Dread rose like tendrils that reached out of murky water, seeking to bind Eon's chest and lungs. His Danger Sense screamed like never before, leaving him in mental anguish. Images of his life flashed before his eyes. Time spent huddled under blankets when he hid from bullies in the orphanage. His first job as a netrunner after learning from a tutor sent by A'steri. His first girlfriend, Yasma, who left the orphanage when they turned 18. Then there was Torin and Lexa, the twins who had failed the Baptism. And finally, there was Bun, the little rascal marked by tragedy.

In the back of his mind, Eon said a final goodbye. Tears misted his eyes when he realized that he had collapsed on his knees. The air around the void walker was stiff with an almost physical pressure. Gravity hadn't increased, but there was an aura to the void walker's presence. Heavy and dominant like the crown of a ruler. Any defiance would spell the end.

But as the thought left Eon's mind, resigning himself to his fate, Shark's lightning erupted once more, tracing a bright scar through the night sky. This time, the Enforcer didn't bother to conjure shields for protection. Instead, it walked off the airship, falling from over two hundred meters in the air.

Gravel bore the impact, rippling out a wave that cracked stone, forming a dust screen in the confined alley. Charged energy could be seen through the haze, dispersed by the flick of a dark gauntlet. When the attack failed, Shark raised his pistol in a last defiant effort, screaming at the top of his lungs.

The resolve caused Eon's hand to tremble and tighten. Emotions stirred with pain until a fire was born. His screams echoed Shark's, resonating until his throat burned. Blood fell from his fist, sliding down the glass shard to pool on the floor.

"I'm no tiger…" Eon grimaced, recalling the name A'steri had given him. "No, all this time I had been a cub."

Rising to his feet, Eon pushed Giraffe into the sword shop, following right after her. Like himself, she had been stiff with fear, toppling over until her legs regained control.

"Reactivate the defense mechanisms!" Eon shouted.

"W-what—" she stammered.

"Do it now!" Eon yelled. To his surprise, her left eye turned red by an artificial light that blinked into existence. Eon recalled her conversation about Jax, but was still surprised that she had accepted a wireless interface from someone like him. He wouldn't even trust a legit employer that claimed everything was above board.

In an instant, turrets folded out of security cameras. Metallic gates slammed down, rods fashioned from Orion steel, cording off sections of the store. Alarms sounded with flashing lights, but Eon quickly told Giraffe to shut them off. He had to concentrate. Thankfully, the gates blocked the oppressive aura of the void walker.

As Giraffe ushered Eon forward, demonstrating full control over the shop, he could see why she had taken Jax's bait. The cyberware he had given her packed a punch.

"Back here is the emergency exit. It opens to the streets," Giraffe said, removing another set of bars blocking their path, when she realized Eon wasn't following her. He had stopped, awestruck, taken aback by the shelves of psi-blades.

A'steri would have a field day. Did she know about this place?

Half the store was divided for psionic customers, sporting blades that had no handles, intended to be wielded by the mind. On the right stood pristine daggers, alongside battle-axes and greatswords. Still, half of those were odd, intended for non-human clientele.

"Come on!" Giraffe urged, her desperation increasing under the pangs of a psionic hammer smashing into the Orion steel gates. The resistance would only last for so long.

"We have to go!" Giraffe yelled, but her plea fell on deaf ears. There was no escape, their only chance at survival was to fight.

The screen on Eon's holo-watch turned bright, illuminating the blades as [Data Breach] worked its way into the shop's system.

"Are you insane?!"

The security locks guarding the swords failed, allowing Eon full access to the weapons in the display. He reached in with determination, grabbing a hand and a half beauty of cold steel.

[Quicksilver - Standard Edition*]

Skill Pattern: Wind Song - Increases attack speed by 10s. Charges available: 3

Eon's hand traced over the sword, delicately tapping the edge of its blade. "If I'm not mistaken, this is made from Astrium."

Contrary to the resistance of Orion steel, Astrium was a bright metal tempered with Arc Crystals to enhance the effects of spark emitters. Together, they powered skill patterns, abilities instilled into Arc Crystals by psionic craftsmen.

