Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here

/Sing, sing, little bird

Let your little wings take flight

Let your little voice be heard

As you fly through that long night/

/Sing, sing, little Nova

Let your tiny spark grant light

Let your life breathe ambrosia

As you burn through that long night/

I finish humming the first part of the old poem. My mother made it for me when I was very young. It's one of the few memories I have left of her. The original was very brief, just long enough for my simple mind to learn and sing along with her as she lulled me to sleep. "Nova's Lullaby", she called it. Rather ironic, considering she can give me a unique, creative name but not her own poem. I silently snicker at the thought.

/Sing, sing, little blade

Let your sharp edge cut their rope

Let their broken spirits fade

As you snuff out their last hope/

/Sing, sing, little knife

Let me sink you in a neck

Let me carve you out a life

As you gift me my next check/

I hum the last piece of my poem. I added onto it throughout the years, letting it grow in the same way that I grew. It represents who I was, and what I became. In retrospect, it's rather silly - I never claimed to be good at poetry - but it's carried me through many traumatizing ordeals. Every agonizing moment of torture was spent in my headspace, humming my lullaby, as I conceptually boxed every sensation of physical pain and locked it away in a mental vault.

"Wait a minute." Record scratch. I interrupt my own thoughts, turning to Corvus.

"What?" Corvus asks, startled.

"What did he mean by that?"

"Who? By what?"

"Bryant. 'They won't need the numbers when they get the firepower'?"

"He did say we'd find out soon enough."

"Right. What did he mean by that?" My expression is confused and somewhat alarmed.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Corvus says as the elevator comes to a halt.

Another mechanical whine as a set of doors beneath us open, allowing the elevator through. As we descend into the open maw, the walls disappear, replaced by a large surrounding frame as the gears continue to steer us downward. As we exit from the under-city's ceiling, we get a very broad view of the surrounding landscape. Frozen, bleak and barren. A desolate wasteland compared to the lower-city. Dunes of ice and snow cover every cracked street and decaying building.

I've only been to the under-city twice; once for a separate drug shipment, and once to hunt down an assassination target that thought they could escape me in this hellhole. Neither of which led me anywhere near the sewer system. Both times, the landscape hadn't been nearly as bad as it is now. It's always been treacherously cold, with snowstorms roaming aimlessly, however this looks more like a permanent blizzard than a mere snowstorm.

"Looks like the weather-control systems are failing." Corvus says over the shrieking wind. The sudden drop in temperature sends a chill down my spy.

"No, they've definitely failed completely." I reply, crossing my arms against the cold. "I've never seen it this bad before."

"Before? There was a before?"

"Twice before, actually."

The elevator descends into a large maintenance building, fenced-in by an outer perimeter. It comes to a final halt in a small antechamber in the center of the building. We step off the elevator and exit the antechamber. Entering the main assembly area, we're surrounded by broken parts and machinery. Presumably, this outpost used to maintain this section of the under-city, before it was abandoned by Icarus decades ago - before it was even called the 'under-city'.

The records on how Iso-Karo came to be haven't been maintained, at least not this far from 'civilized' society. I've said before that Iso-Karo was built in layers, but there's a little bit more to it than that. From what I've gathered over the years, our city was built slowly over the course of several decades. Probably five, give or take. As each layer was added on top of the other, the higher Houses - so-called 'nobility' - would migrate upwards. As you can imagine, at one point in time the lower-city was the peak of society. Hell, that's hard for me to imagine. Eventually, the mid-city replaced it, followed by the upper-city. Each era, every layer went by a different name. Nowadays, with the upper-city having been finished for at least twenty-five years now, everyone's settled on the basic "under, lower, mid, upper" classifications.

I open the main entrance, immediately getting hit with a near-frozen breeze. I'm only somewhat insulated against the weather; I'm just now becoming aware of the several small holes scattered throughout my outfit. Long-sleeves and skin-tight leggings aren't very effective when they have holes in them, even if they're built for this weather. Especially when my cargo pants already had holes in the first place. I run a hand through my messy hair, ripped out of the braid since the crash. I feel various knots and mats of dried blood. It's enough to make me feel sick and dirty. I need a shower more than anything right now. I wouldn't doubt it if there's dried blood still stuck on my face after everything that's happened today.

