Ground trembled beneath Cera’s shifting stance. The sound wasn’t a typical metallic groan; it was low and resonant, like the growl of some ancient beast stirring from a long slumber. Dust cascaded from fractured walls, and Cassie felt it vibrating in her teeth, in her chest. She tightened her grip on the rifle, though she knew it was useless now—its charge was spent, and its weight was dead in her hands.

Then, impossibly, the machina spoke.

“Ah, what a bother.” The voice was startlingly human and feminine—pleasant, refined, with a trace of aristocratic boredom. Cassie froze, blinking at the wolf-like monstrosity. It wasn’t just speaking—it was chatting.

The central head tilted, red eyes focusing on her with unsettling precision. “A lady like myself would much prefer lounging in the sunlight to this brutish exercise. Don’t you agree?” The other two heads moved in synchronized gestures, one nodding while the other shook itself, almost like a shrug.

Cassie didn’t answer, her pulse hammering in her ears.

“Ah, silence,” Cera said, almost wistfully. “I must admit, it’s refreshing. Though...perhaps a tad disappointing. I so adore a good conversation.” Her tone darkened, turning sharp as glass. “But alas, I’m not here for idle chatter. Orders are orders, after all.”

“Stop stalling,” Evelyn cut in, stepping closer to the machina with an almost approving smirk. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

Cassie's gut churned as she watched Evelyn stand calmly beside the enemy, igniting a fiery rage within her.

Haides’s voice, calm and commanding, cut through the moment. “Enough pleasantries, Cera. Fulfill your purpose.”

Cera’s heads straightened, her demeanor instantly shifting. “As you command, my liege,” she said. The refinement in her tone remained, but it was undercut by something darker—anticipation.

Cassie barely had time to react.

Cera lunged with a terrifying grace, claws tearing through the rubble where Cassie had been standing. The shockwave from the impact sent Cassie stumbling, her boots skidding on loose debris. She recovered quickly, instinct taking over as she darted back, using the shattered terrain for cover.

“Still running, Cassie?” Evelyn taunted. “That’s so like you. Always thinking you can outlast everyone. You’re wasting your time.”

Cassie ignored her. The rifle in her hands was dead weight now, and she tossed it aside, freeing herself to move faster. Her hand went to the hilt of the blade at her hip—a weapon she’d nearly forgotten. It felt strange, almost foreign, as she held it. The blade caught the faint, eerie glow of the dying fires, its edge chipped but still sharp.

Cera’s heads turned toward the weapon in unison. “Oh, how quaint,” the machina said, her tone almost mocking. “Resorting to knives? My dear, you’re bringing a feather to a hurricane.”

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The insult barely registered. Cassie’s grip tightened on the hilt, and she crouched low, forcing her mind into focus. The machina moved again, faster than anything that size should have been. Her claws slashed through a pillar, sending shards of concrete in every direction.

Cassie dodged left, barely avoiding the strike, and darted forward in a desperate counter. Her blade slashed against one of the machina’s legs, sparks flying as it scraped the reinforced plating. It wasn’t enough to do damage, but the impact jarred her arm, numbing her wrist.

Cera let out a sound that was disturbingly close to a laugh. “Cute.”

Cassie spun away as the three heads snapped toward her, jaws closing on empty air. Her muscles burned, her breath coming in short gasps. Every movement had to be precise, calculated—one misstep, and she’d be torn apart.

Behind her, Evelyn was moving. Cassie caught the glint of steel in the corner of her eye, and she turned just in time to block. Evelyn’s blade crashed against hers, the force of the strike pushing her back.

“Evelyn—” Cassie started, her voice ragged.

“Don’t.” Evelyn’s eyes burned with something fierce and unrelenting. “Don’t waste your breath. You don’t get to judge me for seeing the truth.”

Their blades locked, the shriek of metal against metal echoing through the ruins. Cassie pushed back, breaking the clash and stepping into a defensive stance.

“You call this the truth?” she said, her voice low but steady. “Serving them? Betraying everything we fought for?”

Evelyn laughed—a harsh, bitter sound. “What we fought for? What we were made for. Wake up, Cassie. You think they care about us? We’re tools. Weapons they’ll toss aside the second we stop being useful.” She gestured toward Haides with her free hand. “At least he’s offering us something better.”

Cassie didn’t answer. There was no time. Cera moved again, her massive frame circling, her claws tearing through rubble as she closed the distance. The machina struck with a swipe meant to decimate, but Cassie rolled under the attack, coming up on the other side and slashing at its hind leg.

The blade struck deeper this time, cutting through a seam in the armor. A spurt of oil sprayed from the wound, but the machina shrugged it off.

“Oh, that was rude,” Cera said, her tone darkening. “I was just getting warmed up.”

Cassie didn’t stop. She moved quickly, using the terrain to her advantage. But Evelyn was relentless, her strikes precise and punishing.

“Face it,” Evelyn said between strikes. “You’re outmatched. You’re out of options. Why keep fighting? Why die for them?”

Their blades clashed again and again, the force of each impact rattling through Cassie’s arms. “Just because you’re correct doesn’t mean you’re right!”

Haides stood in the distance, watching with quiet curiosity, his expression unreadable. He seemed almost bored, as though the outcome was already decided.

Then he raised a hand, his voice calm but final. “Cera. Stop holding back.”

The machina’s heads lifted, their eyes blazing with renewed intensity. “Oh, thank you, my liege,” she purred. “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me.”

Cera moved like lightning, her strikes becoming more calculated, more coordinated. Cassie barely had time to react as the machina combined its attacks with Evelyn’s precision strikes.

A claw swiped at her from the left. She dodged, but the movement left her exposed. Evelyn’s blade came down, forcing Cassie to parry awkwardly. The impact sent her stumbling, her footing slipping on the uneven ground.

Her back hit the remnants of a wall, and she gasped for air, her chest heaving. She was cornered now, nowhere left to run.

Evelyn stepped forward, her blade leveled at Cassie’s throat. “Give up,” she said, her voice almost soft. “It’s over.”

Behind her, Cera’s heads loomed, their glowing eyes unblinking.

“Not yet.” Cassie gritted her teeth, gripping her blade tightly. “It’s not over until it’s over.”