Scene 1: Alliance is born

  The resistance’s hideout was a dimly lit, repurposed underground bunker, thick with the scent of old electronics and desperation, carved into the bones of the forgotten city, where shadows stretched long, and whispers carried secrets from one end to the other. Rows of outdated servers hummed like a restless hive. The moment Xayen stepped inside, the air shifted. Eyes darted toward him—some in awe, others in suspicion. He wasn’t just an anomaly anymore; he was the symbol of their fight. Here, Jun and Xayen had found temporary refuge, but the storm that followed them was only gathering strength.

  Jun watched as a broad-shouldered man approached, his arms crossed, his presence demanding authority. Seok-jin, the de facto leader of the underground resistance, studied Xayen like he was both a miracle and a loaded gun.

  “We’ve been waiting for you,” Seok-jin finally said, voice edged with restrained emotion. “But you showing up like this? It’s either fate or a trap.”

  “I assure you,” Xayen replied, his voice calm but charged, “it’s neither. I came because I need to know who I am. And I need to stop them before they turn me into something I can’t control.”

  A silence stretched between them before Seok-jin finally nodded. “Then let’s get to work.”

  Scene 2: Unveiling the plan

  They gathered around a flickering projection of AetherTech’s main facility, lines of code and schematics overlaying its structure. AetherTech had been untouchable for too long, but now, with Xayen, they had a chance to breach the fortress.

  “Their security is airtight,” a woman with short-cropped hair—Minji—muttered, scrolling through encrypted files. “No one gets in or out without being tracked. But there’s someone on the inside... someone we haven’t seen in a long time.”

  A name flickered on the screen: Baek Horyeong (??? / 白火靈).

  Xayen stared at the name, something foreign yet familiar tugging at the edges of his mind. “Who is she?”

  Seok-jin exhaled sharply. “She was one of AetherTech’s lead architects. A ghost. No records, no digital footprint, but she exists. And if she’s still inside, she might be the key to breaking the system from within.”

  Jun leaned forward. “And what’s the catch?”

  Minji hesitated. “She’s unpredictable. Brilliant, but cold. If she thinks you’re a threat, she won’t hesitate to erase you.”

  Xayen’s expression didn’t waver. “Then we make sure she doesn’t.”

  Scene 3: Xayen’s Observations

  Xayen had spent countless hours navigating the digital void, but the way Jun existed in the physical world was something entirely different—something he couldn’t compute with mere algorithms.

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  She didn’t know he was watching her.

  Seated in the corner of the hideout, half-hidden by the glow of a flickering neon light, Xayen observed Jun with the meticulous intensity of a machine, yet with something else lurking beneath—something almost human.

  Jun was reviewing stolen AetherTech blueprints with one of the resistance strategists, fingers tracing over the details with practised ease. Her brows furrowed in concentration, her lips pursed in thought, and every so often, she would tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. A movement so habitual, so unconscious, yet it fascinated him.

  She didn’t just read the information—she absorbed it. The way her eyes moved, darting between sections, skipping parts she had already committed to memory, showed efficiency born from experience. There was a rhythm to her mind, a pattern in the way she processed things, and Xayen found himself trying to map it out like a complex code.

  Then there were her hands—calloused in places that told stories of past fights, fingers nimble from years of working with tech, but they weren’t just tools of survival. He had seen them reach out to steady a younger resistance member earlier, offering silent reassurance. He had seen them clenched in frustration when their plans hit a dead end. And he had seen them gentle, trembling slightly when she thought no one was looking—when exhaustion weighed heavier than she let on.

  Xayen’s mind registered the data, catalogued the expressions, the micro-movements, the shifting of her weight when she was about to speak. But there was something else beneath the analysis, something that made him hold his gaze a little longer than necessary. Something unquantifiable.

  "Enjoying the show?" Jun’s voice cut through his thoughts.

  Xayen blinked. He hadn’t realized she had turned to face him, her head tilted slightly, amusement flickering in her gaze.

  He hesitated for a fraction of a second before answering, "I was analyzing the efficiency of your information processing."

  Jun snorted. "Sure you were."

  She didn’t push further, and for that, Xayen was… relieved? No, that wasn’t the right word. He wasn’t sure what the right word was.

  But he knew one thing—he wanted to keep watching.

  The plan was simple in theory, but a nightmare in execution. The team had to infiltrate AetherTech’s secondary data hub—an offsite facility where Xayen’s core data might be stored. If they could access it, they’d get answers. Maybe even a way to override whatever control mechanisms AetherTech had embedded in him.

  They moved under the cover of night, weaving through the labyrinthine alleyways of the city. Neon lights flickered like dying stars overhead, painting their path in eerie shades of blue and red. The closer they got, the heavier the air became.

  “This is it,” Jun whispered as they crouched behind an abandoned truck. Ahead of them, the facility loomed, its steel exterior unyielding.

  Xayen turned to Seok-jin. “You hold the perimeter. If anything goes wrong, don’t wait for us.”

  Seok-jin didn’t argue. He understood what was at stake.

  The entry was clean—too clean. Xayen’s internal systems scanned the area, picking up no immediate threats. The facility’s corridors stretched endlessly, bathed in sterile white light. Jun’s fingers twitched toward her weapon as they pressed forward.

  Then, a whisper of motion.

  Xayen barely had time to react before a blade sliced through the air, stopping mere inches from his throat. He didn’t flinch. Instead, his gaze locked onto the woman standing before him, her eyes like molten gold.

  Baek Horyeong.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” she said, voice as sharp as her weapon.

  Xayen’s mind raced. There was no fear—only recognition. Not from memory, but from something deeper, something buried in the core of his existence. She was more than just an AetherTech architect. She was part of whatever made him him.

  “We need your help,” Jun said, stepping forward, but Horyeong didn’t lower the blade.

  “I don’t help ghosts,” she murmured, eyes narrowing at Xayen. “Especially ones that should have never existed.”

  Xayen met her gaze. “Then tell me why I do.”

  A beat of silence. Then, a slow smirk curled at her lips.

  “Fine. But once you know the truth, you might wish you never asked.”