50 seconds to Self-Destruct.
The alarms were deafening, a shrill, metallic scream that filled the research hall. Red emergency lights strobed, casting long, bloody shadows over the fallen androids.
"Ray, we have to go! Now!" Elara shouted, her face pale as she checked her tablet. "The blast radius will level half of the High City!"
Viper was already sprinting back toward the elevator wreckage. "I'm not dying for a battery! Good luck, kid!"
Ray didn't move. He stood before the spinning blue sphere, his hand still pressed against the magnetic glass. He could feel the core's heartbeat—fast, erratic, and suffocating. It wasn't a machine; it was a captured spirit of the earth, dying in a cage of wires.
"Mana Circuit: Soul-Link," Ray whispered.
Instead of pulling his hand away, he pushed his violet mana into the core. The blue energy flared, fighting him at first, then suddenly—it recognized him. The ancient signature of Arkanos flowed through the connection like a long-lost melody.
30 seconds.
"System Override: Forbidden Protocol," Ray's voice grew deep, echoing with the power of a thousand years.
The magnetic dampeners began to glow white-hot. Ray's skin started to crack under the pressure, violet light leaking from his veins. He wasn't just stopping the explosion; he was 'eating' the blast. He was absorbing the entire output of a city-sized reactor into his own teenage body.
"Ray! Stop! You'll explode!" Elara screamed, tears streaming down her face.
10 seconds.
The hall was filled with a blinding white light. The sound of the alarm vanished, replaced by a heavy, absolute silence. Ray felt his consciousness expanding, seeing every wire, every pipe, and every citizen of Science City as if they were part of a giant, dying circuit.
1...
The countdown stopped. The red lights died. The blue core was no longer spinning; it was gone.
Ray stood in the center of the room, his clothes tattered and his body smoking. In the center of his chest, a small, crystalline blue spark was embedded under his skin—a 'Mini-Nexus'.
"He... he absorbed it," Elara whispered, stepping out from behind the pillar.
Ray turned to look at her. His eyes were no longer just violet; they were a swirling galaxy of blue and purple. He looked down at his hands, which were now covered in intricate, glowing silver tattoos—the 'Seal of the Nexus'.
"The city is dark," Ray said, his voice strangely calm.
Outside the windows, the high-rise towers of the High City were plunged into a terrifying, absolute blackness. Ray hadn't just saved the facility; he had stolen the city's heart.
"Now," Ray said, a cold smirk touching his lips. "Let's see how long their 'Science' lasts without its stolen soul."