"Let's see how fast you can fly," Eon muttered. Finally, he turned to a frantic Giraffe who looked like she was ready to pull her hair out, unable to keep still. "It's time we entered the vault."

***

A loud bang destroyed the shop's surveillance cameras as the gate to the shop was destroyed.

"He's broken in," Eon said, turning to Giraffe. "Are you ready?"

"Do you really think this is going to work?" she asked, holding tight to a shearing dagger pressed close to her chest. Eon had an identical one hidden in his waistband.

"Relax," he said. "Focus on caging the enforcer in the store, I'll deal with the void walker."

"But—"

"Enough!" Eon said. "If they could enter the vault, they would be in here by now." His eyes fell to the coffin that had kicked off the entire event. Cased in a display of glass and Orion steel, the Grim Sarcophagus towered over all the Artifacts in the vault. It stood near the back with the second entrance they had entered through, where the most valuable items lay.

Divided in a similar method to the shop's interior, the vault held barricades around each item. However, the displays were far more advanced, outfitted with a magnetic field. Partly for security, intended to defy thieves for as long as possible. Secondly, for health reasons. By containing the radiation the Artifacts produced, the displays reduced the amount of ambient energy in the air.

One item in particular caught Eon's attention. An undulating ball of plasma that radiated fields of lightning. The bright flashes streaked around, resembling the coronas of a star. Seeing it caused Eon's own pulse to increase, matching the Artifact, as he remembered the feeling of Shark's sword's energy racing over his skin.

"I got him," Giraffe said. "Activating the turrets now."

Eon glanced once at her glowing red eye, reassuring her of the plan, then he tapped on his holo-watch.

One by one, the bars sectioning off the vault retreated into the ceiling until all that remained was the five and half tons of the Orion steel door. Gears turned back and forth until the air pressure was released, and the door slid open. In walked the void walker, whose face was marred by irritation, and an unhealthy amount of blood.

Giraffe gasped at the sight, but Eon managed to cover her mouth, staring daggers at her. Undoubtedly, the blood was from Rat or Shark. Perhaps both, considering how much blood the void walker trailed into the vault. Had he killed them out of irritation for being unable to open the vault? Eon could only hope so.

The bastards had uprooted his life, forcing him to abandon Bun to the whims of fate. He hadn't been able to track his motorcycle due to the insulating effects of the shop and the jamming beacon outside. Attempting to brute force his way past both obstacles would deplete his holo-watch, and he hadn't found a lightning crystal strong enough to power the Revenant. Perhaps one of the Artifacts could, but they would surely kill him in the process.

Almost there… Eon thought, applying more pressure over Giraffe's mouth. The void walker had passed them, leaking an aura that pressed against their lungs. The effect was dampened, however, due to the makeup of the vault.

Almost… The void walker had nearly reached the deathly coffin when Eon noticed Giraffe turn towards the door. Don't you dare! He mentally shouted, his eyes practically screaming at her. If they ran now, they wouldn't be able to reach the door before the psionic noticed.

Gottcha! A cage dropped from the ceiling, attempting to trap the void walker in place. However, the psionic jumped back with uncanny speed, conjuring a ball of void energy on the ceiling that pulled on the metal, slowing its fall.

Turrets folded out of the ceiling a second later as Eon triggered an entire lock down.

"Nooo!" Giraffe shouted, fleeing towards the closing door.

You idiot!

Before Giraffe could move five steps, an entrance to the void appeared in front of her. The purple accretion disk trailed sparks of blue light, spinning around a dark pit. Nothing, not even light, could escape its grasp.

Almost impossibly slow, Eon watched Giraffe's arm get torn apart, spaghettified into nothingness. Sinue snapped as the ball of void filled its hunger. Blood misted, forming rings around the black hole until an Orion steel gate plunged into its depths. The psionic ability scattered as a result, leaving an unconscious Giraffe sprawled out on the ground. She had passed out from immense pain and shock.

The grim scene had stunned Eon, but his mind whirled as he initiated the second part of his plan. And he had to act fast before the enforcer found the second entrance into the vault.

