many more presents,” he swore. “But now, we have to leave.”

Sina nodded. Despite all of the things she’d lost and the expressions she’d come to express, she had still been trained as a calculating killer. The lack of her supernatural abilities didn't take away her reasoning.

“Here it is.”

On the lowest parking lot floor, Elias pried open a metal lid on the ground, revealing a set of grabbable bars that led into the city’s sewers. He’d questioned why Crystal had suggested this, but for now, he was going to listen.

“Down here, we’ll be safe from detection,” Elias told Sina. “I need you to do something for me. It won’t be hard.”

“I can do it.”

“You’ll have to escape alone. It will be a ten-kilometer walk. Can you do it?”

She frowned. “What about you?”

“I have to be the distraction,” Elias said. “If both of us disappear, they’ll know that we escaped through the sewers sooner or later. Someone has to stay behind to stall whatever is coming for us.”

Sina looked more worried than ever. “And you? How will you escape?”

He told her the plan. She thought about it for a few seconds and nodded. “Tell me where I have to go.”

“When you reach the bottom, go left. The water should be running in that direction. After you pass by three stops like this one, head up the fourth. It’s a straight path down. Ignore any other path that isn’t the biggest one.”

“And then?”

“You’ll be at a mall. Wait there, and I will come and find you.”

She looked down, considering his proposal.

“Without you, I don’t think I will live,” she told him, looking up into his eyes. “If you don’t return—”

He stopped her, placing a finger on her lips.

“I promise I will return,” Elias told her, “so don’t think about that. Okay?”

Sina nodded. “Okay.”

“Right. I’ll see you—”

Before he could react, she pulled his head and pecked him on the lips gently, pulling away right after.

“Don’t be late,” she told him.

“Yeah.”

He closed the lid after making sure she’d reached the bottom safely, returning it to its original condition. His lips felt warm where they’d been touched, and he reached up with his finger and felt them, not quite believing what had happened.

“Quite the player, aren’t you?” Crystal tittered, covering her blushing cheeks with her hands. “I felt my heart skip a beat when you made her stop speaking with your finger.”

“Right! Enough with the jokes,” Elias muttered, suddenly feeling embarrassed over what he had done. “Let’s get on with this. I don’t want to leave her for long.”

“Aye, aye, sir!”

Unstrapping the sniper rifle from his shoulder, he held it within his hands. The pain in his left had turned dull—a result of Crystal’s intervention. His body felt unnaturally sensitive, and he knew he would need it for what he was about to do next. He took the elevator up and reached the first floor, walking to where the emergency vehicles were. After breaking the window with the butt of his rifle, he moved as Crystal instructed and started the car. It lit up, and he tinkered with the interface until everything was ready.

“I’m nervous,” he confessed, “but my hands aren’t shaking. This feels…nice. I always used to shake before something big.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah.”

He took in a deep breath, checking to see if he had enough ammo. He did; he’d filled it before. The sniper rifle had always been difficult for him to use during real battles which was why Sina had found an assault rifle for him. But she was gone, and he was prepared.

“Let’s do this.”

Elias loaded his rifle as the car jerked into motion.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

Within the sky, a cloud of drones circled the Health Center, their cameras searching for any signs of movement. All of them were loaded with ammunition, ready to fire at a moment’s notice. Due to an unexpected reaction, their initial target had escaped, but they had secured the building’s premises.

Nothing would get out of there without them knowing.

Suddenly, a vehicle appeared out of the building, zooming into the streets. A portion of the drones quickly flew after the escapees; now that they had eyes on their target, it would take more than a miraculous maneuver to escape them. They kept their distance, aware that the target had long-ranged weapons, flying above them so that the sun’s light would get in their vision.

The vehicle continued to veer through the city, moving farther and farther away. One kilometer, two kilometers—the distance continued to increase, and the vehicle moved on to where the buildings rose higher. It turned a corner and vanished behind some skyscrapers, causing the drones to split up to secure the premises from every angle.

Crack.

One drone lost its power, helplessly plummeting towards the ground. The others began to zigzag in an attempt to dodge whatever was shooting them. The bullet had come from the vehicle, but the drone that had spotted it first had been destroyed a split second later. Another took its place—

Crack.

“I can’t believe I’m landing these!” Elias cried, his arms automatically reloading the rifle. He aimed, shutting up after Crystal told him to save his breath. They had to take the drones all down before more caught up to them.

When the third and fourth drone appeared to his left and right simultaneously, he ducked into the vehicle and closed the door just as he heard bullets crack against the walls. He yelled as the vehicle suddenly swerved, causing his body to press against the seat. His heart was beating quickly, but there was nothing erratic about his movements. When the car stabilized, he jumped into the driver’s seat, raising his rifle—and pulled the trigger.

