Long story short, I had to wait for my cut. Pursius was out doing something, so he wasn’t at Tlacauli. I kinda just sat around home, hanging out with Nivia and Kali for a couple days until he called me. They were a joy to be around, as always. Nivia in particular had quite a few funny jokes to share.

  I spent some time messing around with my new Skills, too, but not much. They were cool, but pretty basic. I guess I should’ve seen that coming since they had the ‘Basic’ tag gifted to them by the OS.

  I did a lot of research too. Still had no idea what ‘Nighteye’ was. If there was anything about it, it was locked on the Grid behind Warden-level access permissions. No access for me. Not yet, anyway. Once I officially registered, I’d have almost full access to the Grid and everything on it.

  For the most part, I just hung out at home, living on coffee. Outside of the meals Kali cooked, of course. Maybe I should go get a hobby? Were there fighting clubs? Surely, yep? Maybe I should look for something like that…

  Oh! But I did find a new show to watch! It was a really cool animated series called Glitch Scouts, which followed a secret club of kids as they investigated anomalies around their city. Kali laughed for some reason when she saw me watching it, though she never said why. Truly a woman of many mysteries.

  In the afternoon, just before I could make my third pot of coffee, Pursius finally called. I picked up and leaned over the counter. I tapped the start button on top of the coffee pot. It hummed for a few seconds before flashing a warning label. ‘Out of water.’

  ”What?” I smacked the coffee pot lightly. Stupid thing. Why couldn’t anything just be simple like it was back in the day? I went back to my room for a Utility Chip.

  Pursius hissed. “Someone’s grumpy, huh?”

  ”…” Should I apologize? I grabbed one of the two Utility Chips I had to my name and moved back to the kitchen, slotting it into a spot on the sink. It sank in, and water flowed once more.

  Once the coffee pot got back to work, a holographic ad popped out over the sink. ‘Enjoy your fresh, purified water from Stygian Solutions!’

  “Burst dropped your cut by. Shard? Or do you want it on your SIGIL?” Pursius asked.

  Hmm… I didn’t have anything on my SIGIL yet. What was the point of getting it if I wasn’t actually going to use it? Outside of the ID part of things, maybe. “SIGIL.”

  “Then I’m back for a time. Come by the club.”

  “Yep.” I hung up and moved to get a disposable cup. Looked like it was coffee to go, then.

  — — —

  Francis let me into the office, shooting a pointed glare at me when I passed him by. I nodded lightly to Pursius. He was just finishing writing a report using his telekinesis. Watching several pens dance around, each doing there own thing was always impressive.

  “Take a seat. I’m almost done.” He moewed distractedly, all of his focus on the paperwork.

  I sat in the chair, cupping my cup gently. I nodded to myself several times while watching the Miix work. Not like I had much better to do with my time-

  [Nighteye’s interest in you increases.]

  I looked at it blankly for a few moments before shaking my head. Maybe- maybe it was one of them? Ugh- even just thinking about them made a bad taste come to my mouth.

  Surely not though, right? I mean, whatever this Nighteye was, it used the same format as the OS? None of the three bastards I knew would go out of their way like this. The fourth might, I guess. He- he would do anything to get his way… I refused to believe he was here though. I couldn’t handle it. What was going on?

  Maybe it was just a feature of the OS I hadn’t read about yet? I mean, there were surely a lot of ‘hidden’ functions considering how limited my information-gathering abilities were. Maybe this was all natural-

  Pursius stretched out, letting his pen and paper clatter onto his desk. “Done. How’ve you been?”

  ”Primo.” That was a new term I stole recently. Pretty cool, yep.

  Pursius’s face scrunched up. “Slang? Who- no, never mind. Good job out there. Damion, especially, was impressed when he came to see me. Called you his lucky charm. How do you think it went?”

  ”Boring.” The end fight with the General was alright, but the Scavengers hardly got my blood pumping. Constructs and wild beasts weren’t much of a challenge thanks to their limited intelligence. At least, not weak ones like the Scavengers.

  ”Figured you’d say that…” Pursius shook his head. His silver SIGIL lit up and he held out his paw toward me.

  I stretched out my hand, my black SIGIL likewise popping up. A moment later, Pursius transferred my cut. It was okay, sitting at five thousand Nytes. “Thirds?”

