Dead mutants below. Twisted bodies. Wings torn, limbs bent at angles no god ever intended.
But somewhere deeper in this place… Epsilon’s runnin’.
Good.
Let him.
Chasin’s the part I like.
Blood squelches under my boots when I drop to the arena floor. It’s everywhere—slick, congealed, steamin’. Mutant limbs twitch in piles, wings still flutterin’ like they don’t know they’re dead. I keep the Versi at high-ready, barrel smokin’, nerves buzzin’ from overload, ears ringin’ from the last scream that hasn’t quite faded yet.
This is cleanup, not victory.
I breathe out, a low growl in my throat. Confidence isn’t peace—it’s pressure, coiled tight. I scan the bodies one last time. Then turn, find the nearest tunnel mouth—black, gapin’, stinkin’ of metal and meat.
And I walk in without lookin’ back.
It’s cold in here. Damp, too. Metal pipes above are drippin’ and hissin’. The whole place stinks of rot and stale coolant. I pause at the first corner, shoulder to the wall, eyes scanning the dark. Nothing moves.
OK. They ran. That’s fine. I’m gonna clean them up no matter where they try and hide. Then I’m gonna hunt down Epsilon and we’re out.
Easy.
Blinkin’, I trigger the PhaseTether on my data display so the plan I’ve been concoctin’ in my head the last few days can play out.
Time to end this shit.
But instead of the usual data flash tellin’ me it’s online, I get a flicker and a message…
UPDATE REQUIRED:It has been 2972 days since your last update.
UPDATING MOD...
STAND BY.
I lower my Versi—lookin’ at it. “Really? You’re gonna do this to menow?”
1%...
“This is not cool.”
PREPARING PROMOTIONAL PACKAGE…
Oh no.
No no no?—
As if to mock me, the speaker on the Versi comes to life, emulating a carnival-barker-like pitch, tryin’ to sell me a newer version.
“Step right up, step right up! Feast your eyes on the crown jewel of forbidden warfare, the myth, the menace, thePhaseTether 7.77!”
“For fuck’s sake!” I shake the weapon, hopin’ the gyro might kick in and knock the update offline.
Doesn’t work.
“Not your daddy’s bullet, no sir—this little beauty doesn’tkillthe enemy, it unhooks 'em from reality!”
5%...
