(click to enlarge)
Ghost, walking a step ahead, stopped dead. His holo-pad flickered to life, projecting a frantic, glitching emergency stream from the HEXA Herald.
On the screen, Lisa Liemawr’s face was a mask of terror and adrenaline. “—life on the line to bring you the truth while I still can!” The camera feed spun wildly, revealing the cramped interior of a speeding EV. A barely conscious Kyra was slumped in the passenger seat, and at the wheel, Kyle Baek cursed as he wrenched the vehicle around a corner.
“What the hell!” Plague spat, his gaze snapping from the chaotic feed to the flashing lights now visible just a few blocks away.
Lisa’s voice crackled, distorted by signal interference. “Reporting live from the edge of the Forbidden Zone! It’s not radioactive! There are no biohazards! That’s right, folks—it’s all a government lie!”
Through the feed, they could hear the amplified, metallic voice of law enforcement booming from a bullhorn: “PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY.”
“What’s really inside the Zone is monsters!” Lisa screamed over the engine’s whine. “The government has a pact with them! Our boy, Yoon Jihoon—he’s the first person to escape that place alive, and they set him on fire for it!”
The friends stared at each other, the wild accusation hanging in the air. Spontaneous combustion. A secret pact with monsters. It was insane. But the image of Jihoon, broken and burned in a hospital bed, made it impossible to dismiss.
“I’m sorry, Dragonlets,” Lisa pleaded, her voice breaking. “I was a coward, but not anymore! I have proof! I recorded the whole call when I was being blackmailed to cover up the truth. It was none other than Dr. Ginevra—”
The stream died. The screen went black.
Ghost’s hologram gloves flashed, projecting his urgent signs into the air. “GIN AESTHETICA.”
At the far end of the street, a blockade of enforcement vehicles materialized, their lights painting the asphalt in strobing reds and blues. Lisa’s EV screeched around the corner, hurtling directly toward them.
What happened next was a blur of metal and motion.
A lone figure stepped out from the blockade, impossibly tall and broad-shouldered. He faced the oncoming car alone and raised a single, commanding hand. The universal sign to stop.
Kyle swerved. The EV’s tires shrieked as it clipped the curb, launched into the air, and rolled twice before crashing into a ditch with a gut-wrenching crunch of metal.
Echo screamed as Kyra’s broken form was thrown clear of the wreckage. Without thinking, she sprinted toward her.
Kyra hit the asphalt hard, a discarded cyborg doll. Her severed lower leg leaked a trail of inky black fluid. Echo dropped to her knees beside her, hands trembling. “Kyra! Don’t move—”
Kyra coughed, spitting a glob of black fluid that gleamed like oil in the strobing lights. Her optic sensors glitched, filling with static. With a final, desperate effort, she pressed something sharp and tiny into Echo’s palm.
“The key…” she whispered, her voice a corroded rasp. “Protect it.”
It was a chip—wafer-thin and faintly warm. Echo’s stomach lurched. She fumbled inside her jacket and pulled out a small plastic sleeve containing one of her own scavenged data chips. Her hands shook, but the motion was pure instinct. She slid the decoy chip into her pocket and sealed Kyra’s inside the protective case.
The ground vibrated with heavy footfalls. A shadow fell over them.
Acting on pure animal panic, Echo popped the plastic case into her mouth. The edges clicked against her teeth, cool and bitter. She shoved it into the soft pocket of her cheek, jaw clenched tight.
Boots crunched on shattered glass nearby.
The giant from the blockade stood over them, a towering silhouette against the riot of flashing lights. “Step aside,” he commanded. His voice was a deep, resonant baritone with an exotic accent she couldn’t place—velvet over steel. He gently but firmly lifted Echo and set her back on her feet, away from Kyra, before gesturing to a team in full hazmat gear. They descended on Kyra, sealing her into a mobile containment unit with chilling efficiency.
When the officer turned back, Echo had already scrambled behind Plague and Ghost, using them as a shield.
“What are you children doing out so late?” he asked, his gaze sweeping over them.
Plague swallowed hard, his voice trembling. “Did they… just come out of the Forbidden Zone?”