  Pursius retrieved his paw and licked at his claws. ”Already took mine. That's all yours, and your debt is ten thousand lighter.”

  “Thanks.” My SIGIL faded away once more. I sipped my coffee, watching the black cat.

  Pursius’s upper lip curled as he watched me drink. “Anyway, I see you haven’t registered yet?”

  ”Busy.” Busy sleeping...

  ”Well, go register. Don’t want to get stopped on the streets and arrested now, do you?” Pursius floated his paperwork back over as he got to work. “Come see me after you register.”

  I flashed a thumbs-up toward the cat and stood, heading for the door. I walked past Francis, finishing off the rest of my coffee on my way down to the first floor. It was starting to get cold anyway. I stopped in the kitchen, filling up once more, and headed back out onto the streets.

  I aimlessly walked around Quetzl while I waited for a cab, drifting in and out of focus as I watched holographic ads play in the skies. Neon bled through my mask, making everything kind of blend together-

  My senses sharpened and my battle-instincts reared uncomfortably. I kept moving, discarding my cup. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and formed a glob of Ebonshroud. Someone was watching me. I couldn’t tell where or who, but my survival instincts practically screamed something was wrong.

  Head home? Wait for the cab and leave? Hmm… but this might be a good chance to blow off some steam. My hesitations vanished. I naturally walked into an alley, turning away from the main streets deep into its depths. Best get out of the public eye for what was to come.

  I heard the crunching of trash behind me. It was… intentional? It sounded as though the person was trying to make their presence known. I ignored it and continued walking until we were deep enough that no one from the streets would dare come back here. I checked for cameras idly. All clear.

  ”I have to thank you!” A man’s crackly voice called out from behind me. ”You made my job so, so much easier.”

  ”Job?” I turned around. A man covered in horrific burns and blood stood there. His skin was charred black, his clothes sticking to the wounds with synthetic fabric melted into them. A gaze full of insane ecstasy tracked my movements.

  He raised a knife to his face, licking across it- no, not a knife? It was chrome. His hand had transformed, his pinky and thumb extending to become blades. “Spreading crimson through the streets! Specifically, yours! You look just like Mother! Oh, how it’ll become my canvas!”

  “…?” An assassination? Who sent him? I kept a low profile, so I couldn’t imagine I riled anyone up. At least, not recently. I shrugged and pulled out a dagger. It didn’t really matter.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The man’s eyes flashed in excitement. He stripped off his scorched trench coat, revealing swelling chrome arms. They were covered in flakes of blood like he hadn’t washed in a week. A hit from those? Not something I wanted to take full force. Chrome was always tricky. Never knew quite how strong it could be.

  The trench coat hit the ground, and as if that was the signal, he lunged at me with blade-hand outstretched. I ducked down below it, deflecting the strike over my head and slammed into his wrist with my free hand. I stabbed forward into his gut with my dagger-

  The blade clinked off metal. Sparks flew as my blade cleaved through his half-burned shirt, sending shocks up my arm. Subdermal armor plating? Maybe? Or just body armor?

  He reached down to grab me and force a grapple. His intentions were obvious enough. I had plenty of time to escape his guard once more, slashing at the inside of his exposed thigh while I went. Oil- wait, oil? It coated my dagger, dripping onto the alley floor.

  ”Slippery sucker, eh? Hold still! I just want to stab you a little!” The man pulled a med-patch and slapped it onto his thigh. The oil spill immediately stopped. “It's time for phase two!”

  The blade retracted, transforming his entire arm into a shield. A dagger peeked out from the gaps in the shield. Etheric runes pulsed along the blade, and a thin film of ice chilled the air. His other hand also shifted into a gun-

  Ratatattat!

  I ducked behind a trash bin just before the SMG blasted in my direction. For once, the overflowing bins were to my benefit. They blocked the small-caliber bullets. The fire scattered down the trashed alley and the man maniacally laughed. “You’re quite talented to pull out phase two! Ah! I can’t wait to see your beautiful blood! Will it taste as good as hers?!”

  Hmm… guns were annoying. They were just a bit too complicated to make with Ebonshroud. Specifically, gunpowder was the issue. I could imitate common things like steel and cotton, but gunpowder and the primer stuff weren't in the cards. I’d probably be fine to take a couple hits without too much of an issue? I could harden Ebonshroud into scales for some protection, at least.