The drone on the left jolted backwards as it sputtered and died, crashing into a building. He lowered his body just in time as something flew by his head, exiting through the window. His eyes spotted a metal dart.

“If they wanted to kill me, they would have done it by now,” Elias commented, escaping to the back. “You were right. They want us alive.”

“Get ready. On your right in two seconds,” Crystal reminded.

“How come you didn’t detect them before?” Elias complained, turning to where she instructed.

“I wasn’t focusing on the sky. Only the streets as set by the city’s administration. Now!”

Elias kicked the side door open, bringing the scope of the rifle to his eyes. On the other side was the drone, and he pulled the trigger, causing yet another victim to his newfound power. He was the player, and Crystal was his aimbot.

“Can’t you rotate the cameras every few seconds?” Elias asked, hiding again.

“Too many changes I make to the city may cause me to alert the system. But I will try, and now!” Crystal yelled.

He poked his barrel out again, this time kneeling. The drone had just appeared from behind a building when it whipped back, damaged beyond repair.

“There are three left now,” Crystal informed, “but you can’t let down your guard. Two of them are saying out of your sight behind the buildings; one is directly above you. We managed to stop them from puncturing the tires, but it won’t be easy to escape them. They’re on guard—more are on their way. You have seven minutes before the others catch up.”

“Which means?”

“It’s quick scope time.”

Grunting, he went out of the side door and pulled himself up on the roof of the vehicle, standing up. He couldn’t believe how easily he’d done it and how simple it was to balance on top of a moving car. While he had not practiced any of it, Crystal’s features had become his muscle memory, allowing him full control over the situation. He lowered the rifle, looking up.

Sure enough, there was a drone flying far above him. With its zigzagging and the glare of the sun, it would be impossible to bring it down. The other two were biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Elias shivered inside.

“Can I do it?” he asked.

“Leave it to me,” Crystal told him.

The car slowed to a halt. He closed his eyes, relaxing his muscles. The air felt heavy on his skin, and all he could do alone was to wait. The buzz around him loudened as his senses focused into a point—there would be no room for mistakes.

His eyes opened. Or rather, Crystal opened them, taking control of his body.

He swerved towards a building.

Crack.

Then again.

Crack.

The drone above him attempted to escape, suddenly zooming high up into the sky, but Elias’s body pointed the rifle upwards, pressing the trigger without looking through the scope. Approximately ten seconds later, the drone crashed on the road beside him, shattering into a thousand pieces. A glaring hole had formed at its center.

“We got them,” Crystal told him, and he sighed deeply, getting off of the roof and onto the ground. He’d seen the bullets pierce the drones through the glass windows through the small screen in his vision Crystal had created. It was a hair’s breadth from a miracle, and yet, he’d done it. Crystal had done it, and he’d felt it all with his body.

“We did it,” Crystal cheered, throwing a fist up in the air. “But we have to get away before the others come.”

“I hope that will be enough,” Elias said, looking at the fallen drone. It was a design he’d never seen before—discolored and old-looking, though heavily reinforced. Had he used an assault rifle, he doubted he would have pierced their thick armor.

“It will be. This time, I promise,” Crystal assured. “It will be a long walk to the meeting place. You’ll have to rest a few hours before.”

“It’s fine. You’re going to remove the pain.”

“You have little idea of how badly damaged your muscles are right now,” Crystal said, touching his arm. “You must eat and rest now. Okay?”

She led him to a store where he urgently stuffed a recyclable bag with goods. Heading inside of a building, he headed to the lower floors where he found a hatch of the ground, similar to the one back at the Health Center. He opened it, climbing down.

Along the way, his hand slipped. Had it not been for his augmented reflexes, he would have plummeted head-first. He groaned, unable to move his arm properly.

“Oh, gosh. How bad is it?” he asked, finally reaching the bottom.

Instantly, pain filled his limbs, an intense roar that bubbled into agony whenever blood coursed through the muscle. It quickly subsided, and he fell on the floor, too afraid to get up.

“It’s that bad?”

“Your body causes it to feel worse,” Crystal told him. “But please rest a little now after eating. I need time to mend your cells back together.”

“Sina is waiting for me.”

“She can afford to wait a little longer.”

“But what if something happens?”

“I promise it will not as long as she doesn’t wander out of the designated building. I will send my clone to look after her—so please.”

She looked at him with pleading eyes. It was the same action that Jewel used to do when she wanted to ask something from him. He’d never been able to refuse her.

“Alright. How many hours?”

“Two will be the bare minimum.”