[Override initiated! Activating target program: Eagle_Eye]

A signal went out of Eon's holo-watch, directing the turrets to dump a hundred rounds of Orion steel bullets into the psionic's defensive array of miniature black holes.

Now he was ready.

Rising to his feet, Eon lifted the gates blocking his path and darted forward. [Quicksilver] rose in his hand as he relied on muscle memory, its skill pattern pushing his speed past what ordinary humans could achieve.

The goat eyed psionic spat with contempt, speaking in a guttural language that made Eon want to vomit. It raised a fist, forming a void ball, but the ability was immediately thwarted—having deflated with each hit until it evaporated.

"My house bitch!"

Gauntleted fist met blade as Eon pushed the psionic on defense. His sword blurred in a silver arc as his heart raced, adrenaline fueling his every move. They danced for the entire breath of [Wind Song]. Ten seconds where Eon's mind focused like a laser, mirroring A'steri in the best way possible.

The second form of A'steri's arts showed itself; a rapid series of arcs that resembled a tiger—his childhood namesake. Six seconds in, that Tiger stance flowed into Dragon, leading with two-handed strikes that exerted maximum force.

A'steri would have been proud, Eon's best was on display… yet it wasn't enough.

"Revert!" Eon yelled as time ran out. He jumped back, throwing a shearing dagger to cover his retreat. The command dispersed [Shroud], triggering a cage to fall in front of Eon for further protection.

But to both their surprise, the flying dagger caught the pursuing psionic off guard. The steaming blade burned through the alien's armor until it pierced into his green chest. The once guttural voice returned, however this time it coughed up blood due to a perfect strike to the heart. Its death, only thwarted by the psionic's increased vitality.

Eon had always thought it was bullshit that they could raise their attributes, able to store Arc Energy in a manner that promoted the growth of their physical capabilities. Now that mysterious trait of Arc Energy was on full display.

"My win," Eon said. "Take that knife and kill yourself out of shame. It's only right."

"̸̛̫̫̝̠̬̩̐̈́̀͌̕̕ͅÍ̴̗͋̒̈͐̋̐̃͆͘'̷̘̜̯͖̼́͐͜m̷̤̊̋͗̓͛̓̒͠ ̴̘͔̫̠͓̄͗̿̐̀̆̕ģ̷̺̦͉̣̤͊̔̀̀̆̈́̑̒ȍ̵͕̹̿̕î̴̛̫̙̌̇͗̓n̸̞̖̜̠̰̱͍͍̦̔̍̒̑̽̅̕͝g̷̡͙͐͂ ̵̫͍̒͂t̵̨̢̳͍̟̙̜̓͌̿̋̍̽͠ö̸͈̚ ̶̡̠̠̼̳̰̫̤̯͔́̀̔ę̴̛͖̗̗̺̳̙̐̿̅̿̅̈̌̇̚ͅn̵̡͚̖̜̲̺͙̝̞̎̐̌̊̅̀͑͌͘͝j̷̰̟̩̳̙̓̎̋͜ỏ̷͚͈͛͐̑̍̓̊y̴̜̓̿̓̈̆̅̂̌ ̷̨̛͕̪̻͕̪͕̗͖̓̉̒̈́͝ͅd̴̘̝̈́͊͝r̸̢̨̡̧̹͓͙͈̲̝̐̆͂̈́͛͊͛̎̀͘i̷͈̬̦̩͚͊͂͂͘n̷̦̬̔́̑̓̿̽̈́̽́̈́k̷͖̗̮͈͔̱͍̗̬͊̋̆̔̕͜͝͝ḯ̴̪̞̯̟̐̿̌͊̇͝͝n̷̘͙͙͕̼̠̖͔̗̔͐̾̆͒̐̈g̵̪͓̻͇͔̣̟̓̎̀̈̀̈́̈́̚͝ ̴̡̫̳̠̣͚̤̩̣͚͌̚ỳ̸͇͚̄͘õ̴̧̟̺͍̪̯̠̹̋͝u̷̡̟̣͈͍̼̟͚͔̅r̴͙͝ ̷̢̣̟̗̦̻̭̻̣̘̀́̂̅͆̈́̕b̷̛̮͓̮̣̭͖̄̋͝l̸͇͉͒o̸̰̭̫͎͔̫͓̤̬͚͌̎͝o̵̬͙͐̓̄̉́̑́̿͊̾d̶̠͙͆!̴̺͇͙̈́͋̾͂͆̽͋̊͝"̸̧͙̜̯̎̂͝