We step out into the snow-laden street, surrounded by huge piles of rubble and refuse. Most of the buildings in the area have totally collapsed, replaced by aging debris covered in ice. I can barely see through the heavy snowfall. Every time I take a deep breath, I'm blinded by a cloud of frost the moment I exhale. My lungs almost burn with each breath of the frozen air. My gloves keep my hands relatively warm, but the lack of finger covers means my fingers are quickly going numb. I wiggle them, clenching and unclenching my fists, trying to retain what heat I can.

"This is the worst vacation you've ever taken me on." Corvus shouts over the shrieking wind.

"You consider this a vacation?" I let out a small laugh. I regret it immediately, my lungs burning in protest.

"That's fair." Corvus says, trying to activate his holo-map. The 3D display short-circuits from the weather, flashing in and out. "Any idea where we're at?"

"Vaguely. The map showed us how to get here, but I don't think the under-city's even mapped out enough to show us the way." I say, trying and failing to activate my own holo-map. "The sewer /should/ be close by but there's no telling from here."

I look around for a vantage point among the piles of rubble. Suddenly, I remember my hoverboard still tucked behind the small of my back. I'm honestly surprised I haven't lost it by now, all things considered. I press a button and drop it on the ground. It stops just short of landing in the snow, hovering a few inches off the ground. The two sides extend outward, lengthening the board from its compact state. I put one foot on it, then the other, both boots magnetically locking to the board.

"You've had that thing this whole time?" Corvus asks.

"Not like I've had ample opportunity to use it." I reply, taking a more aerodynamic stance on the board. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna do some scouting."

"What am I supposed to do? Wait for you?"

"Find a vantage point, do some scouting of your own. We need to split up if we're gonna find this sewer before we both freeze to death." I take off before the conversation can continue.

I zip around a corner, before angling my hoverboard upwards to get a better view. Snow covers me from head to toe as the blizzard refuses to subside. I get a couple stories off the ground, about as high as the hoverboard will allow. Between bursts of snowfall, I have a grand view of the surrounding area. Only a few buildings remain standing, so seeing over and beyond the towers of rubble is a non-issue. The problem is the heavy winds that keep blasting snow in my face, blocking my vision. I hear the wind screeching, but this time it sounds distant rather than in my face. Knowing that I'm not going to make any more progress up here, I decide to touch down at the top of one of the larger refuse towers.

I use my hands to make a little visor over my eyes as I try to look for the sewer entrance. The wind screeches again, although this time much closer than before. Ignoring it, I continue scanning. I spot another building that resembles a bunker more than anything, with two large vats behind it. A water purification center, perhaps? That would definitely be on top of, if not close, to the sewer system. Perhaps we can find the entrance in there. The moment I take my eyes off the purifier, I get that feeling again that something's off. My senses start going haywire as shadows creep in at the edge of my vision. Before I can react, I feel every bit of breath get knocked out of my lungs.

I never felt my feet leave the ground. I find myself tumbling through the air, then impacting the side of another rubble tower. I tumble down the artificial hill, unable to find my footing, my vision fading in and out. I stop rolling as soon as I hit the ground. I scramble to my feet as quickly as possible, drawing my pistol and aiming where my hoverboard is - or, was. It's gone now. I hear another shriek, this one hurting my ears bad enough that I drop my pistol. I fall to my knees, trying to keep my ears covered, but the shriek continues to pierce them.

Once the shrieking stops, I snatch the pistol off the ground, aiming in front of me. I look around, pistol pointed wherever my eyes dart to. I see nothing but snow and rubble. My vision begins to darken as I hear a loud hiss from all around me. The noise surrounds me and I can't tell where it's coming from. A dark figure approaches in front of me, shrouded by the snowstorm. I can only see an inhuman Shadow behind the wall of snow. As it gets closer, the hissing gets louder, and the shadows at the edge of my vision creep even closer.