Elias quickly shoved everything he’d taken from the store into his mouth, swallowing it with gulps of water. After his stomach had become full, fatigue began to overcome his body, and coupled with the numbness, he only wanted to lie down and sleep. Crystal made him sit with the wall behind his back.

“I will see you soon,” she smiled as his vision faded. “Good dreams. You did wonderfully.”

“Thanks,” he muttered.

Elias’s vision turned black, and he lost consciousness the second after.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

Sina worried for Elias.

He was the only person she’d properly interacted with, and each day brought new insights into his character. She knew he had many things he hadn’t told her, painful things he didn’t want to speak about. But that was part of his charm, and she enjoyed spending time with him, watching his reactions every day. Whenever she looked at him, her chest grew warm. If it wasn’t love, she didn’t know what else it was.

Something had changed ever since she had been captured. Unique confidence had sprouted within Elias, and the air of nervousness he’d carried around with him had cleared, replaced with serenity. He’d told her that he’d found his helper. The benefactor had done more than provide them with information; Elias’s body had noticeably changed when she’d awoken. The muscles had condensed, and the bones had thickened. His heart beat with more force.

It hadn’t happened because she had used her power on him. She wished to strengthen him so he would be able to stay with her for the longest time possible, but a foreigner had intervened, stripping his reliance away from her. She’d observed and had come to the conclusion—

She would watch and see what happened.

It felt nice relying on someone else. Being cared for by Elias was a new pleasure she’d come to cherish, and being weak within his arms gave her a deep sense of comfort she didn’t know she could feel. Even now, he was risking his life for her sake so that they could escape together to safety. He’d talked about how much he wanted to show her the world he’d grown up in where survival would be the least of their problems. Ever since she’d awoken, there had been nothing but enemies in her life—she wanted to experience the peace he’d talked about.

She knew about it; she knew it very well. But she wanted to experience it firsthand with Elias.

The lives of the people. A thousand voices whisked away within a day of darkness, stripped from life to be lost forever. Thousands and thousands of personalities unraveled to black. Each one of them could have been like Elias.

Sina lay on the ground, her eyes tightly shut. So many people had died in that city. Regret was something she hadn’t felt. Yet a thought ominously loomed behind her. Where did they go when they were gone? She held their identities, but they weren’t the same. They weren’t alive like Elias, nor did they act unpredictably like him. They were here in the city, but in the end, she was the one whom they followed, not their own hearts.

Elias was wonderful because he changed. As much as she wanted to end the unpleasant situation, he’d loved his reactions to her fall, taking the burden upon himself for her sake. Ah, the emotion she’d felt from him surrounded her body like a gentle breeze of cotton, making her feel fuzzy inside. This was love.

It was a wonderful emotion. She’d shared it with another, but it had become corrupted—no, crazed within one of their pursuers. The people she’d seen were not like Elias. They were complicated, unpleasant, and depressing.

If it hadn’t been for her curiosity to see Elias change—the situation would be over.

Hearing the smallest tick, she turned her eyes to a camera in the building. It was still, but she knew it had moved. Watching her. Right now, she was a powerless, helpless girl who’d lost her powers. The benefactor was watching, possibly informing Elias of her safety.

The secrets that Elias kept were like presents that she would be able to open in the future. She looked forward to learning them. As suspicious as this ‘benefactor’ was, she wouldn’t ask questions.

Not yet. She would…recover her power first. Slowly, and naturally. Elias wouldn’t suspect a thing. He never had.

Not until the ‘benefactor’ had appeared. But—she would let it pass. It added spice to their relationship. It wasn’t doubt that Elias felt, but concern. Worries, worries, and more worries. She liked his kind words, his consideration, and his internal discord. Him trying to take care of her while dealing with their pursuers was…delicious.

So, she would let the ‘benefactor’ help him.

The can beside her flatted in a millisecond, becoming a thin sheet of metal. It folded in half then half again, the corners becoming brittle and cracked. A hundred times it was repeated, and when the can dropped, it fell as powder, like sand from an hourglass. Sina watched it blow away to the side of the room.

Everything was fragile. They broke easily, changed easily, died easily. It was the same for her body which was why she had created a guardian out of the lives she’d taken. She wanted to do the same for Elias, so she had given him a gift. He was inept at using it, but with time, he would be like her.

It also served as a way to keep an eye on him. Sina closed her eyes again, feeling Elias from far away. He had stopped for some time but was now running to where she was. She was beginning to grow bored and had considered going to him, but she wanted him to find her and watch his face bloom.

Slowly, she would recover. Elias wouldn’t suspect a thing. She and her ‘clone’ had become one; it would serve as a good explanation. She would gradually reveal herself to him, and together, they would go discover who she really was before she’d come into consciousness.

