The cold air inside the Core felt heavier now. The low hum of the servers echoed around them, but it was the pulse that echoed louder in Ethan's mind. It was stronger. Faster. And with every beat, Ethan felt it spread deeper through his veins.
"Ethan..."
Lena's voice was quiet, but the concern was undeniable.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Ethan blinked, forcing himself to stay present.
"Yeah," he murmured, but his throat was dry, and his pulse was pounding harder than it should have been.
Lena didn't look convinced.
"Because you don't look okay."
Ethan exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.
"I'm fine," he insisted, but the words felt heavier with each passing moment.
Because deep down...
He knew he wasn't.
"You're adapting."
Crowe's voice echoed softly in his mind, steady but growing more familiar.
"The Codex is rewriting you, Ethan. Faster than I expected."
Ethan's jaw clenched as a faint tremor ran down his spine.
"Let's move," he murmured, pushing the thoughts aside.
Lena glanced at him, her gaze lingering for a moment longer than usual, but she said nothing.
Dorian was already at the terminal, closing down the holo-display that had revealed Crowe's protocols.
"We've got what we came for," Dorian murmured. "Now we need to get out before—"
A sudden jolt shook the chamber.
The hum of the servers cut out.
For a moment...
Silence.
Then—
"Security override engaged. Intruders detected."
Lena's pulse pistol was up in a flash.
"Dorian?" Her voice was sharp.
"Not me," Dorian murmured, his eyes narrowing as his cybernetic implants scanned the system.
Ethan's instincts screamed danger.
"Shut it down," Ethan ordered, his voice tight.
"Trying," Dorian muttered, his fingers moving across the holo-interface.
But Ethan's gut told him...
It was already too late.
"You won't make it out that easily, Ethan."
Crowe's voice was calm, but Ethan felt the tension beneath it.
"They know you're here."
Ethan's pulse quickened.
"Guys..." His voice was quiet, but the urgency was clear.
Lena's eyes met his, and for a brief moment, he saw the same realization.
They were out of time.
A low thrum echoed through the chamber.
Subtle at first.
But then—
THUD.
The ground trembled.
THUD.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
"Tell me that's not—" Lena's voice was barely above a whisper.
THUD.
Ethan didn't need to hear the rest.
Nemesis.
But this time...
Something was different.
"They upgraded him."
Crowe's voice was calm, but there was a hint of...
Concern.
"Get to cover!" Ethan's voice snapped through the air as the walls trembled.
The reinforced doors at the far end of the chamber hissed...
And then—
They opened.
Nemesis stepped through.
But this wasn't the same enforcer Ethan had faced before.
This version was... faster.
Stronger.
And his eyes...
They weren't just tracking movement.
They were analyzing.
Adapting.
"Shit," Dorian muttered under his breath.
"Move!" Ethan shouted, grabbing Lena's arm and pulling her behind one of the data consoles as a burst of plasma fire scorched the air.
Nemesis was already adjusting.
Its movements were... sharper.
More efficient.
It wasn't just tracking them.
It was learning.
"They upgraded his neural protocols."
Crowe's voice was sharper now.
"He's adapting faster than before."
Ethan's pulse pounded harder as he peeked around the console.
Nemesis was calculating.
"Dorian, override his systems!" Ethan barked, his voice tight.
"I'm trying!" Dorian's fingers flew across the holo-interface, but the data streams fought back—encrypted beyond anything they had seen before.
"Ethan!"
Lena's voice pulled him back as a plasma blast tore through the console, narrowly missing her.
"Move!"
Ethan's instincts took over.
His body moved before his mind could process it.
He ducked low, dodging the next blast with precision that...
Wasn't his.
Crowe's reflexes.
"You feel it now, don't you?"
Crowe's voice was almost... satisfied.
"The Codex is guiding you."
Ethan's jaw clenched as another plasma bolt sailed past him.
"Ethan!"
Lena's voice was strained now, her pulse pistol firing in controlled bursts, but Nemesis barely slowed.
"Use it."
Crowe's voice was calmer now.
"Stop fighting it, Ethan. Let the Codex do what it was meant to do."
Ethan's breathing quickened.
"If you don't... you'll die."
Time slowed.
Ethan's grip on his pulse blade tightened.
The pulse in his veins was stronger now—faster, more insistent.
And in that moment...
He stopped resisting.
The merge took hold.
Ethan's vision sharpened.
The trajectory of Nemesis's next shot was already calculated in his mind.
Instinct.
Ethan moved.
Faster.
He pivoted, dodging the plasma blast with inhuman precision.
Stronger.
His pulse blade ignited, and his movements flowed with a grace that wasn't entirely his own.
"You're ready, Ethan."
Crowe's voice was steady now.
"It's time to stop running."
"Ethan?"
Lena's voice echoed behind him, laced with...
Fear.
But Ethan didn't have time to explain.
Because Nemesis was already adjusting.
"Let's end this."
Ethan's grip tightened.
His mind was clear.
But the line between himself and Crowe...
Was beginning to blur.
---