I am afraid. For the first time in years, I feel genuine terror flowing in my veins, freezing me in place. My numbed muscles contract and contort, my hands shaking uncontrollably. Despite desperately clinging onto the pistol, my iron grip slackens. The weapon becomes heavier and heavier, ready to shake out of my hands. The closer the creature gets, the more it suffocates my spirit, like my soul is about to be snuffed out. Sweat crystallizes on my face the moment it leaves my pores. Paralyzed by the unbridled fear, I lose control of my body. My pistol falls to the ground, burying itself in the snow. The trembling in my knees is too much to bear. As my knees give out, I sink to the ground. I can only look up at the abhorrent… /being/.

Slowly, the wind's shrieking fades, drowned out as my hearing is muffled. Eventually, it disappears completely. My eyesight follows suit, the shadows at the edge of my vision creeping further in, until I'm left with nothing but a tunnel. A long, dark tunnel focused solely on the Shadow before me, inching ever closer. I struggle to catch my fleeting breath, the very air around me snuffed out as I choke and suffocate. Seeing it this close, its form mere inches from my face, my thoughts are incoherent. My mind is numb, unable to comprehend what stands before me. I have no words to describe it, except darkness. A black abyss. A null void.

I was staring into the heart of nothingness.

As I look into its gaping maw, my body no longer drawing breath, I am shocked when the Shadow violently turns away from me. Its maw is agape at something else drawing its attention. As the creature slowly crawls away from me, I instinctively take a very deep breath, the air no longer being repelled by its mere presence.

I hear a distant echo, a sound transcending the silence. Like I can hear my name, being called from a great distance. It gets closer. Closer. The wind starts shrieking again. The shadows retreat from my vision. My body no longer feels heavy. The fear subsides, but I can't help but to feel utterly powerless.

"NOVA!" The shouting snaps me out of my daze. I look up to see Corvus, firing several bursts into the beast in front of me. It hisses and roars in response.

Acting on instinct by this point, I snatch my pistol off the ground again, firing several rounds into the black mist that surrounds the Shadow's silhouette. The bullets seemingly disappear into the dark haze, but the creature roars in response. It looks back and forth between Corvus and I, as we unload into the monstrosity. It unleashes another shriek, bringing us to our knees as we instinctively try to cover our ears. Once we're incapacitated, it retreats back into the snowstorm, fleeing the area. It leaves a trail of what looks like black blood on its way out.

"What the FUCK was that?!" I yell, trying to catch my breath as I reload my weapon.

"I don't know, but it's gone now." Corvus says, reloading his.

"There's no way it's gone that easy." I shake my head. "It'll be back."

"We have to keep moving. We're gonna freeze to death soon if we don't find shelter." Corvus puts a hand on my shoulder, consoling me. "Are you okay?"

"I think I might know where the sewer is." I ignore his question. "There's a water purification facility a few blocks away. It's a small hike, but if it's not there, at least we'll have shelter."

I look around to find my hoverboard, but it's nowhere to be found. Damned creature must have destroyed it, but I'm not finding even pieces of it anywhere. I shake my head, briefly, then walk away. We make our way down the street, passing several burned out buildings. Perhaps the weather system isn't the only cause of all this debris. Something likely happened here at one point in history, but the world may never know. I sure as hell don't.

I hear another shriek in the distance. Undaunted, we keep moving, picking up our pace. My eyes dart back and forth between every crack and crevice that I can see, my handgun following my gaze. Corvus does the same, keeping a close eye on our six. I feel the hairs on my neck suddenly raise. My hoverboard, ripped in half, crashes in front of me. I'm startled as perhaps a hundred pieces of metal scatter before me. I see movement in the corner of my vision. The Shadow appears at least a hundred meters away, claiming the top of a debris mound. The creature unleashes a powerful, guttural roar, sending a nervous chill down my spine.

It retreats again, disappearing just as fast as it appeared, faster than my own eyes can track despite looking directly at it. I stare in disbelief at where it used to be. What was this creature? This… /thing/?

"It's fucking with us." I say, pushing forward despite the clear danger ahead. The hairs on my neck slowly relax.

"This might be the day that convinces me to make the switch to lethals." Corvus says, scanning the area behind us.

"You couldn't have made the switch sooner?"

"I'm a thief, not an assassin."

"Says the one who fell in love with a machine gun a few hours ago."

