Cael's heart pounded as he glanced at the control panel. The mechanism opening the door was slow, too slow. There was no way it would open before this thing turned him into a red smear on the ground.
The warning lights above the final bulkhead pulsed in steady red flashes, painting the metallic corridor with stuttering veins of crimson. A grinding hum filled the space as the massive door began to slide open, inch by aching inch. The world beyond remained out of reach, close enough to see, but too far to touch.
Cael's bare feet scraped against the floor as he walked forward, his chest heaving and his breath ragged. The cold, recycled air tasted like dust and ozone. Behind him, freedom crept closer. In front of him, death walked without hurry.
The Black Herald stepped through the crumbling corridor, frame too broad for the walls it passed. Its armor was seamless and obsidian-dark, parts shifting with unnatural grace. Every step it took carried the weight of certainty, reminding Cael of the consequences of failure.
[Door unlocking sequence engaged. 42 seconds to completion,] Nyx reported, calm as ever.
"I'm not sure I can last forty seconds against this thing."
[Probability of physical defeat: 94%.]
Cael let out a short humorless laugh at that. "Is that so? Well then, I guess I better start making up that six percent."
He dropped into a low stance, unarmed but alert. His body moved without instruction, shoulders square, knees bent, weight evenly distributed. He didn't know the form, but it felt natural. Like he'd trained for this his entire life without ever remembering a lesson.
The Guard charged and Cael instantly saw his very brief life flash before his eyes. It moved like a nightmare in fast-forward, shoulder-first, spear retracted into a built-in gauntlet that emitted a sudden burst of blue light. Cael threw himself aside, and the gauntlet tore through the wall where he'd stood sending sparks flying.
He rolled to his feet and sprinted to the opposite end of the chamber. There were no weapons anywhere he looked. Just a handful of shattered panels and broken conduits strewn across the floor. The Guard turned slowly, locking onto him again.
Cael lunged for one of the metal panels. It was warped with edges jagged but at this point, anything would work for him. He gripped it with both hands and as the Guard rushed again, Cael sidestepped and slammed the plate against its arm.
It did not even flinch. Instead, the impact vibrated through his bones. The panel tore from his hands and clanged uselessly across the floor.
The Guard turned and struck but Cael ducked under the arm and drove his elbow into the machine's side. His body reacted with precision, hips rotating, force compacted into the strike. The blow connected, but the Guard barely moved.
The counter came instantly. The back of the android's fist caught Cael across the jaw. He flew back, skidding across the floor and slamming into the bulkhead wall beside the door. White flashed behind his eyes and blood filled his mouth.
[Internal damage within tolerance. Brain and concussive trauma avoided. Neural reflexes compensating.]
"All that from a single blow? I definitely cannot get hit by too many of those."
The Guard advanced again. Cael pushed off the wall and pivoted around the machine, aiming for its legs this time. He ducked low, kicking at the back of its knee. A subtle shift in its balance told him the strike landed true.
[Destabilization confirmed. Joint rotation impaired by 4%.]
The message on his interface made Cael smile faintly. It wasn't much. But it was something.
The Guard twisted, catching Cael mid-motion and slamming him to the ground. Cael barely managed to twist his shoulder into the fall, absorbing the impact as best he could. Pain lit up his side and he rolled away just as the android brought its arm down, cratering the floor where he'd landed.
He scrambled to his feet, chest heaving, body bruised and slick with sweat. His hands burned from abrasion and impact. But the door—
[18 seconds remaining.]
It was almost open.
The Guard advanced again, but slower now. Its gait was slightly off, his earlier strike had damaged something. That gave Cael an idea.
He sprinted for the far side of the chamber and kicked a loose conduit across the floor. The metal rod clanged and slid loudly across the surface. The Herald's sensors tracked the noise, just for a split second.
That was all he needed.
Cael sprinted forward, zig-zagging low and fast. The Herald turned just in time to intercept him, but Cael dropped flat, sliding under its outstretched arm. He popped up at its flank and slammed his heel into its knee again, then vaulted away before it could retaliate.
The Herald staggered.
[Six seconds.]
"Come on, come on..."
[Four.]
Cael dashed toward the slowly rising door. A sliver of the outside world peeked through, dull daylight filtered through smoke and dust. The air beyond looked clean and untouched.
He heard the Guard behind him, sprinting now. Its footsteps shook the floor with each stride. But he did not dare turn back.
[One second.]
The door lock disengaged.
The bulkhead creaked and groaned, shuddering as it reached full lift. Cael dove forward, tumbling into the threshold.
At the last second, the Guard lunged. The spear reforged itself in its hand, giving it extra reach to get to its prey.
Cael twisted and slammed his foot into the control panel just inside the exit. Sparks flew as the override snapped. The door dropped immediately, too quickly for the Guard to pass, but too fast for it to retreat.
Its arm, outstretched, ended up caught in the closing gap and instantly dropped to the ground.
Cael rolled to his feet just beyond the threshold as the door slammed shut behind him with a heavy, final clunk. The sound echoed through the surface chamber like a vault locking shut.
The machine's arm, now severed at the joint, fell to the floor beside him in a twitching heap. The spear had fallen out of its dead grip, the shaft sleek and lined with circuits that led into the blue power core at the head of the weapon.
He picked up the spear and stepped away slowly, every limb shaking from the effort. His legs threatened to give out, but the hot and more importantly fresh air rushing into the tunnel outside kept him upright.
Gray light poured through the accessway. He stumbled forward and was met with the sky. For the first time, he saw it with his own eyes even though he had memories of it in his head. It was incredibly vast, pale and looked unforgiving. The world outside was ruined, but real. The wind hit his face, and it carried the bite of ash and sand.
He didn't know where he was going.
But he was out.