The man’s lips curved into a calm, unnerving smile. “No. No one survives the Zone. They were caught attempting entry. For their own safety, we must apprehend them for decontamination.” He lit a cigarette, the match flaring orange. The smoke that drifted from his lips carried the unsettling perfume of clove. “Do you know them?”
The three exchanged a look. “No,” they lied in unison.
The man’s gaze narrowed, settling on Echo. “You are out past curfew.”
She squeaked, trying to shrink behind Plague. “W-we’re going to the hospital. To see a friend.”
His eyes followed her gaze toward the looming glass tower of Jae Won University Hospital. “Ah. The baseball player. Lathandro.” His smile didn’t waver. “Room C, isn’t it? I heard he… caught on fire.”
A collective shiver ran down their spines. He knew.
Before anyone could react, the officer’s hand shot out and clamped around Echo’s. His grip was like iron. With a sickening pop of her knuckles, he pried her fingers open. The decoy chip she’d palmed clattered to the pavement. He brought his boot down, grinding it into glittering dust.
“A smart card. Old tech,” he observed, his smile never reaching his eyes. He blew another plume of spiced smoke into their faces. “Walk home. Forget what you saw tonight.”
He turned and walked toward the sounds of Kyle still struggling against the other officers. As he passed, the streetlights above him flickered and dimmed.
In the sudden gloom, Ghost’s hands moved, his halo gloves projecting the translation.
“His badge. It was strange.” The projected words hung in the clove-scented air. “A cobra swallowing a ball.”
The three of them stood frozen, the officer’s final, unspoken threat hanging over them. Their simple walk had spiraled into chaos, but one thing was now terrifyingly clear: Lisa wasn’t the enemy. She was fighting for Jihoon.
And the boy they were trying to save was already in the sights of the most dangerous power in New Seoul.
Spoilers below on the style card. Hehe hehe. One more chapter until we hit the end of Season 2, Escape from Club Apophis, the team almost assembled. The story may need to rest for a bit. It's been grueling. I hope you all have had fun reading. This is my last post for Cyber Fair, which is ending the 22nd. And then we must count the days before it returns once more to fill our virtual spaces shiny new coolness. .... This post was inspired by the Intimidation Wear from the event and Mr Intimdation himself, thats right, The Ruler of the Night is large in charge and doing to damage control. ...He is wearing the VoidFrame outfit in black from Gabriel. It also comes in a white version. The outfit has a Darth Vader like collar, tall gloves, pants, and sneakers. ...The weapon on the arm is the Animesh Cypher Mantis Blade. Touch it and you can turn off the animation. It has a left and right blade. There are also non-animated blade. The blades can trigger 3 poses. It comes with a hud to customize its colors. ...from MoonSha is the Neurovoid Hood, backpack and collar. it comes in multiple sizes and clothing and hair allowance fits, for men and women. It has a PBR and Non PBR texture hud. ...From Anomaly is the SkullJack Hat. I love it. it's so simple, but has beautiful PBR textures on cloth and metal plates, and it fits perfectly. ... One the rim of the cap is the Psycho:Byts CYB3 goggles. It had a hud to change its textures and colors, and its mod to get the perfect fit. There was playful button on it too, but my serious guy cop, I made them black, but they are fun feature for more playful avatars. ...Sadly, it's not too obvious in this shot, but he is also wearing the NK Store Sosumi HDJ Headphones. I figure they can double as police combination device and I love the LED gold on its edges.
On him, The Ruler of the Night:
Outfit: Gabriel ::GB:: VOIDFRAME, LegacyM Black [mesh](Cyber Fair)(580L)
Goggles: PSYCHO:Byts CYB3, Goggles [mesh](Cyber Fair)(350L)
Cap: Anomaly SkullJack Hat, white [mesh](Cyber Fair)(159L)
Backpack, hood, collar: MoonSha Neurovoid, LegacyM [mesh](Cyber Fair)(999L)
Headphones: NK Store [NK*] Sosumi HDJ Headphones [mesh](Cyber Fair)(500L)
Weapon: TERIYAKI _TRK_ Cypher Mantis Blades [ANIMESH] [mesh](Cyber Fair)(999L)
Shine: [AURO] Cyber Corpus - Black // EVOX, Legacy [BOM][Materials Applier](450L)
BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, hi-res, midday sky (NOTE: black and gold version for the raw)
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