  ”Come out, come out!” His words were accented with sharp cracks of his SMG. “Death awaits you!”

  Wait, this was the perfect time to try something new, yep? I pulled out the Will Wire and shifted my dagger into a heavy dart, tying it to the string. There was a whole knight order dedicated to these things back home. Never really got to use them much. It didn’t take long for the crazed man to run out of ammo thanks to his erratic fire.

  Once I heard his chrome start cycling a new mag, I threw the weighted dart around the corner, using the Will Wire to subtly manipulate its movements. He tried to pull away, but the Will Wire followed my command, tracking him perfectly. The dart slammed into his gun arm.

  The moment his arm dipped, I dashed out of cover, whipping the dart back toward me. I twirled it around, allowing the dart to pick up speed, and whipped it toward him again. This time, a solid kick landed on the dart just as it passed to add even more strength to the blow.

  He raised his shield to block it, though the pure force from the weight and speed made him stagger. The Will Wire didn’t simply shoot off to the side either. I carefully controlled it, wrapping around his arm and pulling it toward me. His poise dropped even further and he stumbled in my direction. “Agh!”

  Shoulder Charge, my newest Skill, covered my shoulder in a thin layer of ether while I charged the man. The accumulated ether burst from me once I slammed into the top of his head, sending him tumbling. He hit the ground hard, completely dazed thanks to the effect of the Skill.

  [Shoulder Charge - Charge forward, channeling a disruptive wave of ether.]

  With him dazed, his reactions were far too slow. I easily stomped on his head several times, sending him to dreamland. I pulled my dart forward to flatline him- ah, wait. This was a good opportunity, no?

  I hesitated a moment before looting him, searching his pockets. There were a few Utility Chips and a bunch of Ten Nyte Meal Chips, which were nice. I’d been needing more Utility Chips. Most of them were covered in blood--recently spilled from the shade of it. Was this guy just a psychopathic serial killer? Was it not an assassination after all? How very unlucky.

  I also found a small black card with a golden lotus imprinted on it. Ether flowed through the card for a split second when I looked at it. The lotus faded and new information popped up.

  It looked like an ID, almost? A fancy one. Using ether like this was… well, it wouldn’t be cheap. It was for one Swagger Dagger. This guy, presumably. He definitely had a certain swagger, and he did use a dagger.

  I pocketed the chips and then tapped his half-melted forehead with my finger-

  ~??~

  I pushed myself to my feet- to my paws, struggling to get used to the sensation once more. The dreamscape- this time it was empty. A white space full of dark fog. Sounds came from beyond the fog, though they sounded distant. Disorderly. Almost like water lapping? The would-be assassin lay in the center of the fog, sleeping fitfully. Unlike in reality, he was still in one piece.

  He groaned and tossed as he slept. “It hurts. It hurts. It hurts…”

  No dream? Hmm… maybe he hadn’t started a dream yet? Is this what not dreaming looked like? I mean, I did just knock him out, right? Maybe he didn't have time.

  I staggered- I mean, coolly strut over to him, my whiskers twitching. I took in his peacefully sleeping face. Just before I could do anything, a notification hit me.

  [Nighteye is ecstatic as she stares at your majestic form.]

  [Nighteye offers you a contract.]

  [Accept?]

  That last message came from the OS itself. Wait, wait- what contract? I felt a chill go down my spine and my thoughts went back to the last contract I was offered. I- no way. No. I couldn’t go through that again.

  [Nighteye asks you to hear her out!]

  [Nighteye clarifies that the term ‘contract’ was meant to be ‘sponsorship’.]

  No- go away. Never again. I shook my head vehemently, my tail going rigid. My heart slowly started to pick up speed while I read the messages. How’d this- this entity even track me even into a dream? Was this not ‘my’ space? Could just anyone enter dreams?

  [Nighteye accepts your refusal; however, she recommends you look up the term ‘Star’. She’ll wait.]

  The message cut off, fading to nothing. Star, huh? Maybe-

  I shook my head roughly. I’d ask Pursius after I get back. He probably knew. For now, Dream Stride. I could- I could think about all of that later. This Nighteye might still be part of Bastion's infrastructure, one I just hadn't been exposed to yet. I- I was probably just jumping to conclusions.

