The once-bustling district had erupted into chaos. Shoppers screamed and fled as the swarm of drones descended from the hazy sky, their sharp, angular forms glinting in the neon glow of the city. The air buzzed with the mechanical whine of rotors and the high-pitched whir of energy weapons charging.

  “Spread out!” Dax barked, plasma blades igniting with a sharp hiss.

  Elior, Vera, and Dax split in different directions, weaving through the panicked crowd. The drones moved with ruthless precision, their red sensors scanning for their targets. A single misstep could end in annihilation.

  A trio of drones locked onto Dax, firing synchronized bursts of plasma bolts. With inhuman speed, he dodged to the side, rolling across the ground and coming up swinging. His plasma blade carved through the nearest drone, sending a shower of sparks raining onto the cracked pavement. The second drone retaliated, its weapon spitting a burst of fire that grazed his shoulder. Dax grimaced but stayed focused, twisting mid-air to sever the drone’s stabilizers, sending it crashing into a market stall.

  The third drone darted back, its weapons recalibrating. Before it could fire, Dax propelled himself forward with the thrusters in his boots, slamming his blade into its core. The drone exploded in a flash of light, the shockwave knocking him back.

  “I need a terminal!” Vera shouted, her voice barely audible over the cacophony.

  “Left!” Elior yelled, pointing to a kiosk near a row of shuttered shops.

  Vera sprinted toward it, ducking under the sweeping arc of a drone’s energy beam. She slid behind the kiosk, her fingers flying over the interface as she hacked into the local grid. The screen flickered and spat static as she bypassed the city’s security protocols.

  “Come on, come on,” she muttered, sweat beading on her brow.

  Two drones zeroed in on her position.

  “I’ve got this,” Elior said, stepping between Vera and the incoming threat. He raised his hands, summoning the Echoes.

  The air around Elior darkened as the Echoes materialized, their spectral forms writhing and screaming. They surged toward the drones, their incorporeal hands tearing through the machines’ circuitry. One drone spiraled out of control, crashing into a nearby wall, while the other’s sensors glitched, its targeting systems thrown into chaos.

  The strain hit Elior like a physical blow. His knees buckled, and his vision blurred as the Echoes’ torment flooded his mind. Their anguish was overwhelming, each cry a dagger to his psyche.

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  “Hurry,” he rasped, his voice barely audible.

  “Done!” Vera exclaimed. She hit the final command, and several drones in the immediate vicinity powered down, their engines whining into silence. “That’ll buy us a few seconds.”

  The reprieve was short-lived. From above, larger drones descended, their frames bulkier and equipped with heavy weaponry. One unleashed a barrage of missiles that exploded in a series of deafening blasts, tearing through the district’s infrastructure. Buildings crumbled, and fire erupted in their wake.

  “Move, move!” Dax shouted, shielding Elior as chunks of debris rained down. He slashed through a smaller drone with a single strike, the precision of his movements almost mechanical. “They’re not holding back anymore.”

  Vera scanned the area, her mind racing. Her eyes landed on a damaged maintenance bot lying in the rubble. “I’ve got an idea, but I need time.”

  “Time we don’t have,” Dax growled, cutting down another drone.

  “Just keep them off me!” Vera snapped, dragging the bot to cover and rummaging through its components.

  The trio regrouped near a crumbling overpass. Dax stood at the forefront, his plasma blades a blur as he deflected incoming fire and destroyed drone after drone. Elior, pale and trembling, summoned another wave of Echoes. The spectral forms lashed out, their ethereal presence short-circuiting the drones’ systems. Each summon took a greater toll on him, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

  “Almost there,” Vera muttered, her hands working frantically to jury-rig an EMP device from the maintenance bot’s parts. “Just… a few more seconds…”

  A massive drone descended, its turret locking onto them. It fired, the ground shaking as the explosion threw them off their feet. Elior shielded Vera with his body, the heat of the blast searing his back.

  “Now would be a good time!” Dax yelled, leaping onto the drone and driving his blade into its turret. The machine shuddered but remained operational, its servos whining as it tried to shake him off.

  “Done!” Vera shouted, slamming the makeshift EMP onto the ground. She activated it, and a wave of electromagnetic energy rippled outward. The drones froze mid-air, their engines sputtering before they crashed to the ground in lifeless heaps.

  Dax jumped clear just before the EMP hit, landing in a crouch. He glanced around, his chest heaving. “That better not have fried my systems,” he muttered, patting his armor.

  “You’re welcome,” Vera shot back, smirking despite the exhaustion etched on her face.

  As the dust settled, the trio retreated into a hidden alley. They slumped against the walls, their breaths heavy and their bodies battered.

  “That was… intense,” Elior said weakly, his voice hoarse.

  Dax nodded, his gaze distant. “Too intense. They knew exactly where to find us.”

  Vera frowned, wiping soot from her face. “What are you getting at?”

  Dax removed a gauntlet, revealing the inner workings of his armor. Embedded in the plating was a small, blinking device. His expression darkened.

  “They’re tracking us,” he said, ripping the tracker free. He crushed it in his hand, the pieces falling to the ground.

  Elior’s heart sank. “The Overlords aren’t just hunting us. They’re watching our every move.”

  The trio exchanged a grim look, the weight of their predicament settling over them. The fight wasn’t just about survival anymore. It was about staying one step ahead of an enemy that seemed to be everywhere.

  “We need to move,” Vera said, her voice steely. “Now.”

  As they disappeared into the shadows, the ruined district lay silent behind them, the echoes of their battle a haunting reminder of the war they were waging.