We make it to the end of the block. The road shifts, leading downhill. At the end of this street is the purification center. Like the maintenance depot, the property is fenced-in, with a snow-covered front yard leading to the main entrance. The trek downhill goes substantially faster as we're caught in a tailwind. Making it to the broken front gate, I slowly push open the lockless metal bars as Corvus aims his rifle past me. He moves in first as I pull up the rear. There's nothing behind us nor in front of us. This is going well. /Too well/.

I feel goosebumps on my arms, the hair on my neck raising in response. Instinctively, I face the purification center. Corvus has already stopped dead in his tracks. My senses go on high alert, /Run! RUN!/ they seem to say. The Shadow slowly crawls from behind the purification center, writhing around across the rooftop, then making its way down the wall ever-so-slowly. As its front legs make contact with the snow, they shift in and out of reality. First, they were paws sprouting razor-sharp talons. They shift into thin, spider-like legs tipped with spikes instead of feet. Once again, they shift into massive hooves, spiked like a heavy mace or a makeshift club. As the legs shift back into that of heavily muscled with paws, the darkness surrounding the creature moves to conceal it.

Corvus begins shaking, petrified as he maintains eye contact with it. Strange, considering I feel nothing now. That's when it hits me that the Shadow's attention is on Corvus. I raise my pistol but it shrieks, forcing us to our knees as it sprints towards us. I manage to fire a round in the brief moment that it stops shrieking. The cloud of darkness consumes the bullet, but it seems to have hit its mark as the creature roars in defiance. When it moves away, a tiny puddle of black blood dissolves the snow around it.

"It can only focus on us one at a time." I say, helping Corvus up and shaking him out of his brief daze.

"Can we even kill this thing?" Corvus catches his breath.

"We have to, if we want to get past it."

"How do you know it'll die?"

"It bleeds. That's enough evidence for me."

I fire several bullets at the creature, grabbing its attention. Suddenly my world goes dark as it focuses on me. The same fear and panic I felt before takes hold, and I am unable to squeeze the trigger any longer. The warmth in my blood is replaced by ice, cold shivers running up and down my spine. The sense of dread sinks to my gut, sapping every bit of energy I have. Once again, I am utterly powerless to stop whatever this thing is. As I gaze into the Shadow's abyss, it sees through me, almost longingly. Once again, even as the veil of darkness around it lifts, I have no words to describe what I am seeing.

It is /unnatural/. The soulless aberration does not belong in this world. The very air around it recoils away from it. It is an all-consuming void, and we are hopeless to stop it. My arms slacken as it creeps ever closer, long tendrils of black escaping from what I presume to be its gaping maw. I close my eyes, embracing the death to come. It does not come to pass, as the heavy weights holding me down subsides, and the creature turns its attention away from me. I force myself to regain composure, tightly gripping my weapon once more with tears streaming down my face. It shrieks again as Corvus dumps another salvo into it. With both of us stunned, it retreats to the building, crawling back to the rooftop.

"I can't tell if we're having any effect on it or if it's just toying with its food." Corvus says, rushing to me.

"Does this thing even need to eat?!" I shake my head. Now's not the time for stupid questions. "Nevermind that. We need to get inside the building, maybe we can lose it in the sewers."

"Or we bring it right to the escort."

"Do you have any better ideas? Believe me, I'm all ears.

Silence.

"That's what I thought. Let's move!" I shout.

We spend the next few minutes alternating between bait and release. One of us bounds forward, distracting the Shadow. The second bounds further, breaking the other's trance. As we near the building, the creature utters another great roar. In a stroke of luck, it leaps behind us, giving us a straight shot to the main entrance. Perhaps it thinks it can pin us against the building and corner us?

I'm the first to make it to the entrance. It's locked. I shout in frustration, kicking the door just below the handle and breaking the lock. A great sense of relief washes over me as the door swings wide open. I move to enter, but I realize Corvus isn't behind me. I turn, seeing him on his knees, enthralled by the creature that's still a good distance away. I holster my pistol and sprint to Corvus. I grab him, shaking him. He doesn't budge. I grab the handle on the back of his chest-rig and kick behind his knee, dropping him. I jog backwards, dragging him back towards the door while futilely trying to avoid the Shadow's gaze.