"You'll have to lick yours off the floor first. Shroud!" Eon shouted, once more enveloped in the digital camouflage. Following his modifications, the security system reacted instantly, removing the steel bars in front of him as he disappeared from the camera's view.

[Activating program: Waterfall]

Another countdown started as they returned to the dance floor. Void pockets formed near Eon, shot down before their effects could take hold. The larger the void ball, the more it became a target, exhausting the psionic's energy.

But as expected, the man had an insane energy pool. If it wasn't for the Orion steel vault suppressing his power, Eon would have died a thousand deaths. Even still he believed the psionic could afford to use its other abilities, but he guessed it being a raider, forced it to avoid damaging the Artifacts in the vault. In either case, the scenario worked in Eon's favor as he flowed with the program he had uploaded.

Steel rods lent themselves to his protection, falling and rising like a tide under the control of Poseidon. The timing worked off simple beats, kept in schedule with his attacks. Meanwhile, the void walker attempted to thwart Eon's control, boosting the strength of the void pockets to avoid being caged in.

A gun would make this so much easier, Eon sighed over his missing revolver. If he timed it right, he would be able to blow a hole through the psionic's face. A blade could only do so much, even with his enhanced speed. And now that second charge was coming to an end, and he was beginning to grow desperate. His best had started to falter, dropping precious seconds that he couldn't get back.

Dammit!

The psionic licked its lips as Eon prepared to activate the third charge. However, instead of canceling [Shroud] when the time ran out, Eon preemptively tapped on the blade's spark emitter and extended the second charge.

Dragon stance flowed into Tiger, where four seconds of overlapped charges tripled and quadrupled Eon's speed. The name Wind Song was an understatement. At his new speed, he barely managed to switch back into Dragon. But manage he did, countering a punch that claimed the void walker's hand.

As the void walker screamed, traces of Arc Energy flowed in the blood that pooled on the floor. Dark swafts of purple were mixed in as well, identifying the psionic's affinity.

Eon followed up with a second strike, seeing his opportunity when the vault's security system ended.

Someone had cancelled it.

Orion steel gates climbed into the ceiling, leaving Eon exposed. The once deafening sound from the turrets had ceased, no longer blocking the cries of pain from the floor behind him. Finally, the escape of air pressure announced the opening of the vault.

You crazy bitch! Even near the grave, you're still a thorn in my side!

*gasp* Giraffe inhaled, wheezing as she crawled towards the exit.

5 seconds left, Eon growled. I don't have much time! Slashing forward, Eon did his best to push Giraffe from his mind, only for his blade to be stopped by an invisible force.

The Enforcer had arrived.

Dammit!

Dread flared in Eon as the void walker continued to scream, reaching for its severed hand. But in a last act of defiance, Eon spat on the hand, managing to kick it out of arm's reach, using the last dregs of his enhanced speed.

A booming laugh echoed behind him, but Eon ignored it. Right as the void walker turned, reaching for the hand once more, he lunged, letting go of his frozen sword and planting Giraffe's shearing dagger into the base of the psionic's skull. The brain stem was severed instantly, cooked as Eon flared the spark emitter's charges and worked his way into its brain.

"Oh no…" the deep voice said as an invisible field wrapped itself around Eon's throat, forcing him into the air. "You really shouldn't have done that."

"Fuck you—" Eon faltered as Arc Energy from his kill flowed into him.

"Told you so," the enforcer laughed.

Fuck everything! Eon screamed as the energy tore apart his molecules. Briefly he was aware of his holo-watch exploding when an arc from its lightning crystal entered the remnants of his body.