The comm device crackled in my hand, Damian's voice swallowed by waves of static. I clenched it tighter, the shrill white noise filling the silence like the foreboding hum of a ticking bomb.
"Damian? Hey… are you there? Damian!"
The transmission screamed—raw, guttural, desperate. It wasn't just a sound. It was a tearing cry that burned through the static, something primal and filled with agony. It sent my pulse racing, the blood roaring in my ears.
"Damian, answer me!"
Nothing but static.
This wasn't just any mission. This wasn't some stranger lost in GAIA's endless grind. This was family. Damian. The person who held this fractured world together for me and Brixley. And now, he was out there, fighting for his life in a tower designed to chew people up and spit them out.
I couldn't wait. Not for GAIA, not for anyone. If I didn't act, Damian would die.
"Accept mission," I said, my voice sharp, cutting through the chaos in my head.
The HUD flickered to life, casting my face in cold light. The mission prompt appeared, stark and unforgiving:
[Mission: Tower Guardian]
Rank: S
Objective: Save the Tower Guardian from destruction by otherworldly creatures within 12 hours.
Bonus Objective: Complete the mission undetected by GAIA.
Failure Consequences: Imminent destruction of your world.
A countdown began. 11:59:58. Time was already slipping through my fingers.
The tension coiled tighter in my chest. GAIA's eyes were everywhere. If I charged in as Noah Adler, I might as well paint a target on my back. I needed a disguise. Something flawless. Something untouchable.
"Codebreaker," I commanded, the words rolling off my tongue like a lifeline. "Create new Mask ID."
For a second, the system hesitated, and I thought it might fail me in the one moment I couldn't afford it. But then, the interface pulsed with life:
[Mask ID Created. Please name the new ID.]
A name surfaced in my mind, unbidden and sharp. A relic of a past life, a ghost from my hacker days.
"Khaos."
[Mask ID updated: Khaos.]
[Configure Class, Rank, and Talent?]
I tapped the options quickly, my thoughts racing. GAIA knew Noah Adler as a Technomancer. I couldn't use that. I needed something adjacent enough to explain slip-ups but distinct enough to throw the system off.
"Class: Mech Summoner. Talent: Mage. Rank: SS."
The stats materialized before me, randomized but formidable. Combat-ready. Dangerous. Just what I needed.
Khaos (Mask ID)
Class: Mech Summoner (Rare)
Talent: Mage
Rank: SS
DA: 88 | EA: 90
STR: 95 | INT: 90 | WIL: 99 | AGI: 92 | END: 95 | LCK: 80
I felt the weight of the mask settle over me as I activated the system cloaking. It wasn't a physical sensation, but it might as well have been—a second skin, hiding my true self behind layers of data. I was no longer Noah Adler. I was Khaos.
[Switching to Khaos...]
[Cloaking Active.]
A faint grin tugged at my lips. "Hang in there, Damian. I'm coming."
********
The Tower loomed ahead, a jagged spire that pierced the skyline like a blade. Energy crackled around its base, the portal shimmering ominously. It wasn't my first time seeing a tower, but this one felt different. Larger. More alive.
"Damn, that's... overcompensating," I muttered, swallowing the tightness in my throat. I wasn't here to admire architecture.
I stepped through the portal. The transition was instant, like stepping from one world into another. The air inside was heavy, thick with static, and the faint scent of blood clung to every breath.
The map on my HUD lit up, guiding me to Level 45—Damian's last known location. My steps quickened, boots crunching against the shattered remains of weapons and charred debris. This wasn't just a mission. This was a massacre.
[Deploying Drone Swarm.]
The drones zipped ahead, sleek and silent, feeding me a real-time view of the carnage. And then, as one of the drones hovered closer to the wreckage, I saw it.
Really saw it.
Grotesque creatures crawled over the wreckage—chitinous limbs, yellow eyes glowing with malicious intent.
[Intruder Detected: Serak Sentinels.]
Origin: Serakis Planet, Denith Cosmos.
Rank: B.
Weakness: Physical Attacks, Firepower.
One of the Serak Sentinels turned its head toward the drone, its segmented body shifting unnaturally as it scanned the area. Its exoskeleton gleamed under the dim light, intricate patterns etched across its surface like some twisted work of art. Mandibles clicked together, and a low, guttural growl emanated from its chest.
My breath hitched, my body frozen in place. I'd seen images of creatures like this in textbooks, holographic lessons drilled into us about the "extra-cosmos threats."
But this? Seeing it in the flesh?
It was nothing like those sterile, pixel-perfect renderings.
This thing wasn't just a creature out of a data file. It was alive. Predatory.
"Holy…," I whispered, unable to tear my eyes from it. My stomach twisted, an unsettling cocktail of awe and revulsion. "This is real. It's actually real."
"Aliens," I muttered, my lips curling into a smirk. "And B-rank at that? I was hoping for a challenge."
A bitter laugh bubbled up before I could stop it.
Of course, GAIA would sanitize the terror, package it into something palatable for classroom consumption. They didn't show you the smell of burnt flesh or the way these things moved, jerky and wrong, like something that had crawled out of a nightmare.
The alien's yellow eyes narrowed, its gaze locking onto the drone with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine. Then it lunged, its claws slicing through the air with terrifying precision.
The drone's feed cut out.
"Well, shit," I muttered, my heart hammering against my ribs. My grip tightened around the controls. "Time to see if you're as ugly dead as you are alive."
"EMP Barrage," I whispered, commanding the drones. The air erupted with a shockwave, the sentinels spasming as their bodies overloaded.
I wasn't about to waste time.
"Mecha Suit, activate."
The suit materialized around me in a flash, locking into place with a satisfying click. My HUD lit up, tactical data scrolling rapidly. I flexed my fingers, feeling the suit's power surge through me.
"Great, my first alien brawl. Nothing like breaking in a new mecha suit on alien trash. Let's make it memorable," I said, lunging forward with a smirk.
The first swing shattered a sentinel into fragments, its glowing eyes dimming as it crumpled to the ground. Another lunged, only to be met with a gauntlet-powered punch that sent it flying into a wall.
The drones flanked me, picking off stragglers with precision fire. It wasn't a fight. It was a slaughter.
When the last creature fell, the HUD pinged with a faint heat signature deeper within the level. My pulse quickened.
Damian.
I found him slumped against a wall, his armor battered and blood smearing his face. He was alive, but barely.
"Damian," I breathed, crouching beside him. My suit's med-drone activated, stabilizing his vitals as I scanned the area for threats.
[Tower Guardian Under Siege.]
The crystalline core flickered in the distance, its energy shield cracking under the assault of more invaders.
I stood, fists clenched. "Stay with me, big bro."
"Drone Swarm: Offensive Formation."
The drones zipped into action, raining fire on the invaders. I charged, my suit's electromagnetic barrier absorbing the brunt of their attacks.
"Overload Pulse!"
A surge of energy erupted from my suit, frying the remaining enemies. The core stabilized, its flickering light returning to full strength.
But the victory was short-lived. My HUD flashed red.
[Warning: Anomaly Detected.]
[GAIA Surveillance Active.]
My chest tightened. GAIA was watching. It knew something was off.
"Time to go," I muttered, hoisting Damian onto my shoulder. I couldn't afford to stay. Not with GAIA's eyes on me.
As the portal shimmered ahead, I knew this wasn't the end. The real battle was just beginning.