The creature almost seems uninterested, as it makes no effort to pursue us. Once I get Corvus through the door, I slam it shut and start shaking him out of the trance.

"Corvus! CORVUS!" I yell.

"I'm here, I'm here!" He snaps out of it, quickly getting up.

"I don't know what it's doing, but we need to keep moving."

"Seconded."

I turn around, seeing nothing but darkness. There's no light at all inside the building. We both turn on our weapons' flashlight attachments, illuminating two cones in front of us. I look around for the sewer entrance, or anything leading to it. My senses still haven't calmed down. As I make for a door, another roar shakes the building like an earthquake. Pebbles fall from the ceiling, scattering around us. I look up too late as the Shadow forces itself through the skylight, crawling around on the ceiling. Both of our flashlights illuminate the creature and it hisses in response. The darkness around it sizzles and pops, the light burning it away.

I open the door, finding what appears to be an electric room. Looking around, I spot a breaker box on the wall and rush to it. I crack open the panel and flip the main switch. I hear several *THUD*'s as every light in the building turns on in slow succession. As I leave the room, the creature shrieks in what sounds like pain, deafening me. I cover both of my ears with my hands, but it's no use, the pain is too much. The creature alternates to a roar as it slowly backs up, retreating to an unlit corner. The darkness around it rapidly dissipates, almost enough to see its true form.

Noticing a large manhole on the ground, I nudge Corvus and we dart towards it. Together, we heave the lid off. I descend down the latter first, then he follows behind me, pulling the lid over us and shrouding us in darkness once more. Once we make it to the bottom, we activate our flashlights again. The smell of rot and decay hits me like an avalanche. I immediately start coughing and gagging. This was much worse than the smells that plagued the lower-city. They didn't even come close enough to compare.

"Where to?" Corvus asks. The large tunnel extends both ways in either direction - our path is either left or right.

"Downstream." I say, hearing tiny bits of commotion echoing throughout the tunnel. The sewage flows to the right, towards the voices bouncing off the walls of this filthy echo chamber.

We cautiously walk through the tunnel, following the sewage downwards. The sickening flow is heavy, rapid. It'll take years for the automated sewer to finish filtering out what's left of the under-city's waste. Even then, the lower-city is the only layer still connected to this archaic system. Both the mid-city and upper-city utilize a more advanced system that's based in the former. I hear it involves incinerators.

"So… uh." Corvus starts.

"So, what?" I ask.

"You've been here twice. Has that thing always been here?"

"No." I pause, my mind attempting and failing to reimagine what I saw. "I've never seen anything like it."

"What did you see?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, don't give me that."

"Seriously. It was nothing. Literally nothing." I see the darkness surrounding the creature, but I can't picture the Shadow itself.

"It was like…" An amorphous, ever-changing mass. An infinite void, yearning to devour life. "It was like staring into an abyss. Except the abyss was alive, staring right back - it could see right through me."

"Strange." Corvus says, in thought. "I saw a woman."

"A woman?"

"The silhouette of a woman. She was shrouded in darkness, just like what you saw." Corvus furrows his brows. "But she was beautiful. Terrifyingly beautiful. So beautiful it just wasn't /right/."

"I felt it too. Like something was off."

"Exactly. She was perfect. Flawless figure, a bewitching laugh. /Too perfect/. Like…"

"Like it didn't belong?"

"Yeah. Like she wasn't of this world."

I distinctly remember how the air around the Shadow recoiled away from it, like our world was rejecting its mere presence. The snow dissolved from the touch of its blood. Where could a thing like that have come from? What could have created such an abomination to nature? Were we truly in the depths of Hell?

I see light peeking from around the tunnel's curve, shadows dancing along the metal walls as the sewage reflects the light. Animated figures appear on the wall, their shadows being cast by an unknown source. Cautiously, we continue our way forward. I shudder at the sight of the shadows, unnerved by our previous encounter. With a deep breath, I slowly turn the corner, my weapon raised. I am relieved to see a squad of Patriot soldiers, standing guard. Just as we go to approach them, they raise their weapons at us.

"Let freedom ring?" I call out on a hunch.

They lower their weapons, waving us over. As we close the gap, the squad leader approaches us and introduces herself.

