The blast shattered glass, tore through concrete, and sent the quartet flying in a chaos of smoke and flame. Ra hit the ground hard, rolled, and came up on her knees, vision spinning. Sovereign’s shield had automatically deployed over her, crackling as debris pelted it.

Erik landed with a feline twist midair and rolled to his feet blade-drawn. Tyler crouched in front of Ra, blood trailing from a fresh gash on his temple. Sovereign had taken the brunt of the blast, protecting all three. He rose slowly, his synthetic skin flickering with glitches, one optic dimmed.

“Unmarked mercs!” Erik growled. “At least a dozen!”

“Correction,” Sovereign said, voice glitching. “Fifteen. Four rooftop, eleven on ground. Two with quantum disruptors.”

Ra clenched her fists. “Then we fight.”

Tyler grinned despite the blood. “Now you’re talking, princess.”

The warehouse doors were kicked in. Black-clad assailants flooded in, moving in military synchronicity. They wore no insignias—only death in their mirrored visors. Laser fire erupted.

Ra raised her hand and flung a column of radiant energy. It slammed into the first wave, sending bodies flying like ragdolls. Erik darted forward, slashing with his vibro-blade, a whirling blur of rage and elegance.

Sovereign moved with precision, phasing through attacks, disarming one after another with mechanical grace. “Avoid fatalities,” he commanded.

“Tell that to them!” Tyler snapped, baring fangs and lunging at a merc wielding a disruptor. He bit down on the man's neck, then spun, flinging him aside like a toy.

Ra ducked under plasma fire, flipped a crate, and rolled behind it. Her mind pulsed with power—She could feel the leyline under the city humming, calling to her.

“Ra, don’t you dare,” Sovereign warned, recognizing the energy spike.

“I said I wanted everything,” she growled, eyes going violet. She reached into the Earth, into the stars, and ripped. A glowing shockwave burst outward. The mercs stumbled, cried out, and several collapsed as their tech fried.

Then she saw him.

A tall merc, not fighting—just watching. No helmet. Familiar eyes. Crimson irises.

“Lucien,” she breathed.

Erik turned just in time to block an incoming blade, but he faltered. “Lucien’s dead.”

Lucien smirked. “You should’ve aimed for the heart.”

Ra’s powers faltered for a second—just enough.

A disruptor beam hit her square in the back.

She screamed as her body arched and convulsed. Tyler caught her before she hit the floor, fangs out, eyes glowing. “No one touches her!”

Erik tackled the attacker, smashing his skull into the wall.

Sovereign knelt beside Ra, voice trembling. “Rebooting neural core. Stay with me, Ra.”

But her body pulsed with chaotic light, like a star breaking apart.

“She’s destabilizing,” Sovereign said. “Her DNA’s splitting timelines. We need to ground her now.”

Lucien chuckled from the shadows. “Or let her break and rebuild as she was always meant to.”

Tyler’s jaw tightened. “Fuck that.”

He pressed his lips to hers.

Electricity exploded between them. Her body lifted off the floor. For a heartbeat, she was pure light. A scream ripped through the air—not hers.

Lucien staggered back, burned by her radiance.

Ra landed in Tyler’s arms, breathing hard. “You kissed me.”

“You needed me.”

Sovereign helped her up, hand trembling. “That’s not protocol.”

Erik stepped in, eyes wild. “Fuck protocol.”

All three men now stood around her, breathing hard, bloodied, wanting.

Lucien watched with amusement. “How poetic. Torn between a machine, a wolf, and a vampire. And yet... you were born for something far more feral.”

He pulled a blade from his side—made of obsidian and screaming souls.

Ra stepped forward, eyes blazing. “Then come see what happens when a goddess remembers her name.”

She charged, and the battle began again—but this time, the warehouse couldn't contain it.

To be continued...