[Episode 8...]

Somewhere adrift in the cold, black void of space… The stars offered no comfort—just silent witnesses to the chaos unfolding.

Uzi let out a strangled gasp, her fingers trembling as she forced her ripped core back into her chest. Sparks danced from the torn circuits, pain flashing in her glowing eyes. Cyn hovered above, giggling like a child in a toy store, the eerie sound echoing through the vacuum-sealed hangar like broken wind chimes.

You could barely stand—your systems flickered, your joints screamed. But seeing Uzi like that… bruised, broken, breathless—you didn’t care. She needed you. That was enough.

With a snarl, you shifted your arms into twin serrated blades and lunged at Cyn with everything you had left. Your strike was swift, fueled by desperation—but Cyn twisted with inhuman speed, her movements fluid and unnatural. Your blade just barely grazed her cheek before she dropped Uzi with a grunt of irritation.

Uzi crumpled to the floor, coughing, clutching her chest as if trying to hold her very soul in place. Her eyes met yours for the briefest second—scared, apologetic, determined.

Cyn: “Okie~ You first, eager beaver! Heheh!” She turned to you, eyes flashing violet with glee. You tried to lift your arms again—but too slow.

One of her tendrils launched forward, impaling you straight through the abdomen and hoisting you into the air. Pain like fire surged through your frame, your HUD stuttering with static as alarms blared in your head.

Cyn slammed you into the floor with such force that your vision blinked white. Then black.Then back again. You couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.

Cyn: “Let me in, let me in, let me in, let me in, let me in—!”*

Her hands tapped rapidly, almost playfully, across your chestplate—then her fingers dug in. Metal shrieked as her claws tore through your plating, each motion more frenzied than the last. Sparks flew. Fluids leaked. Your limbs twitched uselessly.

You screamed—but only inside. Your audio receptors fried from her shrill voice and the sound of your own body being torn apart. All you could do was stare into her glowing eyes as she carved her way toward your core like a child tearing open a present.

You felt cold. Not from the vacuum of space, but from terror. Is this it? Is this how I die? Your vision began to fade—until a new light flared beside you. Uzi.

Her form trembled, eyes flickering wildly between defiance and fear. The core in her chest surged with unstable Solver energy, black tendrils creeping from her back, writhing like serpents. She clenched her fists. Her mind screamed no. But if she didn’t act now… you would be gone. And she couldn't lose you. Not again.