"I'm Jade Daniels. Call me Dani." Dani flashes a bright smile. "It's about time you two showed up, don't 'cha think?"

"Apologies, our flight got delayed. Something about the weather." Corvus replies slyly. I nudge him with an elbow to the ribs, catching him off guard.

I take a small moment to admire Dani's look. Jet-black hair braided neatly into a tight bun, complemented by bright emerald-green eyes. Freckles dot her ivory-kissed face, holding my gaze hostage as her eyes lock onto mine. She was drop-dead gorgeous. An unexpected wink catches me off guard.

"I-I-I… Hi, nice to meet you." I stammer terribly, holding out my hand for a handshake before immediately retracting it. Corvus nudges his elbow into my ribs, returning my earlier gift as my brain goes through several factory resets.

"A pleasure." Dani flashes another grin, melting my poor unprepared heart.

"I take it the shipment's here?" Corvus plants a hand on my shoulder, snapping my attention back to reality.

"Over here." She says, walking towards two metallic, cylindrical containers on the ground. Backpack-like straps are attached to one side. "This Amp is unrefined, essentially a type of plasma with enough phased particles to make it appear as a phase-shifted solid."

"A phase what?" I ask, perplexed.

"Think of it as existing halfway in our universe in a state of quantum flux."

"Quantum what?"

"If you stare at it long enough , it looks fucking weird." She dumbs it down enough for me to understand. "Now, there /should/ be enough counter-particles pumped in here to negate the Amp's reactivity. Combined with the container's specialized material make, this will hopefully be enough to contain any accidental explosion. Maybe."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I'm a half-assed knowledge sponge."

"Wait - what do you mean, /maybe/? You're not sure it won't explode?" Corvus asks with a very concerned expression.

Dani hesitates to answer.

"...It's never been tested." She says, eyes shifting between Corvus and I.

"That's lovely." I chime back.

"/Sarge, we got company!/" Dani's radio comes to life, followed by gunfire and bright flashes further down in the tunnel. The entire squad raises their weapons, taking firing positions behind makeshift barricades.

Corvus and I join Dani behind one of the barriers, leaving the Amp where it lay for now. The skirmish gets closer as several Patriot scouts retreat towards us, drawing the attackers in. It doesn't take long to identify the attacker. Despite the safety precautions, Icarus has tracked down the shipment, judging by the platoon's worth of troopers heading our way. The mole was one step ahead of us once again. As one unit, the squad opens fire on the Icarus forces, followed by the scouts as they entrench themselves with us.

The disciplined platoon marches forward, undaunted by the immediate casualties of its frontline. They return fire, forcing our heads down as two scouts and a soldier are hit. As soon as I look up, I see that the troopers have begun deploying their collapsible shields. The opposing frontlines exchange gunfire back and forth in a game of tug-o-war. A three-round burst from Corvus' rifle incapacitates a trooper, only for them to be replaced by another trooper in turn.

Automatic fire keeps my head down as Icarus brings new weapons to the playing field. A portable Light Machine-Gun suppresses us with a stream of bullets zinging past our heads. An unlucky Patriot gets caught in the hail, the upper-half of his body torn apart by the heavy ammunition. His lower-half collapses into a new mound of visceral gore, littered with chunks of tattered flesh and bone. Dani, using a scoped marksman's rifle, eliminates the machine gunner with a single crackshot to the head. She ducks down to chamber a new round, and only now do I realize that her rifle is bolt-action.

A flash of bright light disorients me as another soldier collapses. This time, however, his torso was charred black. A Patriot medic moves to intercept the soldier, dragging them from the frontline and parking them next to the Amp containers. As they get to work, I look up to see a scout get blasted with a small, thin and swift beam of red energy. It was so quick my eyes could barely glimpse it. Lasers? They have lasers now?! I think to myself. The implications of Icarus having this sort of technology was nothing short of dire. Another pulse of energy flies over my head, close enough that I feel the very brief wave of heat radiate onto me.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." I shout, shooting a trooper in the neck. I reflexively duck back down afterwards. "Lasers? /Seriously/?"

"That answers that question." Corvus references our earlier conversation.

"They've been working on this technology for years. We knew they were close to a breakthrough, but this?" Dani says, baffled. "I can't believe it."