That was still a mystery to her. She knew little about her past, and though it was no longer of importance to her, she wished to learn of it someday. A part of her feared it, but it was no bigger than a speck in the corner of her mind.

For now, she would enjoy the moment. She could tolerate the flies that buzzed around—they were of no threat to her. She had been wary at first, but the more she discovered, the more she knew how helpless the world was in the face of her power.

They could, however, hurt Elias.

If they did—

She would kill them a thousand times over.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

“Is this it?”

Elias slowed to a halt, reading the symbols on the wall next to the bar grips that led upwards. He’d taken another route through the sewers as it had been closer, but even there, he saw no signs that Sina had passed through. Perhaps it was only natural as they hadn’t carried anything, but he feared that she may have not arrived, given her condition.

“Yes,” Crystal answered. “Don’t worry. She’s sleeping in one of the stores.”

He let out a sigh of relief.

What had he been thinking, letting Sina walk ten kilometers alone? She’d been terribly weakened from overusing her power, and he’d abandoned her right after he’d promised not to let her be taken away.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Crystal whispered. “You only did what was necessary.”

“For our future plans, I’d like something that doesn’t separate her from me,” Elias requested, grabbing the bars for a climb. “You know what happened last time when I got separated.”

“From Jewel?”

“Yeah. Remind me to stay by Sina.”

“I will,” Crystal promised.

When he reached the top of the climb, he was surprised by how tight the lid was. Only after pushing it with some force did it twist and pop open. He pushed it aside, emerging with his rifle on his back.

Even after some rest, his body felt airy—a side effect from all of the nerves Crystal was suppressing. He’d be in pain without her. His body had healed somewhat, but he’d need time to rest now. The maneuvers he had done to take down the drones had strained his body, giving way to some bruises all over his skin. Crystal could control and stimulate his muscles but she couldn’t control the individual cells. They would have to heal naturally.

So it took his weary mind some time to think and process what he was doing. After closing the lid, he began to walk aimlessly forward, stopping after a few steps.

“Where is Sina again?” he asked, looking around.

“She’s not far. Follow the line.”

He found new energy from the thought of seeing Sina again. Though it made him wonder,

How had she pushed the lid off? It had been very tight.

No, he was underestimating her. Anyone could do that much. A part of him was glad that she could, and another part felt guilty for putting her through it. He should have been there to open it for her.

He walked along the smooth floor until he came across a furniture shop. The entrance had been slid open.

Within his chest, he felt a peculiar reaction. He remembered the gift Sina had given him and pushed his focus onto it. Then he felt it—the subtle pull that came from across the room.

Crystal made the glowing line vanish after sensing his thoughts. He walked alone through the pillars and furniture, finally finding a bed on the other side.

Sina was curled up on it, her small hands laid before her chest. She had taken off her shoes, making herself comfortable.

Elias felt his heart drop. Sina’s feet were red and blistered, the skin stretched and white on the front of her soles. It wasn’t horrible, but she had never gotten them before. Normally, an injury as small as the one she had would be healed within seconds.

He placed his rifle quietly to the side and sat next to Sina, moving her hair away from her face. With her body as weak as it was now, traveling quickly would be out of the question. Using vehicles wasn’t an option anymore as the enemy could potentially detect them. He knew she wouldn’t complain and walk despite the pain.

“I guess it’s my turn,” he said softly, lying down next to her. She’d carried him before. He would do the same for her.

Crystal had told him that they would be safe; their pursuers were misdirected for now. They could rest. From now on, it would be a life of hiding and traveling. Staying out of sight would be their utmost priority; the enemy wouldn’t fall for the same trick again.

He shivered at the thought of not having Crystal. Had she never found him in the linker, he couldn’t have found Sina—or worse, would still be stuck inside the underground. If she were to go away now, there would be nothing he could do; they would be discovered in no time. Only with her assistance would he be able to keep Sina safe.

In the end, he was useless as ever.

“No,” Crystal told him, shaking her head. “It’s because of you that I exist. You are the one who decided to save this girl. No one is perfect, Elias. You are admirable.”

Elias reached out but stopped before he touched Sina’s cheek. If only he could know what she was feeling. No matter what he did, it would never be enough. That was why he had lost Jewel.

He retracted his hand and closed his eyes. It had been a long day; it was time to rest.

He didn’t notice when Sina placed her hand tenderly on his cheek, watching him with eyes that were nothing but delicate.

“You can do it,” she whispered.

Behind the cameras, Workman took note of it all, considering a million possibilities of how the scenario would unfold.