The hallway trembled with the hum of activating defenses. Automated turrets emerged from hidden compartments in the walls, their barrels glowing with a menacing blue light. Defense drones swarmed from the ceiling, their sleek metallic forms reflecting the pulsing energy conduits that lined the corridor.

  “Stay sharp!” Dax shouted, his plasma blades igniting with a hiss. “They’re coming in fast.”

  Elior felt the Echoes stirring within him, their anguished whispers growing louder. He clenched his fists, pushing past the mental strain. Behind him, Vera knelt by a control panel, her interface glowing as she worked furiously to override the lockdown.

  “I need five minutes,” she called out.

  “You’ve got two,” Dax replied, stepping into the center of the corridor as the first wave of drones descended.

  The drones attacked in synchronized waves, firing precise bursts of plasma that seared the air. Dax moved like a force of nature, his augmented reflexes turning him into a blur. His blades slashed through the nearest drone, severing its core and sending sparks cascading to the floor. A second drone darted behind him, its weapon primed, but Dax spun mid-strike, destroying it in a single fluid motion.

  “Keep them off me!” Vera shouted, her voice tight with concentration. Lines of code danced across her interface as she battled the tower’s security protocols.

  Elior stepped forward, his eyes glowing faintly as he summoned the Echoes. The air grew cold, and spectral forms materialized around him, their cries piercing the chaos. The drones faltered, their targeting systems glitching as the Echoes swarmed them.

  “They’re buying us time,” Elior said through gritted teeth. His body trembled, the strain of maintaining the summon taking its toll. The Echoes’ screams echoed in his mind, growing louder and more desperate with each passing second.

  As the fight raged on, a new figure emerged from the smoke-filled corridor: a towering cyborg enforcer. Its left arm had been replaced with a multi-barreled plasma cannon, and its face was a grotesque blend of human features and machine. Dax froze, recognition flashing in his eyes.

  “Rael,” he whispered, his voice laden with disbelief.

  The cyborg hesitated, tilting its head as if struggling to process the name. For a brief moment, there was a flicker of something human in its gaze. Then its cannon whirred to life, and it charged.

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  “Dax!” Vera shouted, but he was already moving.

  The two clashed in a blur of sparks and steel. Dax’s plasma blades met Rael’s cannon arm, deflecting bursts of energy that scorched the walls. The cyborg’s mechanical strength was immense, each strike forcing Dax to dig deep into his augmented reflexes to stay ahead.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Dax said, his voice pleading as he ducked beneath a devastating swing. “It’s me—Dax. You remember, don’t you?”

  For a heartbeat, the cyborg paused. Its weapon lowered slightly, and its human eye glistened with something resembling recognition. But then the Overlords’ programming reasserted itself, and Rael roared, raising its cannon for a killing blow.

  With a cry of anguish, Dax drove his blade into the cyborg’s chest, severing its power core. Sparks erupted as Rael collapsed, its body falling lifelessly to the floor. Dax knelt beside it, his hands trembling.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  “Dax, we need you!” Vera yelled, her hands flying across her interface as new security measures flooded her display. “These turrets are adapting faster than I can shut them down.”

  Dax shook himself out of his daze, rising to his feet. He sprinted back to the fight, slicing through another drone that had zeroed in on Vera.

  “I’ve got you,” he said, positioning himself between her and the advancing swarm.

  “Good,” Vera said, though her voice was strained. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she disabled another turret, only for two more to activate in its place. “Because I’m running out of tricks.”

  Elior staggered, his vision blurring as the Echoes’ cries reached a fever pitch. “Vera, we need those turrets down now,” he said, his voice barely audible.

  “I’m trying!” Vera snapped, her fingers a blur. With a final keystroke, she sent a surge of counter-code into the system. The turrets powered down, their glowing barrels dimming as they folded back into the walls.

  Vera slumped against the console, her chest heaving. “Turrets down. For now.”

  As the last drone fell, a deep, resonant voice echoed through the corridor. It wasn’t human, but it carried an unsettling authority that sent shivers down their spines.

  “Intruders detected,” the voice said, each word vibrating through the walls. “You have disrupted the sanctity of the System. You will not proceed further.”

  The energy conduits along the walls flared, casting the corridor in a blinding light. The floor beneath them began to shift, panels rearranging themselves into a maze-like pattern.

  “It knows we’re here,” Elior said, his voice tinged with dread.

  “No kidding,” Vera replied, forcing herself to stand. “We need to keep moving before it traps us.”

  Dax glanced back at Rael’s lifeless form, a flicker of pain crossing his face. Then he turned to the others, his jaw set. “Let’s finish this.”

  The trio pushed forward, the corridor shifting and reshaping around them as the Overlords’ hive mind manipulated the environment. The fight was far from over, and the path ahead was fraught with danger, but their resolve remained unshaken.

  As the voice echoed once more, promising their annihilation, they steeled themselves for whatever came next.