Blood and Sparks: The Edge of Power-Chapter 19: The Black Signal

The subway tunnel swallowed us whole, sealing us in its cold, breathless dark. The deeper we ran, the more the war above faded, the chaos of the city burning, the firestorms licking at the hollow skeletons of buildings, the distant screams buried under the thunder of Skraith bombardments. The earth above quaked with every impact, dust shaking loose from the cracked ceiling, but here—down here—everything was wrong.

Not just empty.

Hollow.

The air felt like something alive had slithered through it, curling against my skin, leaving behind the sensation of something that wasn't really there but had just passed by. Thicker than air should be. Heavier.

The tunnel walls stretched into shadows too deep to be normal, the flickering emergency lights casting erratic shapes across damp stone, twisting into forms my mind refused to register. Like something was standing there, just out of sight.

I forced myself forward, gripping my weapon tighter. The rifle hummed against my palms, its pulse matching the kinetic charge buzzing beneath my skin, thrumming in my muscles, threading into the marrow of my bones.

Every movement felt sharper. Stronger.

More alive.

And yet, there was no sound.

I could see Liv ten feet ahead of me, her fingers crackling with electric energy, blue sparks snapping against the walls as she moved. I could see Tucker adjusting his grip on Rylan, shifting the unconscious man's weight, his free hand gripping his machete. I could see Jace limping beside him, struggling to keep up, each step stiff with pain from bruised ribs.

But I couldn't hear them.

Their boots on the damp concrete—silent.

The ragged sound of their breathing—gone.

Even my own heartbeat, hammering against my ribs—missing.

The tunnel had taken it all.

A pressure built behind my eyes, like something pressing against my skull.

I reached up, pressing two fingers to my temple, trying to shake the sensation, but it only deepened.

The silence wasn't just silence.

It was a void.

A hollowing.

Like something had stolen the air, the weight of existence itself, leaving behind nothing but the cold realization that we weren't alone.

System Alert: Active Status Update

Mimicry Active: Tier 1 Kinetic Energy Manipulation.

Output Optimized: +35% Kinetic Efficiency.

Physical Enhancement: 65% Durability, 55% Strength Increase (Stable).

Energy Weapon Analysis: 94% Complete.

Government Hostiles: 5 Meters.

Psionic Presence: 100 Meters.

Potential Superhuman Interest: 25 Meters.

The pressure in my head tightened.

Like fingers curling into my mind.

A slow, dragging pull, like something was trying to reach in.

I clenched my jaw, tightening my grip on the rifle. The green glow pulsed brighter, mirroring the electric tension spreading through my body, the energy syncing with the unnatural hum in my blood.

Then—

The tunnel bent inward.

Not physically. Mentally.

The walls warped, the stone shifting like something was watching through it.

The emergency lights flickered wildly, erratic and chaotic—but not random.

Patterned.

Not a malfunction. A message.

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A code.

The system in my head flashed another alert.

System Warning: Psionic Interference Detected.

Cognitive Disruption Level: Critical.

Analysis: 90% Complete.

Recommended Actions: Engage. Evade. Submit.

"What the hell does 'submit' mean?"

My breathing came fast and uneven, but I couldn't hear it. My throat was dry, like ash had settled inside my lungs.

Then—

A whisper.

Not a sound. Not a voice.

A presence.

A weight, pressing into my skull, curling into my thoughts like it had always been there, waiting for me to notice.

Not words. Not speech.

Something deeper.

Something old.

"You are not like them."

The kinetic energy spiked in my blood.

A surge of raw force tore through me, an involuntary reaction, like my body recognized something my mind couldn't yet comprehend. My muscles vibrated at a frequency that wasn't my own.

And the thing in the dark felt it.

The tunnel stretched further, the walls peeling back, revealing something that had always been there.

Not a shadow.

Not a figure.

An absence.

Like something had been cut out of existence itself, leaving behind a hollow shape where something else should have been.

And it was looking at me.

"You see me."

It wasn't speaking. It was pulling thoughts from my head, reshaping them into something I could understand.

A sharp, scraping sensation dragged through my skull.

Not pain. Recognition.

Like this thing had known me long before I had known myself.

The energy weapon in my hands vibrated, the green pulse flickering in rapid bursts, syncing with the hum in my chest.

The void did not move.

But I felt it lean closer.

"You are changing."

A violent spasm of energy ripped through my nerves, every muscle in my body locking up.

The system in my head flashed warning after warning, alerts cascading too fast to register. My vision blurred for a fraction of a second—long enough for me to feel my body shift into a state that wasn't entirely my own.

And the thing in the dark felt it.

It did not attack.

It waited.

Like it was testing something. Me.

Then—

Sound came crashing back.

A gunshot.

Liv screaming my name.

Tucker cursing.

The tunnel shook violently, concrete groaning, the air thick with static. The void lurched backward, peeling away from reality.

And for the first time—

I heard it scream.

Not like a Skraith.

Not like a human.

Something wrong.

Something that wasn't meant to be heard.

The sound ripped through my mind, shattering my thoughts like glass, a piercing, hollowed-out shriek that carried no breath, no vibration, only raw force.

And then—

Silence.

The weight in my skull lifted.

Just enough for me to breathe again.

Liv grabbed my arm, her electricity still snapping at her fingertips. Her voice cut through the haze, raw and urgent.

"Kai, what the hell was that?!"

I didn't answer.

Because my system had finally finished its analysis.

And for the first time since I'd woken up with this tech in my blood—

It didn't have an answer.

System Report: Psionic Analysis Complete.

Entity Status: Undefined.

Threat Level: Unknown.

Potential Mimicry Interaction: Compatible.

Compatible?

The word settled cold in my chest.

This thing—this void—had let me go.

But it hadn't left.

It had acknowledged me.

And we weren't done.

Not even close.

I turned to the others, my voice steady even though my hands weren't.

"We need to move. Now."