Chapter 160: Feathered Feelings
Vira stepped forward again. The blood from her coat soaked into the metal floor, trailing behind her.
"You’re leashed," she said. "Just like them."
She gestured with one hand toward the guards. Their movements shifted again—another inch, another twitch. Elias could see it clearly now. Their fingers didn’t grip with purpose. Their stance didn’t carry intent. Something else had taken over, and whatever it was didn’t care how much flesh was left holding them upright.
Magma hissed once on Asurik’s shoulder. The sound was low. Just steam meeting cold air.
Asurik spoke again.
"Back off, Vira."
Elias didn’t move.
His hands stayed raised, elbows tense. The question still sat between them—What’s your play?—echoing softer now, but no lighter. The words hadn’t left the air yet. They pressed against the walls, held in by the low hum of Cube X’s systems.
Vira stood with one boot still inside the hall. Her crimson serpent Ikona coiled tighter around her arm. Blood trailed from its mouth in slow lines, thick and quiet. She didn’t wipe it away. The smile she wore didn’t shift—it just stayed there, thin and sharp, like it didn’t need to grow to cut.
Asurik hadn’t moved either. His magma Ikona curled low across his shoulder, the red lines along its body glowing slightly brighter now, painting the cracks in the pod screen with faint, uneven color. Behind her, the guards still stood in place. Blood had soaked down past their boots. It followed the tile seams, pooling in slow, sticky patches across the floor. Their eyes streamed red without blinking.
Elias’s shard gave another pulse in his chest—slower than before, but deeper. He could feel the weight of it pushing against his ribs. Dot stayed close, her glow low but steady. The soft hum beneath her light gave him something to hold onto. The air felt heavier now. Not just from the blood—but from the sensors embedded in the walls, still humming. Somewhere nearby, PP 72554. Cube X’s surveillance didn’t blink either.