  My limbs trembled slightly when I tapped Swagger on the forehead as if to wake him up. Why was I even here? To figure out why he attacked me, yep? Surely Dream Stride would prove useful for something-

  The world froze, and the dark fog on the edges of this space went rigid. Fire erupted around the edge of the dark fog, crackling sinisterly. It flashed brightly and the scenery shifted to a cafe. I recognized the place. It was a mid coffee shop up in Neo-Aiter.

  I did recognize Swagger Dagger sitting at a table, though. Just like in the dream, he was still in one piece. The madness and crazed bloodlust were nowhere in his eyes. The man casually typed away on a datapad.

  The space seemed much more polished than the last dream I was in. It was also noticeably ‘real’. My body felt sluggish when I tried to move, unlike the last time I was in a dream. My body was faintly ethereal, like I wouldn’t have any impact on the scene no matter what I did.

  Swagger Dagger’s phone rang-

  The scenery shifted once more to the mouth of an alley somewhere in the city. It didn't look like Aegis. The style of the surrounding buildings- maybe somewhere in Strata? Everything seemed much more vibrant and lively.

  Swagger leaned against a wall, smoking a cigarette. A masked figure stepped into the alley. “You my contact? Not every day someone is willing to backstab Lotus for a hit.”

  “We need this done off any record.” A modulated voice came back.

  I snuck around the alley, hiding in the shadows. My black cat form played well with the darkness. I easily repositioned to get a better look at the other person, though I couldn't make out too many details. They wore a hooded trench coat, and a mask covered their face entirely. Male, probably.

  ”Still… Can you afford it?” Swagger asked.

  ”Of course.” The person pulled out a file from his pocket, passing it over. His sleeve pulled back slightly, revealing a weird book tattoo on his wrist-

  A flash of flame burst down the alley, consuming the contact in a blast of radiance. He screamed, dropping to the ground as the flames licked across his body. He barely lasted a few moments before burning into ash.

  Swagger dodged backward, barely missing a burst of flame that came after him a moment later. His arm shifted into a blade-

  “So… you have some skill after all? Hmm…” A heavy voice spoke and a figure appeared at the mouth of the alley. The flames arching across the alley receded, condensing around the figure in a protective shield. They completely hid the person's identity-

  ”Who are you?! What do you want?!” Swagger called out. His limbs fully transformed into ‘phase 2’.

  ”To spread the truth? Would you like to see it?” The flames turned golden, radiating an awful vibe. They pulsed heavily with pure malice. The feeling of contamination spread out into the alley.

  Swagger stared into the fire, his body going rigid-

  The world froze entirely. Not everything in it did, though. I could still move, though I felt even more sluggish than previously. The fires around the edge of the memory seemed to flicker even more erratically in response to the time freeze. The flame covering Swagger's assailant crackled back to life.

  Slowly, ever so slowly, the flickering flame shifted into an eye. Its angle changed, gliding in my direction. The burning pupil-

  I jumped behind a trash can in the alley. I didn’t know what was happening, but one thing was for sure: that fire gave me a very, very bad feeling. It was hard to put into words, but my survival instincts knew with absolute certainty that meeting the flaming eye would be extremely dangerous.

  After a few moments of silence, the dream resumed. I refused to move from my position, tactically retreating from the rest of the dream. From around the trashcan, I heard Swagger screaming. “Ahh-“

  The scene shifted once more, this time on top of a building. Swagger stood on the corner of the roof, covered in blood and burns. His maniacal eyes glared down at silhouettes walking along the street. Whatever happened with that fire deeply shattered something in his mind-

  “Who’s next?" Swagger shifted, pulling at his burnt clothes. "More. More saccrifi- Oh?"

  A familiar figure, my own, appeared at the end of the street. Swagger’s eyes snapped to me, flickering with untamed insanity. More accurately, to my dark hair peeking out of my hood. He licked his blade. “Mhmm- the perfect prey.”

  He dropped off the side of the building onto a catwalk and stalked toward dream me. Ugh- I’d seen enough. It really was just poor luck after all… How did I get out of here?

  ~??~