"Yeah, well, I definitely believe it." Corvus says. Skin peels from his cheek; one of the lasers had barely missed him.

The Patriot squad is down to ten soldiers, not including Corvus and I. The Icarus platoon, on the other hand, is still up by at least thirty troopers. We are outnumbered three-to-one, the odds hopelessly stacked against us. On the bright side, we are definitely at the bottom of the barrel in terms of luck. I mean, really - in our most desperate hour, how much worse could this possibly get? My question is answered by a very high pitched screech, stopping the firefight entirely as everyone covers their ears. It's followed by a deep, guttural roar, overwhelming my senses.

/FUCK./

A black haze flows into the tunnel from behind us, obscuring my vision. I can feel the presence once more, my instincts going haywire. I turn to see the Shadow at the end of the tunnel from where we came, lurking towards us from the sewage. The medic is the first to gaze at the unholy creature, trapped in its trance. In the blink of an eye, the Shadow appears before them. In another blink, the medic and her wounded ward are - for lack of a better term - /everywhere/.

Yet even that didn't even begin to describe what I was seeing. A black, scorch-like mark decorates where they were once standing. Their gibleted remains, decorating everything within a twenty-five meter radius, are shrouded by the same cloak of darkness that surrounds the creature. Their very blood is corrupted by the sickly shadows, as tiny tendrils of black emanate both from the puddles of blackened blood and from what's left of their bodies.

The Shadow positions itself over the Amp containers, hissing at us and shrieking once more. A laser beam cuts off its scream, burning through the dark clouds surrounding it. It roars in the defiance. As one, the Patriots and Icarus unload everything we have into the creature. It's enough to force it off of the Amp momentarily, giving me an opening. I rush towards it while it's distracted, grabbing the Amp container by the straps and sprinting back towards the barricades. The creature unleashes a new scream that I've yet to hear, one of rage and hate.

"Corvus, catch!" I say, tossing the container as the Shadow appears before me. The throw diverts its attention, allowing me to circle around it. It suddenly hits me that the creature is only interested in the Amp. "Over here!" I shout to Corvus, waving both my hands.

"Whatever you plan to do, do it fast!" Corvus shouts back, tossing the container past the creature and towards me. I catch it mid-sprint, the Shadow's attention back on me. I reach the barricade, but it's too late. That sinking feeling sets in as my breath escapes me. The weight of the world comes crashing down on my shoulders as I am unable to move. A fire burns in my mind as a sense of danger permeates, stronger than any before. I shake and seize uncontrollably, my body contorting as the presence comes closer. My mind slowly numbs once again, this time filled with whispers and temptations, soothing me. It wants me to turn around and embrace the end. Obeying, I turn on my heel and collapse to my knees.

/Sing, sing, little bird

Let your little wings take flight

Let your little voice be heard

As you fly through that long night/

/Sing, sing, little Nova

Let your tiny spark grant light

Let your life breathe ambrosia

As you burn through that long night/

Bright flashes disorient me, red beams burning through the Shadow's shroud of darkness. The creature pays its assailers no mind, focused solely on me. As I stare into the abyss once more, I catch a glimpse of faint light inside the black maw. A very tiny spark. Was I hallucinating? It didn't matter if I was. Seeing that tiny mote of light in a sea of darkness is all the inspiration I need. I fight with my spirit. I resist the creature's hold on my body and my mind, struggling to break free of its enthrallment. I will not give in to despair. Not today, not ever. With every ounce of strength I have left, I scream at the Shadow in defiance.

/Sing, sing, little blade

Let your sharp edge cut their rope

Let their broken spirits fade

As you snuff out their last hope/

/Sing, sing, little knife

Let me sink you in a neck

Let me carve you out a life

As you gift me my next check/

I turn around and throw the Amp container at the Icarus forces, diverting the creature's attention and breaking its hold on me. It darts past me with inhumane speed, vaulting the barricades and leaping an impossible distance. It lands on an Icarus trooper, consuming their body and shredding it into a thousand shrouded pieces. Grotesque amounts of black blood stains the other nearby troopers. The Shadow moves to the container, which has landed in the sewage, too heavy for the flow to take off with it. The creature guards it with a savage ferocity.

"What the Hell is that?!" Dani exclaims as she chambers another round.

"I don't even know where to begin, dude." I say, dumping a few more rounds into the creature. Shit, last mag.

"There's gotta be a way to kill it. There just has to be." Corvus says. The darkness beneath the creature shifts, revealing the container. It makes no move to abandon it, hissing and roaring at the Icarus troopers, only striking when they get too close.

"I have an idea." I say, aiming at the container. It takes two rounds to puncture it, as bright pink gas rapidly decompresses out of it.

"NOVA, WAI-" Corvus starts, but I grab both him and Dani, shoving them to the ground behind the barricade.

**BOOOOOM!**

***

I open my eyes. The world around me is a blur, my ears filled with painful ringing. I attempt to move, but a sharp pain in my chest immediately puts a stop to that. Instead, I blink and see Dani hovering over me. She gently grabs me and helps me up, the pain in my chest subsiding. She says a few words that I fail to hear over my deafened state. She hurries to Corvus next, getting him to his feet. I can see that we've been flung a decent distance away from the barricades, which themselves were torn apart. Both Icarus and the Shadow had been vaporized completely.

"Are you okay?" Dani asks me, finally breaking through the ringing. It slowly subsides but the pain remains.

"N-never better." I struggle to get the words out. Every inhale of breath is met with a very sharp pain. I gasp suddenly.

"What's wrong?" She asks with a worrying expression.

"Either a cracked or broken rib, I can't tell." I say, dropping the stoic act.

"All that we've been through today and you're just now breaking something?" Corvus says. I give him a look that says '/I'll kill you/'. "Sorry." He quickly apologizes.

I look at what remains of the tunnel ahead. A light snow drifts in from the gaping hole in between the curvature of the ceiling and wall. Rubble blocks off the rest of the tunnel in front of us, debris littering the ground from wall to wall. The sewage backs up, overflowing onto the sidewalks. I attempt to grab the remaining container of Amp, but Corvus intercepts it before I can reach it, strapping it on his back. The collapsed tower of rubble becomes a convenience as we climb our way out into the snow-ridden wastes above us. The blizzard has mostly subsided, replaced by a light snowstorm.

Corvus and Dani help me limp the rest of the way to the service elevator, what remains of the Patriot squad in tow. The elevator ride is just as boring as before, but my thoughts don't intrude nearly as much as last time. I'm glad to finally be rid of that demonic creature.

"Darius is going to kill us." Corvus says, breaking the silence.

"No, he's going to kill me." I smirk at him, hoping he catches my drift. "/You/ had nothing to do with that."

"We're in this together." He replies.

"I'd vouch for you if I could. Unfortunately, Captain Vox wants us back at base ASAP." Dani chimes in.

"Yeah, about that. How are we getting back? I wasn't planning on limping the whole way." I painfully laugh, smirking.

"We've got you covered. I've already gotten in touch with the Captain."

Just as we finish our conversation, the elevator disappears into the ceiling. Moments later, we're inside the Patriot outpost once more. Bryant stands by to greet us.

"We heard about what happened. Got a little worried there." Bryant says. Dani must have already informed him, but she gives him a strange look. I can't tell what she means by it.

"J-just a stroll in the park." I say, gasping again. The pain was getting sharper.

"Woah, you good?" Bryant asks, catching me as I stumble.

"Peachy." I flinch away from him.

"Transport's outside waiting for you, then." Bryant says, ushering us to the door. "Sarge, ours is out here too."

We open the doors and step outside. Two armored personnel carriers are waiting for us. They resemble rounded shells, heavily armored but with no weaponry to speak of. The rear ramp drops down, ushering us to the interior. Corvus gently sits me down, then takes the seat next to me after offloading the container from his back. We buckle up as the transport takes off, enroute to Rising Phoenix's main base. The pain in my chest flares from the bumpiness of the road.

Perhaps I'm blinded by the pain or perhaps I'm too tired to care, but without thinking, I lay my head on Corvus' shoulder. He doesn't seem to mind. I close my eyes, letting the pain numb out and lull me into a deep sleep. I dream about nothing in particular, my mind only occupied by the long road ahead. We have a lot to answer for, and Darius isn't going to be pleased one bit.